Comfort eating due to stress , anger, or sadness is different from physical hunger. Research has linked stress with an increased desire to eat, binge eating, and eating non-nutritious food.

Mindfulness practices and mindful eating may reduce stress-related binge eating and comfort eating, according to one review. Regular sleep, social contact, and time spent relaxing can also help tackle stress. The brain is a major player in deciding what and when a person eats.

If a person pays attention to the food they are eating instead of watching TV during a meal, they may consume less. Research published in the journal Appetite found that eating a huge meal in the dark led people to consume 36 percent more.

Paying attention to food during meals can help a person reduce overeating. Another article showed that mindfulness might reduce binge eating and comfort eating, which are two significant factors that influence obesity. The National Institute of Health recommend using mind and body-based techniques, such as meditation and yoga , to curb appetite.

If a person wants to suppress their appetite, they can try drinking water, tea, or coffee. Chewing gum may also help. A key aspect of feeling full is eating balanced meals high in fiber, protein, and healthy fats. This will prevent someone from getting hungry again quickly.

If a person is fasting, they can try drinking water, going for a walk, or doing a meditation. Keeping oneself busy and distracted can also help. Restricting food consumption too much can lead to a relapse of overeating. Instead, eating a good amount of the right foods can reduce hunger and food cravings throughout the day.

A person can suppress their appetite by including more protein, fat, and fiber in their meals. Stocking up on vegetables and pulses can make a person feel fuller for longer.

It might also help to try different spices, such as ginger and cayenne pepper, and drink tea to beat unwanted food cravings. Many people wish to lose weight but find that trying one diet after another does not seem to work. Should they eat less food?

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You may have good intentions to limit your portions, but what happens when your appetite or cravings kick in? Your appetite is influenced by more than hunger. It's also influenced by the sight of food, the ambience of the room, and what the people around you are eating. That's why it's important to pay attention to external cues that tend to trigger overeating—for example, the size of your dinner plates.

It's also helpful to pay attention to your body's internal cues. Do you eat when you're actually hungry, or when you're bored? Do you tend to stop as soon as you're satiated, or keep eating until your plate is clean?

Your own body and emotional state will serve as a better guide than a calorie count. Notice whether you tend to eat more in response to stress, anxiety, or nervousness, and think about strategies to avoid overeating when those moods strike. Hide snack foods—or better yet, don't buy them. People joke about the "see food" diet—you see it, you eat it.

But it's not really a joke. You do tend to eat more snack foods if you see them lying around. If you have snack foods, put them in the back of a drawer, where you won't be tempted by the sight of them.

Serve in the kitchen. To discourage second helpings, pre-serve your portions onto each plate in the kitchen rather than bringing serving bowls to the dining table. Keeping the remaining food off the table makes it less likely you'll reach for more. Don't multitask. Keep meals free of distractions: don't drive, watch TV, read, check email, or engage in another activity while eating.

All of these can result in mindless eating. Instead, find a quiet spot and just sit down and eat. Multi-tasking while eating makes it easy to consume more food without even realizing it—while you're reading or working on the computer, for example. In contrast, mindful eating—paying attention to what you're eating, while savoring the flavors, aromas, and texture of your food—can help you enjoy your meals more and eat less.

That goes for snacks, too. If you're eating on your feet, you're not paying attention to your food. Learn to distinguish hunger from cravings. Next time your body is calling out for chocolate or chips, ask yourself if you're truly hungry.

Physical hunger has a variety of indicators, including fatigue, lightheadedness, or an emptiness you feel in the pit of your stomach. A craving is more likely to be a sense of discomfort or agitation in your mouth or your head.

Hunger disappears with any food you eat, while a craving is satisfied only by the particular food you're longing for. If you've recently eaten—and especially if the urge is for a specific comfort food like ice cream—it's more likely to be a craving.

If so, try distracting yourself. Go for a walk, call a friend, or put on some music and dance around the house. Most cravings go away in 15 or 20 minutes. Hunger doesn't. It only gets stronger. Pace yourself. It's standard advice to chew slowly, so that you'll feel full after eating less food than if you ate quickly.