What is the main message of The Hunger Habit?

The main message of The Hunger Habit is understanding and addressing our relationship with food.

How long does it take to read The Hunger Habit?

Reading The Hunger Habit takes a few hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in 15 minutes.

Who is the author of The Hunger Habit?

The author of The Hunger Habit is Judson Brewer.

Personal Development

The Hunger Habit Book Summary - The Hunger Habit Book explained in key points

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The Hunger Habit summary

Name: The Hunger Habit
Rating: 4.4 (148 reviews)
Author: Judson Brewer

Judson Brewer

Why We Eat When We're Not Hungry and How to Stop

4.4 (148 ratings)

17 mins

Topics

Healthy Living Weight Loss Mental Health Self-Help The Psychology of Money Routines & Habits

Table of Contents

The Hunger Habit
Summary of 5 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 5

What’s in it for me? Gain a fresh perspective on healthy eating.

Have you ever felt utterly defeated by a box of donuts in the break room? You’re not alone. Many of us wrestle with food on a daily basis, grappling with cravings, emotional eating, and the seductive pull of snacks that seem to appear when our willpower is at its lowest. This ongoing battle often leaves us cycling through feelings of shame and frustration, convinced that changing our eating habits is a herculean task we’re doomed to fail.

But if we shift the focus from battling temptations to understanding and healing the brain’s relationship with food, we can let go of the typical diet rhetoric that relies on willpower and calorie counting. And by combining this approach with mindfulness, rather than focusing on restrictions, we can cultivate a healthier relationship with food.

Once we’ve switched our mindset in this way, we can start recognizing and accepting our food triggers without judgment, and gently changing our habits through awareness and kindness towards ourselves. Setbacks don’t become failures, but are opportunities to understand our behaviors better.

Does this sound like a better alternative to the diet merry-go-round? This Blink will provide you with some healthy eating strategies based in mindfulness so you can heal your relationship with food in a sustainable way.

Healthful eating begins with understanding why you eat

Let’s dive into why we eat, because it’s not just about being hungry. There are two different types of hunger: physiological and hedonic. Physiological hunger is your body’s way of signaling that it needs fuel. It’s like when your car’s gas gauge starts blinking; it means you need to fill up. You know the feeling: your stomach growls, you get light-headed, irritable, and it’s hard to focus. That’s your body saying, “I need food to keep going.”

Then there’s hedonic hunger. The name goes back to the ancient Greek word hedone, meaning “pleasure.” This is all about eating for enjoyment, not because you need to. It often starts in childhood. Think about it: birthday parties with cake and ice cream, and other fun times. Those happy memories teach your brain that sweet treats are rewarding. So, later on, when you’re feeling down, stressed, or just plain tired, your brain suggests a little pick-me-up. “How about some chocolate?” it says, even if you’re not hungry. This is what leads to comfort eating, where food becomes more about feeling good than fueling up.

These moments can turn into habit loops, where certain situations automatically make you reach for a snack. It might happen when you’re bored, upset, or zoning out in front of the TV. Over time, these habits get so ingrained that you might not even realize you’re choosing to eat.

This is why so many diets fail. They focus on the math – calories in versus calories out – but they overlook the emotional side of eating. Knowing you should eat fresh, whole foods and get plenty of exercise is one thing. But actually changing your behavior is another, and it doesn’t happen just because you know what’s right. Change happens in the feelings, not the facts.

So, if you want to eat healthier, it’s not enough to just follow a diet. You must understand both why your body needs food and why your mind wants it. This means looking deeper into those moments when you reach for a snack. Are you really hungry, or is there something else going on? Breaking the cycle of emotional eating involves noticing these patterns and consciously making different choices. That’s how you connect your mind and body to create a healthier lifestyle that goes beyond just counting calories.

Mindfulness can help you break unhealthy eating habits

In our quest to eat more healthily, it’s crucial to shift from the outdated “calories in, calories out” model to a deeper understanding of why we eat what we eat. Central to this approach is mindfulness, which involves focusing on the present moment and acknowledging our feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations without judgment.

