N4L 121: "Hanger Management" by Dr. Susan Albers

Bestselling author and clinical psychologist Dr. Susan Albers hits on a topic familiar to all of us in her latest book, Hanger Management: Master Your Hunger and Improve Your Mood, Mind, and Relationships. An expert in mindful eating, she sheds light on the causes of “hanger” (a toxic combination of hunger and anger) and shares 45 tips for “turning hungry into happy.”

Instead of being another diet book, Hanger Management offers “a set of strategies and a way of being.” Albers confronts many of the common moments when “hangry” can turn a great day into a disastrous day. Combining her personal parenting experience with extensive research, she shares ideas for traveling with kids, having healthy snacks on hand, avoiding marital stress, learning how to deal with long lines at restaurants, getting back on track after holiday feasting, and more strategies for approaching everyday interactions. In the end, she teaches us how to tackle negative relationships with food so our relationships with people can thrive.

KEY POINTS

• Cinnamon regulates our blood sugar.
• Magnesium is involved in more than 300 chemical reactions in our body, in particular, our insulin regulation, metabolism, and mood regulation.
• A couple of the “Ten S’s of Mindful Eating” include: always SIT while you eat, and SLOW down while you eat by eating with your non-dominant hand.
• When traveling, be sure to stay hydrated with water or water-rich foods.
• People who have fruit bowls on their counter end up weighing 14 pounds less than the average person.
• Putting smiley faces on healthy foods can draw people to eating better.
• Some power food suggestions: avocados, almonds, apples, pumpkin seeds, and puffed chickpeas.

QUOTES FROM ALBERS

• “When we are running on empty...we are distracted constantly by thoughts of food. Or when we are just plain too busy to make eating well a priority, hunger-induced moodiness can take over. Often we chalk our bad moods up to stress. In fact, it’s the impact of being undernourished—or filled with foods that completely wreck our mood.”
• “Always eat off of your feet.”
• “Hanger can lead us to overeat, which leaves us feeling what I call ‘regretfull’...the physical and emotional discomfort that comes from overeating in a mindless way.”
• “Ditch dieting and eat mindfully.”
• “Mindfully choosing foods that give the body and mind the fuel they truly need to function feels good. It gives us greater clarity and better emotional stability.”

BUY Hanger Management: Master Your Hunger and Improve Your Mood, Mind, and Relationships

RECOMMENDATIONS BUY Rubbermaid FreshWorks Produce Saver Food Storage Containers to keep your healthy snacks fresh!

Find Dr. Susan Albers on social media and online: IG:@drsusanalbers, Twitter: @DrSusanAlbers Facebook: @eatdrinkmindful

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