How to control the anxiety of eating

Surely in some moments you have felt an overwhelming desire to eat and, normally, the food that we want is usually not very healthy: if a piece of cake, if a slice of pizza, if a chocolate candy, and so on. This hunger is not a physiological hunger but rather, it is a psychological hunger caused by anxiety.

In a how we want to show you how to control the anxiety to eat by giving you some simple tricks that will help you to stop those desires to eat anything.

The urge to eat

Stress, boredom or personal problems can make us anxious; this state of mind alters our mind and our nerves may lead to an attack of anxiety that is very dangerous to the heart; for this reason, it is important to learn to avoid anxiety.

One of the signs of anxiety refers to the act of eating: if you get an uncontrollable desire to eat sweet, or an unstoppable desire to eat a whole pizza with salami without being hardly hungry, it is most likely that anxiety is what I am provoking you these food desires.

Eating disorders, most of the time, are related to emotional problems so to know how to control the anxiety to eat the first thing we must do is reduce stress situations in our lives.

Reduce sugar

To know how to control anxiety about eating it is important that you suppress the excessive consumption of sugar in your diet. Why? Because it is known that sugar is an addictive substance: that is, the more sugar you eat, the more you want to eat sugar throughout the day. Reduce the consumption of sugar and reduce the desire to eat sweets throughout your day.

Drink water

Nutrition specialists indicate that the sensation of hunger is often confused with the sensation of thirst: that is, you think you are hungry when in fact your body needs to hydrate. For this reason, and to avoid this confusion, it is recommended that you drink between 1.5 liter and 2 liters of water per day. 

Also, if you want to reduce the feeling of hunger before sitting at the table, you can take a large glass of water that will satisfy you and will not devour everything you put in front of you.

Take care of your pantry

To learn how to control the anxiety to eat the first thing we have to do is something that seems very logical: not to have the temptations at home. When we go to the supermarket, we can fill the shopping cart with a myriad of products that we should avoid having in the pantry if we want to avoid anxiety about food.

Sincerely, we recommend that you replace the “tempting” products with more healthy ones: instead of a chocolate bun, get some cereals with chocolate and fiber; Instead of microwave popcorn, buy nuts. The result is simple: if you do not have it at home, you will not feel like eating it.

Eat 5 times a day

Surely it is not the first time you hear that to lead a healthy life you should eat 5 times a day. And is that putting food continuously in your body, eliminate the feeling of hunger and, therefore, suppress the desire to eat. It is recommended that you carry out a healthy diet and that you incorporate the fruit intake between hours.

Do exercise

As we have already mentioned, the desire to eat is derived from a nervous imbalance: stress, problems or worries make anxiety take over your mind. Therefore, exercising is a good way to fight anxiety because you distract the mind and release the accumulated energy.

Creativity in the kitchen

Another way you have to know how to control the anxiety to eat is by making your diet include dishes and flavors that please your palate. The trick is to substitute the less healthy dishes that are so appealing when you have anxiety, for other healthier dishes and also very rich taste.

Reinvent your favorite dish to have a healthy diet changing, for example, a plate of Bolognese pasta for one of pasta with vegetables: the feeling of eating pasta is the same but the result is more beneficial for our health. Do the same with other dishes that are tempting for your palate!

Distract

One of the causes of anxiety about food is boredom or, if not, how many times have you been home one afternoon and gone to the fridge to see what was there? Surely this situation is familiar to you so to avoid anxiety about eating that is generated by boredom, all we have to do is distract ourselves: take a book, put on a movie or redecorate your house. You will see how, with distraction, the desire to eat disappear.

Rest during the night

Sleeping well is also important to reduce anxiety and make your body feel satisfied throughout the day. A restful sleep stimulates a hormone that is responsible for telling the brain that we are satisfied: the hormone leptin. If your body is satisfied and rested, the anxiety will not develop and, therefore, our diet will not be affected.

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