Are you like me and get the get the munchies every afternoon? It's usually about 2 hours before dinner when the desire to eat hits! It is true that healthy, planned snacks can keep your metabolism up and prevent overeating at meal-time, snacking when you are not really hungry can set up bad habits that contribute to weight gain.
How then can we distinguish between the physical hunger in our stomachs and emotional hunger? There is a good test to determine if we actually physically hungry.
The next time you are longing for a sweet, salty or both snack, try this test to see if you are really hungry. Ask yourself "do i want an apple or carrot"?. If the answer is yes, why not go for that instead? If the answer is no, then the hunger/craving you are experiencing is probably not actual hunger, but instead an emotional hunger or boredom.
Instead of reaching for food, it might be a good idea take a walk, go outside into the garden or pick up something interesting to read. Better still start a hobby like guitar playing, painting, knitting, tennis or indeed anything that you can do in the two hours before the evening meal.
Identifying real hunger as apposed to boredom can be tough, but with practice, I think you will find it will become easier.
remember...have a fabulous retirementLIFE!
