by Christine Okezie
Read Christine’s healthy snacking for weight loss article here!
Below are the questions to ask yourself when you get hungry between meals:
Are you skipping meals? Commit to set meals throughout the day. Eating at regularly scheduled times helps naturally regulate your appetite.
Did you eat a big enough breakfast or lunch? Maybe going forward you need to fill up with more protein and healthy fats at your main meals.
Are you skimping on sleep? Being tired all the time wreaks havoc on key hormones that regulate your appetite and fullness signals, setting you up for excess and/or poor-quality snacking.
Are you thirsty? When you do not drink enough water, your body receives mixed signals on hunger. Dehydration causes you to believe you need to eat when you really need liquid intake.
Are you really hungry for food? Maybe you are bored, stressed and looking for distraction? Check in with yourself. Maybe all you need is a stretch break or a breath of fresh air to recharge. My No. 1 recommendation: Go Zen and take a deep breath in and then a deep breath out. Repeat for just two minutes. I promise you’ll be so much more relaxed and clear-headed to decide.
Are You Focused on Your Food? Are you watching television or checking e-mail while you’re eating? Distracted eating blocks the feeling of satisfaction in your brain, setting the stage to make poor food choices and overeating. In contrast, studies show that mindful eating is a powerful tool for improving behaviors around food and promoting weight loss.
Christine M. Okezie is a graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in New York, and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She founded her company, Your Delicious Balance, where she counsels individuals to heal themselves through real food and positive lifestyle choices. Her healing strategies are based on whole foods nutrition, and she guides her clients to adopt a plant-centered way of eating that offers anti-inflammatory and detoxifying benefits to the body. For more information, visit her Web site at www.yourdeliciousbalance.com or call (201) 889-5001.