Why are you reaching for that snack? Are you genuinely hungry, or is there an emotional void you’re trying to fill? This kind of introspection can help us understand and modify our eating behaviors. Mindfulness directly engages the brain’s reward system, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex – our decision-maker. It’s easy for our brains to convince us that eating something like cake will soothe our negative emotions, at least temporarily. However, by being mindful, we can shift these habitual responses and alter what our brain views as rewarding.

Awareness exercises help you reconnect with genuine hunger

To adopt a more mindful approach to eating, it’s a good idea to enhance your awareness rather than focus on diet restrictions or categorize foods as “good” or “bad.” The primary goal is to appreciate the sensory aspects of food and to tune into how you feel before, during, and after eating. This method doesn’t immediately alter eating habits; it’s a gradual process that deepens your connection with your food choices and their impacts on your body. This process will ultimately lead to a better relationship with what you eat.

A practical first step is to engage in a pre-meal warm-up. Before each meal this week, conduct a simple awareness exercise. There’s no need to log your meals or restrict your diet. Just take a moment to assess your hunger on a scale from zero to ten, with zero being not hungry at all and ten being uncomfortably full. Observe the food’s texture and color, smell it, then slowly take your first bite. Chew mindfully, setting your fork down between bites, and savor the flavors and textures. After a few bites, reassess your hunger to gauge if you should continue eating.

The best way to start managing cravings is to accept them

Cravings are a near-universal human occurrence, with studies revealing that over 90 percent of us regularly experience them. Whether it’s the irresistible scent of freshly baked bread or the memory of popcorn at a movie, cravings are deeply rooted in our brains’ reward centers, influenced by a mix of neurons, hormones, and our environments.

Cravings often get a bad reputation, seen as a sign of poor self-control. However, they’re not just impulses to be battled – they’re complex responses to emotional states, environments, and physiological needs. Super-palatable foods, rich in fats, sugars, salts, and carbohydrates, are particularly effective at hijacking our brain chemistry. These foods can disrupt our natural hunger signals, making us crave them even when we’re not hungry.

Cravings can be satisfied without overindulging

Let’s wrap up our exploration of healthier eating strategies by looking at some practical exercises you can use to manage cravings.

One potent method is known as urge surfing. Cravings, much like ocean waves, have a natural rise and fall. Research suggests that they typically peak around five minutes. Urge surfing involves riding this wave of craving without giving in. It’s a technique often used in treating substance abuse, and it’s just as effective for food cravings.

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What is The Hunger Habit about?

The Hunger Habit (2024) explores the psychological aspects of why we eat beyond our basic energy needs. Delving into how emotional hunger leads to unhealthy eating habits, it offers mindfulness strategies to manage cravings and develop a healthier relationship with food.

The Hunger Habit Review

The Hunger Habit (2021) explores how our minds control our food cravings and offers insights on breaking free from unhealthy eating patterns. Here's why this book is a captivating read:

Delving into the roots of cravings and bad eating habits, it sheds light on our brain's mechanisms and how to rewire them effectively.
By providing evidence-based strategies and practical tools, it empowers readers to regain control over their relationship with food.
The book's real-life examples and relatable stories make the content relatable and applicable, ensuring that it's never a dull moment.

Who should read The Hunger Habit?

Individuals struggling with emotional and habitual eating
Mindfulness practitioners seeking dietary behavior change
Health enthusiasts skeptical of fad diets

About the Author

Judson Brewer is an addiction psychiatrist and neuroscientist specializing in habit change. He serves as a professor at Brown University’s School of Public Health and Medical School. Brewer’s first book, The Craving Mind, has been translated into more than sixteen languages, and his follow-up, Unwinding Anxiety, quickly became a New York Times best seller. His insights have also reached a wide audience through his popular TED Talk, “A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit,” which has garnered over 19 million views.

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Personal Development Psychology Health & Nutrition

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