Combat Food Cravings With These Mental Strategies
The mind is a powerful thing. Even if you’re not hungry — in need of nutrients to fuel your body — your brain can generate a craving, a desire to eat something to bring you satisfaction and soothe a spiraling mind.
“We’ve got two systems running at once,” Joy Bauer, registered dietitian and TODAY Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyle Expert, tells TODAY.com. One signals our biological need for food, and the other is fueled by our “hedonic system, which is all about pleasure, reward and food cues. In a world where tempting food is everywhere (ahem!) on every corner, in every feed — that reward system can get loud. Loud enough to drown out the signals telling you you’ve already had enough.”
While food can be an appropriate way to satisfy a craving, the brain’s insistent demands for food can sometimes drown out the real cause — and the more effective solutions for stress, fatigue or anxiety. To quiet your mind long enough to find out what your body really needs, Bauer offers a solution.
Excerpted from Today
