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Why you keep eating and 9-tricks slim people use to stay thin

Eating when you're not hungry is a common nutritional mistake -- and a big reason people gain weight or break their diets. Here, we help you understand why you're really reaching for food and teach you how to turn your attention elsewhere.

1. Why You Eat: Sometimes the tube just isn't enough entertainment so you seek additional stimulation from food, says Linda Spangle, weight loss coach and author of '100 Days of Weight Loss.'

What to Do Instead: Engage yourself during TV time. Exercise, groom your dog or clip coupons. Also, create ways to curb your eating by keeping food out of sight or making the kitchen off-limits after meal time.

2. Why You Eat: It's difficult to resist food when it's right in front of you. Reaching for a treat just because it's there, however, signals mindless eating, says Tara Gidus, M.S., R.D., C.S.S.D., national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

What to Do Instead: Push the food out of reach or walk away from it. If that's not possible, keep your hands busy by holding a low-calorie drink in your dominant hand.

3. Why You Eat: You're craving more excitement or greater meaning in your life so you turn to food, which temporarily fulfills you.

What to Do Instead: Create non-food oriented ways to fill the void you feel. Call a friend, hunt for a new job, enroll in a new fitness or language class or read a book.

4. Why You Eat: Whether you've just ended a relationship or had a bad day in the office, when you're sad or depressed eating your favorite (often high-fat) foods can make you feel nurtured.

What to Do Instead: Find comfort in something inedible. Play with your dog, take a relaxing bath, listen to soothing music or talk with a understanding friend.

5. Why You Eat: Noshing crunchy foods like crackers and nuts has been shown to release tension -- and help you avoid chewing someone's head off.

What to Do Instead: Recognize your anger and find healthy ways to release it. Punch a pillow, take a walk, breathe deeply or chew gum, suggests Spangle.

6. Why You Eat: When your friend decides to eat something unhealthy, you'll likely join. Why? "We often mimic what people around us are doing," Gidus says. Plus, the power of suggestion is strong, and even if you're not hungry, you may begin to crave what she's having.

What to Do Instead: Strike temptation by sipping a low-calorie drink, like hot tea or diet soda or eating your own diet-friendly meal so you're keeping yourself occupied and not just watching your pal eat.

7. Why You Eat: Sick of tossing and turning in bed, you head to the fridge hoping a snack will make you sleepy and ease the frustration of having insomnia.

What to Do Instead: Enjoy a cup of warm milk or decaffeinated tea. "Getting something warm in your stomach can make you drowsy," Gidus says.

8. Why You Eat: Stress makes you tense, and when you can no longer stand that sensation, you reach for food as relief.

What to Do Instead: Whether you're at work at home, have an arsenal of stress relievers handy, like a spongy ball to squeeze, a yoga DVD for relaxing poses, or a journal to record your feelings.

9. Why You Eat: When it comes to eating some people are tied to the clock. Even if you've just had an enormous lunch and aren't hungry when afternoon snack time rolls around, eating on a schedule can be a hard habit to break.

What to Do Instead: Check your hunger levels before eating. Ask yourself whether you're hungry or if you're just eating because the clock tells you to. If you are hungry, eat. If not, wait 30 minutes and re-evaluate your hunger, Gidus says.