Are you really hungry?

To achieve energy balance, you need to meet your body needs. Without consuming too much or too little energy. To do that you’ll either calculate your calorie needs and stick to it all days or respond right to your body signals. Are you hungry? Are you really in need of food now? And I think here where people makes mistakes…

Our body is created in fascinated way where a lot is happening in there. To keep this amazing work up, you need to continue giving it the right fuel and respond wisely to the cues. I mean you eat whenever you are hungry. When your body is out of energy and stop whenever you are full. By the way, some cues are similar to others and that makes it confusing and lead to misinterpretation. To explain more…

You just had a full, delicious meal, and 30 minutes later you smelled something nice… here your stomach might growl, or you might salivate…

THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE HUNGRY

Our body goes through a cycle each time we are hungry. We wake up as example, no food and nutrients in our stomach and bloodstream, or long time has passed since, our last meal our body then releases some gastric hormones to let you know that you need fuel. You will be tired, fatigued. Your stomach will growl. You will sense different signals for you to understand that you are hungry and need food….And by the smells, appearance, or taste of food, your body starts releasing pleasure hormone (endorphins) enhancing the desire for food.

Then you’ll start eating, here where some external cues might impact how much you eat or get out of control… You might eat a favorite food, that makes you ignore the fullness feeling. You might be eating after an intense exercise, or stressed. There might be abundance of food that makes you want to try all. It might be cold, and in cold climates you eat more. All of these and more can affect how much you will eat, and makes you ignore and not sense what your body is trying to tell you…

Afterwards, you will reach to satiation point, where the food starts entering your digestive system. The stomach stretch, cholecystokinin is activated, which triggers fullness feeling, and stops you from eating to end the meal. Then, satiety. A point where it allows the person to not eat again after the meal and suppress hunger. It is affected by the same external cues. I just mentioned them above, and most importantly the composition of the meal. What are you eating? Are you responding to your hunger cues with bars of chocolate that for sure will fill you up as you are eating. However, this fullness feeling will never last long and then you will be hungry again looking for something else to eat… then you eat whatever is available again and might not last long again and eat again (OVEREATING).

So choose wisely what to eat and make sure that you meal is nutritious, balanced, and moderate. Protein is the most satiating nutrient that last longer in the stomach. In addition, high fiber food. Food low in energy density are satiating as well. All of which stay longer in your body and suppress hunger. High fat food promotes appetite and has weak effect on satiating. That’s why it is difficult to resist French fries 😉 I always fail to stop eating it if I started…

Normally, after 4, 5 hours after the meal, food has completely left you stomach, nutrients enter the blood and signal the brain of the availability, use and storage of food. Then hunger develops again…

Here is a simplified picture of the cycle. “the cycle is from Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition” book

If you are sensing these signals and responding to them decently, then you have a strong connection with your body, and you understand and listen to your signals. I know all of us, including me, pass through a lot that makes us unintentionally ignore our body signals. Not necessarily stress always that makes us ignore these signals, even boredom makes us misinterpret and respond in a wrong way. So “Eat to fuel your body, not to feed your emotions’.

Nevertheless, I am fully aware and relate to those who say that food gives you that pleasure feeling, and it is true. However, I read recently an article that says: “Using food as a primary source of pleasure can be like a canary in a coal mine — a sign that deeper needs aren’t being met. But if food is just one of many things that bring you pleasure, enjoying it can lead to better-for-you choices”. The Author continued that the pleasure feeling contribute in satisfaction feeling, which will eventually make you feel whenever you are full and stop eating. If you are not sensing the pleasure, you leave unsatisfied, which then will make you want to find something else to eat, and again you will OVEREAT.

 Remember, if you ever feel headachy, tired and fatigued; that’s mean it’s been long since you ate. And there is increased chance of overeating, so be mindful when you eat.