We all know how it feels to be hungry, but do you know the difference between a physical hungry feeling vs. an emotional hungry feeling?  Find out what the differences are and how to figure out whether the hunger feelings you are having is a physical or an emotional one by reading the short article below.

http://cortherapy.com/emotional-hunger-versus-physical-hungerwhats-difference/

If you do struggle with emotional eating, here are some ways you can beat those cravings:

1. Set yourself up for success!
~ Keep the junk food out of your home.  If you’re so determined to consume junk food to fill a void you would at least have the time it would take you to drive to the store to really think about whether or not eating that piece of cake of bag of chips was going to be worth it.
~ It can be difficult if you have kids, HOWEVER they shouldn’t be eating junk food on a daily basis either so for their sake it shouldn’t be in the house.  If your going to have a treat night, buy enough for 1 serving each and THAT’s IT!  No need for left overs 🙂

2. Figure out the reason for your craving:
~ Keep a food journal to identify your eating patterns and pay attention to the time of day when you’re really craving carbs or sugars.  Next, ask yourself why?  Are you really hungry or just bored?  Are you frustrated, stressed out and really want a salty or sugary getaway which will only feel good for the moment?  Sometimes if you understand the cause of your craving and realize it’s not because you are physically hungry, you will seek other ways to find relief from that emotion.

3. Identify things that satisfy you but don’t involve food:
~ For some it could be going for a walk, run, or bike ride.  Others will benefit from reading, playing an instrument, painting or participating in something artistic.  Figure out what you enjoy best and do that activity the next time you feel an emotional hunger craving.

4. Celebrate you success:
~ Keep track of every time you were able to resist a food craving because of your emotional state.  With every success you are proving to yourself you don’t need junk food to fill any void in your life.

When someone deals with emotional hunger cravings and gives into them they are inviting what could be a nasty cycle.  Most of the time you won’t feel relieved or better about your situation after you eat a bag of cookies.  Most of the time you will feel guilty which will make you feel worse.  This can make your emotional situation harder to deal with, which will then lead you to eat more junk because you feel you’ve already failed and you see no point in trying to fix the habit.  This does not have to be the case for you even if you are an emotional eater.  Every craving you don’t give in to will make a difference 🙂  Please email me with any questions 🙂