3 Reasons Why We Eat

I’ve been reading the book “Eating Behaviours and Obesity” by Dr. Shahram Heshmat over the past few weeks and I have to say, he has a great way of putting complex information into an easy to understand format.
One of the things that he writes about are the 2 reasons why we eat. While these weren’t a surprise to me in concept, the way that he titled and described them really made sense to me. I have added  third to the list that I personally experience.

The Reasons

1. physiological hunger (you physically feel hungry) – our body needs food to survive
2. hedonic hunger – we eat because it makes us feel good
3. boredom – this one is my addition.

How I Respond to those Reasons

Lately I have been playing around with these 3 reasons. Each time I want to eat something I ask myself which of the 3 reasons is the reason why I am reaching for food in that moment and I have a certain action I do for each one.

1. physiological hunger – great! Continue on!
2. hedonic hunger – hmmm….will those cookies really make you feel better? Wait at least 10 minutes before giving into this one (usually by the end of the 10 minutes I don’t want the cookies anymore)
3. boredom – get your ass of the couch and do something!