Are you Hungry? Try the Carrot Test

Have you ever found yourself with a strong desire to eat almost anything and thought to yourself, “why do I want eat?”, “Am I really hungry?”? Often the drivers for eating are emotions; we could be bored, stressed or feeling low. We could be looking for that quick comfort and unfortunately a lot of what we eat is unconscious; we do it without even thinking. It’s habit that feeds our desire to eat, here is an article on 5 reasons why you can’t stop eating.

Afternoon Boredom

I get this desire nearly every afternoon around 3PM when I’m at work, I just want to stuff my face. Sometimes anything will do. There’s been the occasion where I’ve pigged out on plain salada biscuits before. I’ve now started bringing baby carrots and baby cucumbers to work and sitting them on my desk for when that desire hits. I call it the carrot test. If I’m not hungry enough to eat something bland like a carrot/cucumber then I’m not really hungry. Sometimes I’m just bored/tired and looking to take my mind off work. I might be thirsty and confusing it for hunger. So after eating a carrot and having a glass of water I recheck with that desire. If it still exists, I’ll reach for some fruit. Carrots are my choice because they are a low energy density food. If I binge on carrots, how much damage can I really do?

Carrot from a farm
Mmm, carrots.

The Carrot Test fails when there’s chocolate

Carrots can’t help me in the face of chocolate. I will stuff my face when there are these tasty morsels floating around. Sometimes I can’t help myself. I’ve always struggled when I’ve been in situations where there was ample food around. At a social gathering I’d be tempted to try everything and go back for seconds or thirds. Having most of my stomach removed has helped quell this desire some. My stomach physically doesn’t have the space to try everything, it has helped me curb my behaviour a little. There’s still situations where I find myself loosing control of what I eat but now the damage I can do to myself is reduced. I no longer feel guilty when this occurs, I’m trying to practice self compassion with my thinking but it’s a slow journey.

How do you control those desires? What habits do you try to form around food?

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