Anxiety to eat: 9 tricks to control your appetite

Sometimes emotional changes or going through a stressful situation can make us anxious to eat compulsively. Some people feel the need to keep snacking despite being full and others need to satisfy themselves through food to feel better.

In any case, you can get to control urges to peck and avoid anxious eating with some tricks that we tell you in this article.

• Related article: "Diet to lose weight quickly and in a healthy way"

Why do I feel the need to eat?

The anxiety to eat occurs when we need fill the stomach to satisfy emotional needs, rather than being really hungry. Food becomes a relief for situations in which we feel sad, angry, stressed, or even bored. Food then becomes a kind of escape route from our worries and a quick relief that temporarily calms us in stressful situations.

But when this appetite becomes a necessity and opening the fridge becomes our first impulse In these types of situations, we enter an unhealthy vicious cycle in which the real problem remains. And not only that, the lack of control by eating more ends up making us feel more guilty and ends up generating discomfort.

To avoid this anxiety to eat, we must first ask ourselves what leads us to that impulse, in order to find ways to control it without having to resort to food. Here are some tricks you can follow to control your appetite in these cases and put an end to this vicious cycle.

Tricks to calm the anxiety to eat

Although getting out of this loop may seem like an impossible task, there are ways to calm this urge to eat and take control of your appetite.

1. Be aware of the problem

The first thing you should try is to find out what is the origin of this anxiety to eat. You may not even be aware of what is causing you to eat with compulsion, so you must do some introspection to find what is really worrying you.

Reflect on the problem that is causing you to eat with anxiety and think if you can do something to solve it. It can be a specific problem of stress or it can have to do with a lack of self-esteem. In any case, your brain tries to fill those gaps with food to make you feel better and you must find other ways to deal with the problem.

2. Stop eating for a few minutes

If something worries you and you feel the urge to eat to satisfy yourself, do this simple exercise. Stop that urge for a few minutes and avoid eating for half an hour. Dedicate yourself while doing other activities, be it work, reading a book or watching an episode of your favorite series.

It is likely that after that half an hour you will no longer feel the anxiety about eating that you had a while ago. And it is that these feeling of hunger or the need to satisfy the appetite is purely mental and has nothing to do with our stomach. If after that time you are really still hungry, then try to fill yourself with a delicious fruit.

3. just relax

Since the problem is purely emotional or stressful, the best thing you can do is take a moment to rest and focus on yourself and your body.

So a good exercise that you can do to calm the anxiety to eat is to relax through the control of your breathing. If you feel the urge to eat when you're not playing, stop for a second and focus on breathing slowly for a few minutes. You will see how at the end you feel better and you no longer need to resort to pecking.

• Related article: "8 infallible techniques to avoid stress"

4. Cut down on sweet and exciting

Although the body is asking us for something sweet At these times, eating foods with a lot of sugar is counterproductive. All they will do is generate a punctual rise in blood sugar, which your body will then want to maintain when the drop occurs, increasing the anxiety to eat even more.

The same goes for exciting drinks like coffee or drinks with theine. Replace them better for juices or infusions, especially if they are relaxing.

5. Drink lots of liquids

We already know that drinking water and staying hydrated is as basic as it is beneficial, but in this case it will become your great ally. Both water and other liquids have a satiating effecte and help you feel fuller.

Sometimes it may even be that this urge to eat is caused by dehydration, and that your body is really asking for fluids.

That is why if you feel anxious about eating and you have the need to gorge yourself, drink a glass or two of water first. It is advisable to do it too before each meal to avoid compulsive eating and more than due.

• Related article: "Detox juices: 5 green and rich recipes to prepare at home"

6. Natural and nutrient-rich diet

Another way to control this anxiety to eat is precisely by taking care of what you eat. It is not enough to try to avoid that compulsive need, but what you eat when you play will affect how hungry you may have throughout the day.

Your body will need a very varied and nutrient-rich diet, so it is important to eat everything to keep it well nourished for longer. It will be important to eat both fruits and vegetables and meats rich in protein. They will also be of great help foods with fiber, which are very satiating and help control appetite.

Avoid eating only processed foods, as they will lack nutrients and your body will continue to need food. The same goes for raw foods, like salads. These are not satiating and at the moment you will be hungry again if you do not accompany them with more food.

7. Increase the frequency of meals

Another trick to avoid this insatiable appetite is keep hunger at bay by eating more oftenor. It is important to eat five full and filling meals a day.

It will be important to have a good breakfast, eat something in the middle of the morning, have lunch, have a snack and have a good dinner. In this way you will better control your appetite and your diet, and you will avoid the need to eat between meals.

8. Savor every bite

Anxiety about eating can be combated with more relaxation, but this can also be applied while eating. It will be very important to eat calmly, slowly and without haste. Savor every bite and chew your food well. This way you will be satisfied more easily than eating fast, badly and compulsively, and your digestion will thank you.

9. Get active!

You may be scared to do some kind of sport or moderate physical activity, in case it makes you hungrier. Nothing could be further from the truth. Performing physical exercise will help you reduce the stress and anxiety that are leading you to binge eat.

You can move more, start exercising or even practice yoga, which will allow you to stay relaxed and reduce tension. If you are not into exercising or your body does not allow it, you can stay just as active with an activity that relaxes you and keeps you away from the boredom that can lead you to eat more.

• Related article: "5 ways to motivate yourself to exercise"