The latest celebrity-approved diet hack trades satiety for complete abstinence. Here’s why it could end up doing more harm than good to your body
Experts suggest including whole foods like fruits and seeds in your diet
In a recent interview, the fitness-focused celebrity couple Jackky Bhagnani and Rakul Preet Singh shared a hack that takes the adage of their ‘eyes being bigger than their stomach’ to a whole new level — the duo admit to scrolling through food delivery apps to quell their late-night hunger pangs and cravings, dubbing the technique as ‘psychosomatic eating’. Strip the fancy label away and the hack seems almost Dickensian in its level of denial and deprivation. And, as experts point out, it can influence disordered eating unless handled carefully.
Learning to listen
“Cravings are often signals from the body or the mind — they could be physical, linked to low blood sugar, mineral imbalances, gut dysbiosis, or hormonal fluctuations, or even emotionally rooted in stress, boredom or comfort-seeking. Simply dismissing cravings can backfire, creating guilt and binge patterns in the longer term,” warns Shimpli Patil, head nutritionist and lifestyle expert at Luke Coutinho Holistic Healing Systems.
Rakul Preet Singh poses with a hearty meal. PICS COURTESY/@rakulpreet
A gentler approach that involves pausing and reflecting about whether your hunger is physiological or emotional, can lead to more rooted choices. “Perhaps you could opt for a healthier alternative. Or, you could allow the occasional indulgence without guilt. If the root cause of your urges is emotional, try breaking the pattern with practices such as journaling, breathwork, or mindful breaks instead of dismissing them altogether.”
Experts warn that psychosomatic eating can eventually lead to unhealthy eating habits. REPRESENTATION PICS/ISTOCK
Psychologist Namrata Jain offers another perspective: “Research suggests that what impacts the gut directly impacts the way we think, feel and process emotions. Similarly, our brain reacts to signals from the stomach, which is why we feel happy after a good meal. Cravings are our body’s way of signalling unmet needs. Late night sugar cravings, for instance, might indicate low energy intake during the day or stress-induced eating as a means of seeking dopamine hits.” Like Patil, she cautions against completely dismissing them. The more we restrict, the more intense the craving often becomes, she observes.
The why matters
Rakul Preet Singh and Jackky Bhagnani
Likening restriction-based eating hacks to band aids that don’t address the actual concern, Jain points out that they will only work on a very temporary basis. “Restrictive eating hacks can also come from the pressure to look a certain way. Our food choices start to be dictated by the fear of weight gain or body consciousness. As a result, instead of eating when we are actually hungry or nourishing our bodies, our relationship with food becomes stricken with worry and guilt,” she explains, pointing out that these hacks reinforce the idea that our bodies are something to constantly monitor and correct. This, in turn, breeds feelings of guilt, shame and low self-worth.
Shimpli Patil and Namrata Jain
Balance and consistency offer a more realistic and approachable way out. “Build your meals around whole foods — vegetables, fruits, good-quality protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs. Eating mindfully, chewing well, and syncing meal times with your circadian rhythm reduces erratic hunger spikes,” Patil suggests. It also helps to reframe the language you use for food. For example, the word ‘cheat’ triggers guilt, and guilt is a form of stress; this is why cheat meals often backfire. Calling it a reward meal might make the treat feel earned, enjoyed, and free of guilt,” she concludes.
From diet to disorder
Reassess your relationship with food if you:
>> Experience constant guilt around food
>> Constantly obsess about calories
>> Avoid social meals
>> Rigidly follow fad rules
>> Label food in absolutes such as good or bad
>> Are over reliant on rules and restrictions such as eating only very limited food groups or stopping after six bites
Inputs courtesy: Shimpli Patil and Namrata Jain
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