How to Eat Right

People always seem to be asking the question what foods can I eat, and what should I avoid? We get lost in the confusion of the next new diet trick. But what if the trick is that it is not about the food choices at all?

I’ve been working with people struggling with weight management for years, and I’ve found there is a crucial factor involved in eating right. Most (if not all) people who struggle with weight are engaging in non-hunger eating. Eating like this tends to happen when you are upset, anxious, bored, or even really excited.

You eat when you are not hungry because it numbs your uncomfortable feelings. You may not have felt any hunger cues in a long time because you have been so numb. Mood is regulated by many chemicals, and one of the key players is serotonin. Whenever you eat carbohydrates, you will release serotonin and feel more calm.

You will find physical hunger feels like an emptiness or grumbling of the stomach. Sometimes it becomes shakiness or a headache. You have to learn to pay attention to your body’s cues in order to manage your weight. There is a great tool called the hunger and fullness scale. It is ranked from one to ten, with 10 being painfully full and 1 being close to cannibalism. Five is neutral on the scale.

If you want to eat when you know you are not physically hungry, you need to figure out why. It can be very helpful to use a journal to understand why you want to eat. This can help you determine what you are feeling. It is important to know what is happening inside of you, so that you can deal with that instead of using food.

If you start to get wrapped up in good foods and bad foods, you need to remember the issue is not about what you are eating. Any food is fine to eat if you do so when you are truly physically hungry. It is important to satisfy cravings — this can actually decrease overeating of other, less satisfying foods. When you have the food you want, you are not likely to later binge on a bag of rice cakes in an effort to feel satisfied. It is critical to listen to your body, rather than some diet, when you are deciding when and what to eat.