Hunger is a physical feeling in our stomach or lower chest from not having food. It often makes us feel weak and with an overwhelming desire (need almost) to eat.Its a physical reaction caused by hormones.
Appetite on the other
hand is a desire for food that is stimulated by thought, smell, sight, memory etc
It is sometimes followed by a physical reaction ie saliva increasing in mouth or gastric juices in stomach which may trigger the body into feeling hunger pains. But it is a psychological response and depends on your mood, feelings, things and people around us, or habit!
Nowadays we use the words hunger and appetite interchangeably but they are
very different.
Hunger is controlled by our hormones.
And you can change and reset this.
How?
How do we regulate our hormones?
With satiety
That feeling of being full (properly full and satisfied) not bloated and stuffed!
Feeling full as a result of eating whole foods and regulating our hormones.
So
which hormones are we talking about?
Ghrelin- this little bugger makes us want to eat more. It is affected by the amount of food in our body and decreased with adequate sleep!
Leptin- this is the hormone that makes us feel full and tells us we have had enough.
So to put it simply
We need to lower ghrelin and increase leptin.
HOW?
Eat larger but
less frequent meals
When there is food in your stomach, ghrelin increases. We only NEED 3 meals a day (sometimes less). Your ancestors never ate continuously throughout the day and if you look back at old photographs they were slim!
Push the timing of your breakfast back (Intermittent fasting)
Cut out the snacks!!!
Its a marketing ploy brought about by the food industry. We never used to eat all day. We are
not cows, we do not need to graze!
Eat whole foods, real foods, foods in their natural state with little or no packaging.
Get adequate sleep
Perhaps the hardest for some people so start thinking about your sleep hygiene seriously and plan a proper bedtime routine like you would do for a child.
Monday was my first day at work after a week away and every time I go away I set myself a personal goal.
My goal this time is to go to bed at 10 pm. I have my fitbit to remind me and I know this is going to be hard for me as this is the time I am checking my phone etc for messages.
So I hope this has helped you understand and ultimately deal with your appetite and hunger.
Let me know what you think, and as always I am here to
help.
