Mindless Munching, How To Overcome It

Many people keep thinking of food all the time. These people will eat irrespective of whether they're really hungry or not and keep adding calories and kg ! They may eat to overcome boredom, stress, fatigue and not because they're hungry. These people don't have a proper schedule for eating their meals, so end up eating more calories once they start eating.

Such mindless munching of wrong foods, can be the cause of serious diseases- diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, leading to cardiovascular diseases.

Banish hunger

"Skipping meals sets you up for intense cravings," says  a nutritionist. Eating regular meals of complex carbs—not refined ones like white bread and pasta—with protein and a small amount of healthy fat will keep your blood sugar steady, and you feeling satisfied. When you do snack between meals, have low-fat yogurt and a fruit  or a handful of nuts and a fruit.

Identify triggers

Keep a food log for a week, recording your moods, what stresses you out, and how hungry you feel before eating. Once you've identified the things that drive you to raid your candy stash, you can react productively instead of eating half a pound of chocolate. 

Wait it out, try drinking water

You're most susceptible to your brain's demands during the 20 minutes after a stressful episode—the amount of time it takes for serotonin to bounce back and stress hormones to fall. If you can resist a temptation for just that long, the urge will probably fade. Try drinking some water, if it is false hunger.

The hypothalamus, your brain's control center for mood- and food-related signals, detects thirst as well as hunger. Gulp a glass of water or hot tea (make it decaf—caffeine can trigger the release of stress chemicals) and see if the craving passes. 

Blow it off

If you absolutely need an oral fix, reach for sugar-free gum. Researchers in Australia measured the levels of cortisol in the saliva of study subjects and found that on average, gum chewers had 16 percent less of the stress hormone than non-chewers and responded better to stressful situations. 

See the lighter side

Studies show that laughter cuts stress, releases feel-good endorphins, and burns calories—an hour of yukking it up can torch about as many as a half-hour of lifting weights. 

Variety: Eat all colors of food in order to get more variety, but limit the variety to more healthy food. Keep the various kinds of chips and wafers away from your home and pantry so that you have no choice, but to snack on fruits and dry fruits as well as other healthy options when the munchies strike! 

Be deliberate and present: When you eat slowly, you allow the satisfaction of a good meal to wash over you. This ensures that you have less scope to indulge in mindless eating later. Also, you will feel fuller when you have been more deliberate and present with your meal. This can be done by switching off all devices and the television or smartphone, in particular, and actually taking the time to enjoy your food. Many psychologists say that distractions tend to make us eat more, and more often. So, it is best to cut these out before you start eating.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                
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