Following on from my blog the other day about asking WHY you are opening that fridge door and munching? ..... another little tip that helps me reprogramme the 'hunger habit'.
ONLY EAT when you are sitting down, the table laid and all your attention and senses are bought to the meal in front of you: no TV, no arguments, no work - just bring all your attention to the sheer sensual enjoyment of eating good quality food (and you don't need me to tell you what that is). this means no MINDLESS MUNCHING in the car or at your desk.
MAKE IT COUNT. MAKE IT AN EXPERIENCE TO BE ENJOYED.
If you get 'hungry' and head off to the fridge - ask yourself Why? it's often simply a habit: a behavioural 'punctuation mark' after completing a task, boredom etc.,
Do you have the habit of 'fridge raiding' or 'mindless munching'?
If you want to quit that habit you'll find it easier to replace it with something that supports your health, rather than go totally 'cold turkey' .... so I take the dogs for a quick walk up the lane, or get on the stationary bicycle or rebounder for a couple of minutes, clean the kitchen sink, wash my hands or clean my teeth - doesn't have to be a big long drawn out process - just 'something' to stop you in your tracks.
Keeping busy is your secret weapon to counter the hunger habit.
Don't eat by 'association' - what do I mean by that?
Well here's where I 'fess up to illustrate my point. Years ago, whenever I stopped to fill my car with petrol, I had created the habit of buying a bag of 'dolly mixtures' (for those of you who have never experienced a dolly mixture - they are pure sugar sweets, very popular with kids!) or, if I was in the mood 'wine gums', again pure sugar. It was such a habit I didn't even think about it, my hand just reached up to the display and retrieved a pack and of course, I ate the entire packet mindlessly while driving.
When I realised this was a MINDLESS MUNCHING HABIT - I stopped buying sweets and filled the void by buying a magazine or newspaper. It was relatively easy as I didn't feel deprived in any way, in fact quite the reverse.
I've extended this behaviour to my food shopping. If I'm 'tempted' by something I know isn't going to support my weight loss plan, and I put it back on the shelf, then I later take something that WILL support my plan and that I love but is perhaps a bit of a treat, or is of better quality - e.g. organic. It's essential for me to love the food I have in my fridge, I don't want to feel deprived in any way, I want to feel enriched and 'nourished' in every sense of the word.
As humans we are (in the West) very rarely 'hungry' in the true sense of the word - most of our hunger pangs are habits we have acquired, very often as a result of very clever marketing and advertising over the years by food manufacturers!
As with everything in self care - learn to tune into your body and seek the truth! Is that hunger real? That little WOW (Wise One Within) will steer you in the right direction.