Mindful eating, day 6: Notice your emotions

Today's challenge: Notice emotions you experience while eating.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE Notice emotions you experience while eating. Many of us deal with emotional eating — basically, eating in response to stress, sadness, or other negative feelings. Mindful eating can not only help you understand the types of emotions that surround your relationship with food, but also how you may be using food to cope with certain feelings.  This exercise can bring you more in tune with your emotions around the food you eat. You'll need a notebook, a journal, or a smartphone or other device to take notes, because you'll want to refer to them later in this challenge.  Ask yourself these questions before you start eating: Does this meal surface any emotions? If yes, which ones? Why do you think these emotions are coming up? (It's OK if you don't have a definitive answer, but try to come up with a few reasons why you might be feeling this way.) Are you eating this food because you're feeling sad, stressed, or overwhelmed? There are no hard rules for this exercise. Simply experience and honor your emotions around food. Then, write them down. No matter what you're feeling, try not to judge yourself. The goal of this activity is to become more aware of your emotional responses to food and develop a better understanding of how feelings can make you feel like eating. Until tomorrow, The Healthline Team Top Nutrition Stories The Top 20 Biggest Nutrition Myths READ ON › Can Biotin Help Men Grow Hair? READ ON › Is Maltitol Keto-Friendly? READ ON › What Is Muscovado Sugar? Uses and Substitutes READ ON › ADVERTISEMENT Vitamins for health and wellness Take a short quiz and get personalized vitamin packs from Care/of. GET STARTED › Follow us View in browser   To see all newsletters, click here.   Our services, content, and products are for informational purposes only. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. See additional disclaimer information.   Privacy Policy  |  Unsubscribe    © 2020 Healthline Media 660 Third Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94107

Mindful eating, day 5: Solve the hunger riddle

Today's challenge: Ask yourself, "Am I hungry?"

TODAY'S CHALLENGE Ask yourself, "Am I hungry?" Pause for a moment and consider the answer to this question. If you're truly hungry, eat! Your goal isn't to eat less, but rather to stop eating when you aren't hungry. Focus on using food for its intended purpose: nourishment. We'll deal more with how eating is connected with emotions in tomorrow's challenge, but for now, just focus on whether or not you're hungry. If you find that you're not actually hungry, consider getting a glass of water or a cup of tea and putting off your meal for a bit — you might just be thirsty. Or, it may help to do something to distract yourself for a few minutes, like taking a short walk or doing a brain teaser. I frequently mistake hunger for thirst. To avoid this, I keep a large glass of water nearby and drink throughout the day. - Alex Ashback CHECK OUT HER INSTA ›   Until tomorrow, The Healthline Team Top Nutrition Stories The Top 20 Biggest Nutrition Myths READ ON › Can Biotin Help Men Grow Hair? READ ON › Is Maltitol Keto-Friendly? READ ON › What Is Muscovado Sugar? Uses and Substitutes READ ON › ADVERTISEMENT Check your vitamin levels at home Test your vitamin B-12, D, and folate levels from home with LetsGetChecked. Get free shipping and 20% off today. SHOP NOW  › Follow us View in browser   To see all newsletters, click here.   Our services, content, and products are for informational purposes only. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. See additional disclaimer information.   Privacy Policy  |  Unsubscribe    © 2020 Healthline Media 660 Third Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94107