The Hunger Habit
Why We Eat When We're Not Hungry and How to Stop
-
-
4.7 • 10 Ratings
-
-
- $14.99
Publisher Description
A program proven to heal our relationship with food and our bodies from New York Times bestselling author of Unwinding Anxiety.
Sometimes it feels as if there are as many ways to struggle with food as there are foods to eat. Craving, habit, emotions, boredom, stress, anxiety, or just the simple fact that a box of donuts seems to be omnipresent in the break room (free food!) can lead to feeling out of control around food. While anxiety feels like something that happens to us, the pull of food seems like something we should be able to handle. After all, we have to eat! But it’s not that simple. The result of this constant struggle—and then giving in or giving up—is a toxic cocktail of shame and self-judgment that makes it feel like it is impossible to change our behavior.
The Hunger Habit is based on Judson Brewer’s deeply researched plan proven to help us understand what is going on in our brains so that we can heal the guilt and frustration we experience around eating. This is not a diet book pretending not to be a diet book. The step-by-step program focuses on training our brains to tap into awareness to change our relationship with food and eating—shifting it from fighting with ourselves to befriending our minds and bodies. There is no willpower, calorie-counting, or restricted eating. Setbacks are a good thing! The key is to learn how to work with our brains rather than resisting our impulses, and to adopt an attitude of self-kindness rather than self-judgment.
Grounded in cutting-edge neuroscience and Brewer’s several decades of clinical practice as a psychiatrist, The Hunger Habit is both accessible and compassionate. It will finally help you break out of food jail and reclaim your life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Brown University neuroscientist Brewer (Unwinding Anxiety) presents a sensible guide on how readers can feel more in control of their eating. Brewer explains that strong negative emotions can cause the rational prefrontal cortex to go "offline," leaving evolutionarily older brain networks in charge of improving one's mood, which they usually do by prompting the person to seek out food they have fond memories of eating. The brain then comes to associate food with comfort, turning "emotional eating" into a habitual way of dealing with negative feelings. To break this connection, Brewer recommends practicing "mindful eating," which involves savoring each bite and focusing on "being present" during mealtime. He suggests that doing so forces people to pay attention to their bodily signals, which will let them know when they've had enough to eat or when they're eating too much of an unhealthy food. Lay readers will appreciate the accessible science ("When you get stressed, your survival brain grabs the steering wheel from the , which has only recently gotten its learner's permit, aiming to steer you to safety until the danger has passed"), and the practical guidance is easy to implement. The result is a competent manual for cultivating a healthier relationship with food.
