Are You Physically or Emotionally Hungry?


You’re going about your day when the urge to eat sets in. Sure, you might be physically hungry…but it’s possible you’re seeking a security blanket to alleviate stress. Or perhaps you’re just bored. Use “The Broccoli Test” to identify emotional hunger and stop it from ruining your diet.

There’s a reason that “comfort food” exists. When you’re stressed, your brain seeks ways to alleviate these stressors by eating certain foods, resulting in unwanted calories. If this weren’t bad enough, the act of self-medicating with comfort food also increases your body’s propensity to store abdominal fat, leading to greater risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

By giving into emotional cravings, we just prolong the problem. According to fitness coach and founder of My Body Tutor Adam Gilbert:

Emotionally eating only suppresses feelings. It doesn’t change them. It’s like an annoying door to door salesmen…if we don’t answer the door, they’ll keep knocking. We might as well answer it sooner rather than later. Until we answer the door we’ll just keep suppressing emotions.

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