Think about this when you reach for that pick me up.
If you really look at your hunger levels when you are eating, it is easy to see how often we eat without hunger. It is so common I can probably guess why you are doing it.
3 pm snack? If you are really hungry, have the snack. If not, consider what you are really feeling. Many times people will not take a break from working. The brain finds a loophole from that which is a ‘productive’ activity- eating. Many women have a hard time just doing nothing and won’t allow it. This is where the productive eating might come in. Do you really need a mental break?
Afternoon Pick me up? Are you feeling tired, need a break, need to physically move your body or get the blood moving? It is very common to reach for food when we hit the afternoon slump, as a pick me up for energy. If you are really seeking energy, first consider if you are getting enough quality sleep and take measures to improve that. The other option is to get up and move around, get 5-10 minutes of physical activity. See if that does the trick for you.
Eating while watching tv? Perhaps this is a habit. If that is the case, I would encourage breaking it. Eating with tv is mindless and it is easy to eat more and not even really enjoy it. Ever looked down and wondered who ate all the popcorn? Weight loss goals or not, sitting down to eat and savor the meal is a gift.
I would also question your feeling. It might be that you are getting bored with this activity.
Eating second dinner? This is where it is important to question how you are spending your time in the evening and what you would like to be doing. If you are not hungry it is very common to use food as a source of entertainment. This can become a vicious cycle. First, comes the sweet snacks, then the salty snacks and it starts over. Food tastes good so if you eat when you are not hungry, it still tastes good. It is very common to eat with boredom at this time.
What is something you wanted to do but say you never have time for? Maybe this period is your time.
Eating after work? This goes right along with eating in the evening. Are you eating because you are stressed? Do you eat when you get home even if you just ate? Is it just a habit that can be broken?
Eating to Wind Down? Many of us use food to wind down at night. What are some other options? Consider creating a meaningful wind down routine.
Snacking close to bedtime? I encourage you to get curious about what you are feeling. It might be more than one thing coming up, especially if the main one is being tired.
Eating with your friend, food? The solution might be to call a real friend. If you don’t feel you have that, perhaps consider being the real friend, first to yourself. You are the one person that is going to stick with you over the long hauls in life. This might be a new way of looking at it. Practicing self compassion is a helpful introduction into this idea. You can find free guided meditations on the subject on this website: https://self-compassion.org
Self compassion is a tool that can help in all of these scenarios to help learn the skill of checking in on yourself and taking a pause.
Here is a book by Kristen Neff on the subject of self compassion. (same author as website) Maybe you find it at a local bookstore ❤️ but If you choose to buy it from my link, I get a small percentage of the profit, as an amazon associate.