6 Warning Signals of Emotional Hunger
How can you reduce Emotional Hunger?
Here’s a simple tool for you:
→ The HALT Method
“What’s that?”
It’s a tool for when you’re tempted to eat something bad.
It’s really simple.
The only things you need are:
1. A journal or a specific area in your smartphone notes.
2. Answering 4 questions when you’re tempted to eat.
Let’s see how it works.
Imagine you’re tempted to eat pizza.
What do you do?
Well,
1. You take your journal — immediately!
2. You answer these 4 questions — by reflecting aloud if you can:
1. H – Am I Hungry?
By answering this question you can realize:
→ “Yes, I’m hungry”, maybe because you haven’t eaten for many hours.
→ “No, I’m not hungry”.
So,
→ If you’re hungry, you simply become aware of that, and after this small exercise you can eat a healthy snack (and next time you can anticipate hunger by eating earlier).
→ If you’re not hungry, you quickly move on to the second question.
2. A – Am I Angry?
By answering this question you can realize:
→ “Yes, I’m angry”, maybe because you’re frustrated with your partner.
→ “No, I’m not angry”.
So,
→ If you’re angry, instead of eating, you may want to talk with your partner.
→ If you’re not angry, you quickly move on to the third question.
3. L – Am I Lonely?
By answering this question you can realize:
→ “Yes, I’m lonely”, maybe because you’ve been working alone for a long time.
→ “No, I’m not lonely”.
So,
→ If you’re lonely, instead of eating, you may want to reach out to a friend for a quick chat.
→ If you’re not lonely, you quickly move on to the fourth question.
4. T – Am I Tired?
By answering this question you can realize:
→ “Yes, I’m tired”, maybe because you worked late the past few days.
→ “No, I’m not tired”.
So,
→ If you’re tired, instead of eating, you may want to take a nap or go to sleep to recharge your batteries.
→ If you’re not tired, the cause of your eating could be different, even if 99% of the time it’s one of these four.
→ “How can I use this tool when I get hungry?”
The answer is:
→ By now preparing your journal (or your smartphone notes) with these 4 questions:
1. H – Am I Hungry?
2. A – Am I Angry?
3. L – Am I Lonely?
4. T – Am I Tired?
This way you’ll be ready to answer them.
Stewart Life Coaching
www.edwastewart.com
504.578.0006