Hunger or craving?

Happy Tuesday!

I found this fun clip art to help us visualize the difference between the feeling of hunger and a craving.

One thing I’ve talked about is about knowing the “triggers” that set you off and result in a craving for unhealthy food. These triggers could be anything between stress, convenience, boredom, or even celebration. However, we want to identify these triggers and be able to learn how to stop before we go off the deep end and ruin our good nutrition.

If you know that something in particular will tempt you to have something unhealthy, stop it in its tracks and realize that it is just a craving rather than actual hunger. If it happens to be when you’re hungry, think about if eating that meal will make you feel any better in the long run.

For example, I know that after a long and stressful day, I would much rather stop on the way home to grab food instead of eat my already prepared healthy meal. However, I remind myself that I will not feel any better about my day if I have a cheeseburger instead of chicken and sweet potato, and honestly I’d feel a bit worse because on top of a crappy day, I also ruined my nutrition for the day as well.

Therefore, we have to realize that every action that we take has a reaction and having a cheeseburger will have a reaction to your weight and how you feel. Think about if this craving is worth it in the end and make a healthy decision for your body.

Thank you and have a wonderful day!