Even though your stomach has a hormonal system for telling your brain it is empty, it can also raise your hunger levels at specific times by learned associations, even if you had a large meal.

If you repeatedly eat chocolate after dinner when you sit on the couch, your body can start to associate sitting on the couch with eating, and you'll experience a craving.

It seems quite easy to acquire desires for certain foods by associations, but more challenging to get rid of them.

• After only four days of repetition, your body can crave specific foods daily, for instance, chocolate.
• Any mood, even a positive one, can become a craving trigger, as long as it is consistently followed by food.
• We eat more when we are socially engaged.

After we had a big meal with family or friends, we can feel hungry at the next mealtime. It is because we have grown accustomed to overeating on special occasions. But, eating something nice once does not mean that you have to do it on the subsequent days too.

To curb bad eating habits, focus on unlearning learned eating desires.