The Hunger Habit

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

By: Judson Brewer

Narrated by: Judson Brewer

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

A program proven to heal our relationship with food and our bodies from New York Times bestselling author of Unwinding Anxiety.

Sometimes it feels as if there are as many ways to struggle with food as there are foods to eat. Craving, habit, emotions, boredom, stress, anxiety, or just the simple fact that a box of donuts seems to be omnipresent in the break room (free food!) can lead to feeling out of control around food. While anxiety feels like something that happens to us, the pull of food seems like something we should be able to handle. After all, we have to eat! But it’s not that simple. The result of this constant struggle—and then giving in or giving up—is a toxic cocktail of shame and self-judgment that makes it feel like it is impossible to change our behavior.

The Hunger Habit is based on Judson Brewer’s deeply researched plan proven to help us understand what is going on in our brains so that we can heal the guilt and frustration we experience around eating. This is not a diet book pretending not to be a diet book. The step-by-step program focuses on training our brains to tap into awareness to change our relationship with food and eating—shifting it from fighting with ourselves to befriending our minds and bodies. There is no willpower, calorie-counting, or restricted eating. Setbacks are a good thing! The key is to learn how to work with our brains rather than resisting our impulses, and to adopt an attitude of self-kindness rather than self-judgment.

Grounded in cutting-edge neuroscience and Brewer’s several decades of clinical practice as a psychiatrist, The Hunger Habit is both accessible and compassionate. It will finally help you break out of food jail and reclaim your life.

©2024 Judson Brewer (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Stop fighting with food and read this book!” —Arianna Huffington, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Thrive

“If you're looking to heal your relationship with food, the solution rarely lies entirely in changing what you eat. Jud Brewer empowers us to let go of our unhelpful habits and trade them in for helpful, long-lasting ones using cutting-edge neuroscience, practical mindfulness, relatable stories, and real-life examples. This book isn't about restrictive diets or obsessions – it's about finding hope, empowerment, and real, lasting recovery.” —Molly Carmel, author of Breaking Up With Sugar

“Judson Brewer offers a potent recipe for healing unhealthy eating habits: Blend together an understanding of how the brain works with the power of awareness itself. For the countless humans who struggle with craving, this book is filled with life giving insights and tools!” —Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and Radical Compassion

Right now: Listen to this book

Thanks to this book, I can now:
1) Feel where my stomach is in my body
2) Tell the difference between emotional and physical hunger
3) Hear a spoonful of peanut butter

Life changing

I’m a big fan of Dr.Brewer and his work This book drove home how my brain works and how I can train, practice and learn in ways that change my habits and my life. Can’t recommend this highly enough. Thank you Dr. Brewer. I love that you narrated the book yourself!

This book Changed my life

I’ve been a fan of Dr. Judson for years and always loved his approach to anxiety/ mindfulness. But this time by reading this book it finally clicked for me. I loved this book so much I got it in hard copy as well! Highly recommend for everyone

Very helpful.

The personal reading by the author, conveying his expertise in a clear and compassionate way, teaching us how to learn rather than dictating what to do.

Kind

This book reignited the curiosity that I had as a child. I think curiosity may become a good habit before during and after I eat food! I really encourage everyone to read this book to improve their relationship with food.

Valuable science based information.

Excellent book on habit formation and how to change poor habits for bigger better offers. Highly recommend.

A hopeful look into eating patterns

I'm a big fan of Jud Brewer, but this book really made a huge impact on me - here's why:

It made me think differently about the ways I’ve tried to face eating challenges, dieting & weight loss in the past. Rather than feeling terrible about myself, I’m able to see a new perspective based on peace with myself and working with my patterns as they actually are.

It also made me reflect on how much of weight, diet, eating and other behavior change books are usually leveraging our self criticism and harsh self judgments. Dr Jud’s approach, and especially this book, is incredibly refreshing because it’s built on self acceptance and self compassion. It goes into specific practices to deconstruct self criticism and judgment and show how looking at our behaviors with kindness and curiosity fuels the awareness that drives change.

Most of all, it made me feel HOPEFUL about long entrenched eating habits and ways I can work with them. Dr Jud’s approach is elegant and insightful, based on just a few specific ways of looking at our patterns and bringing in awareness.

Read by the author, who is a skilled narrator, I highly recommend this audiobook!

Not just for eating habits

This is one I will listen to again and again because there's a lot of helpful information to absorb. The most surprising part to me, though, is that I've found myself applying the principals to my habit of procrastination just as effectively. I'm quite aware that I procrastinate working on certain goals in my life because of my emotions around them. But I've always felt overwhelmed at the thought of trying to uncover and "fix" all my emotional baggage so I can finally take action. Newsflash (to me): you don't have to fully understand and eliminate your negative emotions in order to move forward. This book explains how to handle your emotions in the moment, which is all I really need most of the time. Really eye opening.

The narration is quite monotone and there are no funny stories to add entertainment. But if you're after purely good information and tactics to get results, this has everything you need. Highly recommend.

HELPED

100% worth your time. For people who have struggled for decades it is like a gold.

Everything is in the head

I love dr Brewer’s books. It is not a book it is a well thought, researched and written program to help you reprogram your emotional eating habits.

7 years ago I stopped smoking with another book, with no effort, no pain and not lookinguu back. I was smoking 3 packs a day for 21 years. So you tell me if this is achievement. That’s how I learned that it is all in the head.

Dr Brewer’s book will help everyone who is ready to listen and willing to change. I loved it, and start to applying what I learned.