Am I Hungry? No. What Can I do? Swap It!

Am I hungry? No. But this food or the idea of eating is tempting. What can I do? Swap it!

I was recently reading Kendra Adachi's (the Lazy Genius) writing called The Swap. This writing was about a set of scales. Her writing was about purging your home. Her idea is that the value gained from each item in your home should match what you want to feel and be able to do in your home.

This inspired me about what I think about when I am tempted to eat when I am not hungry. I want to make sure that the value I put on eating in this moment matches what I want for my body and the value that I have for my body. The side effects of eating when I am not hungry need to be worth it.

There is value in eating now. There is also value in making ourselves wait until we are hungry or mealtime. We can ask ourselves in these moments why we are wanting to eat. Ask yourself why you want to eat right now, and then what would be the benefit of waiting. Imagine a scale with the reasons to eat and not to eat on each side. Now think of your body and what you really want in terms of what you want your body to be able to do, your appearance, your health or longevity of life, etc. Think of today and the activities your body will be needed for and what you want to be able to do.

Based on what you really want, decide whether it matches the reasons for eating or waiting to eat. You only get the benefits from one side. You are swapping the benefits of one side for the other based on your perceived value of what matters most for your body. Which one would you rather have based on what you want for your body today and for the rest of your life? Then take action.

Here is a list of my common reasons I give myself to eat

Feelings

Feeling of the food in my hands, on my lips, in my mouth while eating it

The moment

The taste

The benefits of fat, sugar, sour, salt, savory, caffeine or relaxing qualities

Thoughts

The food is here, someone should eat it

It will be less crispy or delicious later

Fear that it will be gone and this may be my only chance to eat it (typically not true)

Fear that I will be hungry later and this may be my only chance to refuel (typically not true)

Fear that the food being offered later will not be as good as this food. This is what I really want.

I deserve a treat

This food is the motivation that I need to...

This food reminds me of...

This is a moment

My list of reasons I give myself to wait to eat

If overeating,

I will feel tired, even might need a nap

I will feel sluggish

I will feel less able to actively participate

I will get an upset stomach

If a snack between mealtimes,

I will not be hungry at mealtime, and I love how delicious food is when I am really hungry

If I am eating my future meal as a snack,

I may not have enough food at meal time to fill full until the next opportunity to eat. If I wait, I will have enough for my meal.

If eating will cause an extra calorie intake today

I will have the burden to burn off extra calories to not gain weight.

If the extra calories turn into weight gain, my future self has to deal with either the extra weight or the extra work to lose the weight by eating less and burning more calories.

Usually when I think of the side effects or the swap of eating, I see the consequences of eating are usually not worth the motivating feeling or thought that is tempting me to eat. This helps me wait. Try the swap next time you are tempted to eat, but not hungry. Enjoy your food based on what you really want for your body. Empower yourself to do and be what you really want.