I used to think that I knew exactly what I was eating and why I was eating it. Now, I realize that there’s a whole lot more to the psychology of eating than I was aware of. Turns out hunger may not usually even be in the top three reasons why people eat and when they eat. This is the concept sometimes called “Mindful Eating”.
The obvious reason that people gain weight is because they eat more calories than they burn. The equally obvious solution to weight loss sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Just eat less than you burn and you’ll lose weight. Many times, though, we eat without thinking - without being mindful.
Mindful eating is knowing what you’re eating and exactly why you’re eating it. This means that we become aware of the physical and emotional cues that lead to eating in the absence of hunger. For example, I’ve noticed that I eat twice as much when the TV is on and later on I sometimes don’t even remember eating. You could call that mindless. Eating because it’s lunchtime is another example. You might be hungry but if you’re not, do you eat anyway just because that’s what time it is? Any reason for eating besides hunger needs to be thought about a little more.
I think for most people one of the biggest causes of mindless eating is boredom. Nothing to do, nowhere to go often leads to a quick binge of eating for some stimulation. Eating is always there as a fallback when we can’t think of anything else to do or maybe when we’re trying to avoid doing something unpleasant. Opening a bag of potato chips has a lot more immediate gratification than balancing a checkbook or doing the laundry.
Another reason people sometimes eat when they’re not hungry is to make someone else feel good. Sounds strange, but it happens a lot. Have you ever eaten seconds when you’re not hungry just to assure your spouse that you approve of the meal that they cooked? Or eaten when you’re not hungry because you know the cook will experience feelings of rejection if you don’t? If so, you’re listening to someone else and not your own body when it comes to decisions about food.
Mindful eating can be a complicated subject. What seems like a simple everyday action can have some deep rooted motivations. If you can identify the situations and the triggers that cause you to overeat, that will go a long way to getting your weight under control and keeping it that way.
