Identify your type of hunger to avoid stress eating

A dietitian-nutritionist’s advice on eating healthy during these times

- CHESHIRE QUE

Stress eating during these stressful times is real. Made even worse as we Filipinos generally love to eat, don’t we? We can easily whip up decadent comfort food in our kitchens.

When the economy slowed down, we saw the online food business thriving. Basque burnt cheesecake, ube cheese pandesal, sushi bake, ginataang bilo bilo, leche flan, and many more yummy but calorie-laden treats were all over social media. They will surely satisfy your cravings and soothe your nerves during this pandemic.

Stress eating or emotional eating is the act of consuming food in response to one’s feelings even in the absence of hunger. If we do not get hold of our emotion and control our response to it, we will be rendered defenseless against the temptation of mindlessly grabbing on to food in an attempt to fill that emotional void. Food is not the enemy — it is our behavior that makes us unhealthy.

The key to overcoming stress eating during stressful times is to identify the type of hunger you are feeling. Are you really hungry? Is it really time to eat? Are you munching out of habit?