eating when not hungry ...why?

  • One of the hardest habits I have had to break and I STILL haven't broken it completely although I am aware of it now therefore I can act on it.

    It is the fact that I can EAT when I am not even hungry and in the past at times I have eaten again even though I ate only a very short while before.

    I am trying to understand WHY I do this.

    Can anyone else relate?
  • When I do this, there are so many different reasons.

    First, I learned that my body/mind/whatever wants something sweet to signify the end of breakfast and lunch. I don't know why, but that's how it appears to work. So I would pick at things -after- my lunch. I fixed this by planning a sweet something in for myself after the mean.

    Second, I learned that I do this when I'm bored. It's just another thing to do. I cut that off by having lots of water and tea on hand afterward.

    Our reasons for eating when we aren't hungry will vary from person to person. Once you determine what they are, you can work toward eliminating/resolving the trigger and planning to make it less of a big deal.

    Hope that helps!
  • I'm guilty of that too at times. I mostly do it if I'm just sitting around bored. I also like to eat when I watch t.v. I try to keep myself busy so I don't get bored and if I get the urge to eat while I'm watching t.v., I turn it off. It's been working okay so far.
  • i think a lot of people do this. myself included. i am a stay at home mom and work from home so a lot of times it just seems like the thing to do. im bored, im antsy, im stressed, whatever... the kitchen is just so close by! haha

    but i've been trying to just eat what i have planned (plus i eat every few hours anyway) and when i am just going crazy wanting to eat junk all day i just say f it and get out of the house. (which im really not supposed to do while im working, but whatever)
  • Of course I do this all the time. I battle it every day. I can eat double the size of my stomach in food and not get full. I'm definitely NOT hungry, but I'll still eat. I want to taste everything. I do this when I have big chunks of time to fill, like between the time I get home and the time I go to bed.
    I don't really have any advice to give, but today I woke up and nothing really tasted good to me. I ended up throwing away an entire lean cuisine meal (it was gross and tasteless), and then more than half of a turkey sandwich. This is weird for me, but at least I'm not stuffing my face!
    Good luck though honey.
  • When I'm not hungry but I still eat, I notice it's usually because I'm bored or stressed out. I think those are the two common reasons.

    The way that worked for me was just trying to catch my thoughts as I got the munchies, if that makes sense? As I was rummaging around in the fridge I trained myself to stop and ask what was bothering me. Usually getting out of the house was the trick.
  • I can mindlessly snack while I'm on the net. So, I don't allow snacks when I'm on the net at night.

    However, I am eating right now and I'm not hungry. I'm eating ground turkey for an afternoon protein snack. My trainer says I have to! :-(

    If I don't eat protein in the mid-AM and mid-PM, I will be ravenous by dinner and I have a pretty hard kickboxing class at 6:40pm.

    It is easier when you think of food as fuel. I am eating now because my body needs it to function, not because I'm craving lean ground turkey (LOL!). When I'm eating mindlessly, my body doesn't need that.
  • LOL...I was craving chicken breasts earlier today. How weird is that? Lol.
  • I can totally relate! I am a boredom and stress eater. One thing that I've read in the past, is that often, our body is trying to tell us we're thirsty, and the message we receive instead, is to eat. I might try drinking a glass of water when I start to get that "I just need to snack on something" feeling- which is usually in the afternoons. between 3:00 and 6:00.