Feelings of loneliness, anger, frustration, and anxiety often trigger emotional eating. However, there are at least five other factors that can cause overeating, leading to weight gain.
1) Eating when you’re bored.
Sometimes, eating makes the most sense when you have nothing else to do. During downtime, eating is often a go-to activity for distraction. However, free time is also great for engaging in hobbies or doing things around the house unrelated to food.
If the weather permits, walk or sit outside with a coffee and read something uplifting. If you need to finish something, that’s the time. Do something to keep you busy instead of eating when you’re not hungry.
2) Eating when you’re sleep-deprived.
Frequent snacking is a way of getting quick jolts of energy when trying to meet a work deadline or finish a project.
You’re so busy focusing on your work that you may not notice you ate half a bag of chips or a significant amount of cookies per serving.
Other times, when you sleep a few hours at night, it can be challenging to function correctly during the day.
As a result, your body produces more of a hormone called ghrelin, which can increase your hunger levels between meals.
Craving high-sugar foods usually gives you a quick burst of energy. But it doesn’t last long and ultimately leads to a crash, making you feel more tired. This often leads to consuming as many as 300 extra calories in refined sugary foods.
Washing your face with cold water, staying hydrated, and doing stretches can get the blood flowing and energize the mind until you get a restful sleep.
3) Eating in the middle of the night.
If you turn to food for comfort due to work stress or worry, finding ways to relax can help you avoid extra calories.
Listening to soft music or natural sounds, such as rain or ocean waves, can help to relax the mind. Learning a deep breathing routine and drinking herbal teas from your favorite mug are great alternatives that benefit both the body and mind.
4) Eating when overly medicated.
Certain medications can affect hunger between meals. If you notice your hunger levels increasing or decreasing suddenly after a few days of taking a new drug, check to see if that’s one of its side effects.
If it becomes a problem and stops you from maintaining your ideal weight or achieving your weight loss goals, a different approach needs to be explored.
At this point, working with a nutrition professional who can assist in planning balanced meals is beneficial.
Individual lifestyle changes can also help manage the shift in hunger levels due to medications.
5) Eating to be social.
Sometimes, after you’ve finished a meal, you’ll get a text from a friend inviting you to a quick bite or to meet somewhere for coffee. You agree to meet and catch up, but you have already eaten.
Once you’re there, giving in to that creamy chocolate dessert or the season-flavored latte can happen naturally, as it’s part of that bonding experience with a meal between friends.
To avoid the extra calories and feeling guilty after spending time with a friend, choose a lighter option such as bottled water, regular coffee, tea, or a snack low in sugar before getting to the place.
Other times, Happy Hour turns into Fried Food Hour! Watching others across the bar bite into mouth-watering crunchy appetizers during Happy Hour can be challenging.
If you consume these snacks and alcoholic drinks more than twice a week, you will see changes in your waistline and how your clothes fit.
Takeaways: When watching your weight, conscious indulgence now and then keeps you from feeling deprived.
It eliminates the idea of lacking willpower or being bad when having a treat. It also helps to balance the nutritious and not-so-nutritious foods you eat weekly.
Being aware of this balance requires paying attention to those times and situations that can trigger unexpected overeating and throw you off track.
It’s important to remember that food provides essential nutrients and energy to help your body function at its best.
Developing healthy habits by avoiding using food as a substitute for other activities is the first step to a healthier lifestyle.