WellBeing

Food for feelings

You have a brand-new mortgage and your work hours are cut, your partner has cancelled a weekend away and the dishwasher has just flooded the kitchen. Before you reach for a handful of cookies or that brie calling you from the fridge, get curious about the motivation behind it.

Are you really hungry?

Why do we eat if it’s not for sustenance to fuel our bodies? To fill a need? For something to do? Because we’re happy, sad, tired or afraid? Turns out it can be all of the above.

Dr Michelle May, author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat, says that by asking the simple question “Am I hungry?” you open the door to a deeper awareness and understanding of yourself. “Once inside, there’s much to explore. You see it’s not just about what you eat; it’s also about why and how you eat. In fact, for many, it’s not about food at all,” she writes.

People eat when they aren’t hungry for myriad reasons. At a friend’s party, canapés are handed around and it seems rude not to try

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