3 Ways To Defeat Mindless Munching
Yahoo Health editor-in-chief Michele Promaulayko’s new book 20 Pounds Younger endorses “mindful” eating, a.k.a. “bringing awareness and attention to any experience without getting tangled up in judgment.” On Tuesday we sat down to chat with Promaulayko about her food philosophy. Today she shares three tips to avoid mindless eating.
Stop skipping meals.
Photo: Liz Weiss
“Skipping meals sets you up for intense cravings,” says Susan Kraus, RD, a nutritionist at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. Unless you’re the rare [person] who is completely in tune with [your] hunger, you need to establish an eating schedule. “This is where preplanning comes in,” says Katie Rickel, PhD, a clinical psychologist and weight-loss expert who works at a weight-management facility in Durham, North Carolina. “You’re not left in the moment to judge how much to eat.” Plus, skipping meals can lead to dangerous thoughts like, “I didn’t have breakfast, so I can have this giant piece of cake.” It’s better to eat a consistent number of calories by the clock than to eat with abandon whenever the mood strikes.
Identify triggers.
Photo: Amazon
Keep a detailed food log, recording your moods, what stresses you out, and how hungry you feel before eating. Once you’ve identified the things that drive you to raid your candy stash, you can react productively instead of eating sweets.
Drink something.
Photo: Kate Reiser
The hypothalamus, your brain’s control center for mood- and food-related signals, detects thirst as well as hunger. So gulp a glass of water or hot tea (make it decaf—caffeine can trigger the release of stress hormones) and see if the craving passes.
For more tips on how to be a mindful eater check out Promaulayko’s new book,, 20 Pounds Younger.
More healthy tips and recipes for mindful eating:
Superfood-packed smoothie recipe
8 tips for a tasty, healthy January
How to boil an egg for the perfect yolk
How do you keep from mindlessly eating that whole bag of chips or peanuts? Tell us!
