The trap of 'false appetite' born from an empty heart
"When you find yourself about to eat something while you're not even hungry, try asking yourself what you actually want. If the answer that comes back is 'food,' ask again. 'Is food really what you want?' If, after asking a few times, the answer keeps coming back as 'Yes, I want food. Right now. Give me food!' — then go ahead and eat a little. But shake off the guilt of thinking you're doing something wrong and eat with a joyful mind. The moment you register the thought 'I'm not allowed this,' you end up wanting it even more. And then you lose the ability to grasp what you were actually trying to satisfy... All people are led by emotion when they eat. People eat because food is nearby, because it tastes good, because they can't think of anything else to do, or because they don't know what to do with their own emotions — and many other reasons."
(96–97p) From Geneen Roth, translated by Jo Ja-hyun, False Appetite Ruins Your Diet — The Psychology of Appetite That Will Free You From the Slavery of Dieting (Yein / Plutobook)
We eat because we're hungry, but we also eat because we're sad, lonely, scared, happy, excited, and glad to see someone. We eat for survival and health, but often we eat led by emotion. That may not be a problem most of the time. But when it leads to obesity or lifestyle diseases that hurt our health, we need to take some self-management action. The author emphasizes that this 'false appetite' is an obstacle to healthy weight management. She says that for a healthy and happy life, we need to get out of the habit of using food to soothe the 'hunger of the heart' — the false appetite. Once you start eating because of an empty heart, it's hard to know when to stop, and it easily leads to overeating or binge eating. If you're worried about weight gain right now, take the author's advice and check 'whether I'm actually hungry' before eating — it might help. If I was about to eat something even though I'm not hungry, I need to ask myself what I really want, other than food. 'False appetite,' born from the emptiness of the heart. It's a trap we have to avoid for our health management.
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