News You Can Use
Taking notes can help put an end to the munchies
University Relations
News Bureau (662) 325-3442
Contact: Pam McTeer
Feb. 24, 2005
STARKVILLE, Miss.—The secret to losing weight may be as simple as turning off the TV and picking up a note pad.
Awareness of personal eating habits often can be the first step to successful weight control, says Jennifer Fuller, a health educator at Mississippi State University. Munching snacks while watching television and other forms of “mindless eating” build patterns of consumption that have nothing to do with hunger.
“If you’re not physically hungry, you’re probably feeding something else,” the licensed registered dietitian adds. She also observes that many individuals often eat when they are under stress, need to stay awake or are bored.
Identifying when and why you eat can help minimize needless munching, and even small changes can help control weight gain, Fuller says. To do so, she recommends:
—Writing down what and when food and drinks are consumed during a week to help determine which take place at unneeded times.
—With information from the self-study, make a conscious effort to avoid future mindless eating periods.
—Begin each day with an adequate breakfast to give your metabolism the boost it needs for the day.
—Avoid skipping meals, which can lead to extreme hunger and result in overeating at the next meal.
—Eat slowly because it usually takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain it’s full.