Hunger … the only Error Message few have decoded (and stayed healthy!)
How do you know that it is not food, but water your body is asking? Every time we sense this error message, we jump to the conclusion “our body is asking for food”.
Immaterial whether you try to lose weight or look to maintain your weight, at some point, you are going to get hungry. But simply feeding whenever the urge strikes isn’t always the healthiest response from your side — and that’s because hunger isn’t as straight forward as you may think.
What is Hunger?
Hunger is a complex web of signals throughout the brain and body. Even the question of why we feel hungry is not always simple to answer. The drive to eat comes from not only the body’s need for energy, but also a variety of cues in our environment and a pursuit of pleasure. Let us take an example:
Imagine you get the hungry signal and suddenly
you indulge in something very interesting.
What happens next? Your body will simply forget which signal it just gave and focus on that interesting topic. Can you answer why this change of tactic?
The answer is simple: Before you indulged in that interesting something, you had not so interesting something at hand and were bored. Here the brain tried suggesting you to focus on something better, not necessarily food!
The 8 Best Ways to Control Your Hunger
Every time you cannot trick your brain as we discussed above. It is better to follow these tricks to control appetite and cravings, which are healthy and effective.
1. Eat Protein with every meal: at least 40% of your daily energy food
Protein is your friend indeed, especially when trying to lose weight. It preserves muscles and makes you feel full and more satisfied by the food you eat. In addition, since you eat it along with your meal, like a tasty whey protein smoothie, you enjoy it and your brain records your joy and processes the whole food readily.
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2. Allow some Carbohydrates in your meal
Don’t cut joy from your food. Doing so causes significant decline in strength and makes you more hungry. However, a low fat diet which is high in protein and fiber-rich carbohydrates coming from different vegetables, fruits and whole grains keeps you feel full for fewer calories than fatty foods.
This clever diet composition provides good sources of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and fiber, and has the most beneficial effect on blood-pressure levels.
3. Include Copious Amounts of Fiber in Your Meals
Soluble fiber absorbs water as it moves through your digestive tract it increases the feeling of fullness. Include fiber in each of your meal by eating plenty of fibrous veggies and fruits. Isabgol (psyllium seed husks) is a supplementary fiber, which expands rapidly in your stomach and its volume sends you a signal that your stomach is reaching its limit.
4. Drink Water Along With Your Food
Water has no dietary value but it increases the volume and brings in the feeling of fullness quickly. It is a sure shot remedy to kill your hunger. With water around your food, it takes a bit longer to digest and it surely helps.
5. Eat Slowly
When you eat slowly, your brain thinks you are eating a huge quantity and it stops sending signals for more food. Moreover, with slow chewing, more saliva mixes with your food and it is also good for digestion.
6. Eat Nuts with your meals
Nuts not only have protein and essential nutrients packed into them, they are a good source of fiber and healthy fats, necessary for our bodily working. Make it a habit to include in your meals.
7. Prefer Low Glycemic Carbs
High Glycemic foods digest quickly and our blood stream rapidly absorbs it. This results in a sequence of hormonal and metabolic changes that increase the desire to eat more. In addition, most of high-glycemic foods are processed junk like refined flour, which has zero nutritive values. Replace them with unprocessed, whole foods, which not only reduce hunger by provide good health too.
8. Sleep Well
Disturbed sleep means improper metabolism and increased hunger. Sleep on the same time everyday and get up only after completing your sleep. Try having some casein protein before bed, which digests slowly, keeping your tummy full and you get a good night’s sleep.
Hunger will no longer be complex problem to solve. Use these tips to control your hunger and you can lose weight and live peacefully ever after.
