[One Thousand Characters a Day] So That Mood Does Not Turn into Appetite <2>

Editor's NoteThe habit of resolving bad moods with Tteokbokki, chicken and beer, chocolate, or Buldak Bokkeum Myun only makes your appetite fiercer and more unruly. Even if you try exercise and dieting after making your appetite wild, you will always return to the diet and lifestyle that cause weight gain. Mood and appetite have much in common. They are definitely mine, but they do not go as I wish. To avoid always making losing choices while being swayed by fluctuating moods and appetites, you need to start by controlling the moods that provoke your appetite and eating the right foods to regain control over your mood and appetite. Word count: 952.

When you study hard and pass a difficult exam, you reward yourself with luxurious food at a fancy restaurant. When you don’t feel like working, grabbing a snack makes you feel more motivated to work. When something frustrating happens, you relieve your mood with spicy food like Buldak Bokkeum Myun or Yeopgi Tteokbokki. When a friend breaks up with their lover, you drink soju together. The purpose is more about soothing emotions than filling the stomach.

Food still carries emotional meanings such as comfort, reward, praise, encouragement, and support.

The appetite you feel when you want to eat food depending on the situation and emotions is often called "fake appetite." In fact, I really dislike the term "fake appetite." You don’t even know how annoyed I am right now or how much I crave Buldak Bokkeum Myun in this situation! This appetite, this feeling that I must eat Buldak Bokkeum Myun, is definitely real. It is too strong and vivid to be dismissed as fake.

No one grows up eating only when hungry. Everyone grows up eating for various reasons in various situations, and all those memories are neatly stored in the brain. Our brain is programmed to generate appetite not only when hungry but also for many other reasons. "Fake appetite" is also an irresistible desire created by neural circuits in the brain. In other words, "fake appetite" is the real appetite.

When called fake appetite, people tend to think it has no substance and try to endure, ignore, or avoid it. But fake appetite definitely has substance. Like real appetite caused by hunger, hormones act on it. Therefore, if you think you must always endure fake appetite just because your stomach is not empty, you will inevitably fail repeatedly.

Don’t blame yourself for being like a pig when you keep wanting to eat more even though you have clearly eaten something. The food you ate today, your situation, your mood?all these combined result in the desire to eat something. Instead of forcing yourself to endure or ignoring it, you need to properly understand and find ways to control it.

- Lee Yuju, Don’t Let Your Mood Become Your Appetite, Book Table, 18,800 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.