Written by
John Carter
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There are plenty of situations where eating a healthy snack is a great idea. There are other times where your urge to grab a snack may be driven by one of the five types of false hunger. This guide applies to these situations - when you've decided that you're not truly hungry and that you will wait to eat until meal time.
Hunger and thirst are deeply linked feelings and it's extremely common that a hunger pang is actually caused by thirst. We consider thirst one of the five causes of false hunger. If you don't have one next to you, grab a glass of water and drink at least a few sips. You'll be surprised how often the hunger pang is completely diminished 15 minutes later.
Get up, go outside, and walk for ten minutes in any direction. Most people underestimate how powerful walking can be for your health. By the time you've sat back down, the hunger pang has likely passed.
If you owe someone a call, then kill two birds with one stone! As soon as you start a conversation, it's extremely likely that you will forget about the snack you were planning to grab. Indeed, even a short call can be enough of a distraction to shift your focus!
Take a short break from whatever you're doing and listen to something interesting! You'll be distracting yourself and hopefully learning something at the same time.
As mentioned above, hunger and thirst are deeply connected. If water sounds boring, grab a black coffee, a seltzer water, a no-calorie tea, or something similar. Even if the hunger pang wasn't caused directly by thirst, sipping slowly on your beverage can be a very effective distraction.
Simply tell yourself that you can have the snack, but only after you do ten push-ups! You might find that your desire to grab that unhealthy snack has significantly lowered.
It's extremely common for a hunger pang to be caused by simple boredom. Eating gives us something fun and interesting to do. Unhealthy foods, especially, stimulant our dopamine levels. Instead of sitting idly, go fold laundry, clean a room, or do something else you've been putting off!
Perhaps your hunger pang is driven by real hunger and not false hunger. When this is the case, it might make sense to simply have your next meal! Make the proactive choice to eat something healthy, nutritious, and filling. Often, snacking before meal time will actually make you more likely to choose an unhealthy option for that meal.
