The feeling of hunger is our alarm system, the “red light at the gas tank” when we run out of fuel. But let’s figure out what our body can “signal” to us.
There are at least 6 types of hunger:
Thirst
Lack of water can be felt as a desire to eat. After all, the brain perceives water as a source of energy and a supplier of electrolytes.
Hunger for diversity
If you eat the same foods all the time, then there are a lot of certain substances (including unhealthy ones), and some are significantly lacking. The body will “beep” you about this hunger.
Feeling of an empty stomach
The “rumbling” of the stomach is not necessarily about hunger. This is a physiological sensation that can be relieved, for example, by drinking a glass of water.
Low blood sugar
Those who are accustomed to getting energy from simple carbohydrates are especially sensitive to this condition. To avoid sugar spikes, you need to eat quality complex carbohydrates (with enough fiber), and your diet is dominated by high-glycemic foods and simple carbohydrates.
Emotional hunger, when you “eat” emotions and stress
But after all, there are other ways to produce hormones of “joy and happiness”: calling a friend or watching a comedy, dancing, walking in the fresh air or playing sports. Remember also that it is very stressful for the body to digest junk food.
When you feel the urge to eat stress, ask yourself three questions: 1) What are your emotions right now? 2) What do you want to feel? 3) What can be done to feel it without food (write at least 5 ways)?
And finally, true hunger (and not just appetite!)
This is when “saliva drips” and it’s really worth replenishing your energy and nutrients!
The feeling of true hunger usually comes after 3-4-5 hours (when the food has passed from the stomach to the intestines). Then you need to eat. If less time has passed, then it is usually enough just to drink water. If you still need a snack, then let it be: fresh fruits and berries; raw, not salted, soaked nuts; raw vegetables (carrots, cabbage, sweet peppers, beets); raw and unsalted pumpkin or sunflower seeds; chia seeds soaked in coconut milk; freshly squeezed juice (preferably vegetable); herbal tea with honey.
How to minimize the feeling of hunger during the day?
- Eat a hearty breakfast of the right fats, complex carbohydrates, and fiber.
- Make sure that complex carbohydrates and fiber are included in every meal.
- Drink more water.
- During the day, do things that you like and bring pleasure.
- Do not have access to light snacks (cookies, nuts, dryers, sweets, etc.).
How to distinguish emotional hunger from real?
Turn on mindfulness when there is an unbearable craving for sweets or for any other product that is associated with joy and self-care.
First, analyze where you are now. Most often, emotional hunger is associated with the following motives:
- I want to pamper myself: show love if it seems that others do not like you.
- I want to calm myself when I’m nervous and anxious.
- There is a desire to get vivid sensations when you are sad, bored and lack the hormones of joy, dopamine.
Why do you often crave sweets?
There are several reasons for cravings for sweets. One person may have several. The first reason: dysbiosis. This is when there are few beneficial bacteria and a lot of non-beneficial ones (including candida, a fungus that “requires” sugar). We must stop eating sugar, yeast bread, foods containing fungi, including kefir. It is better to completely eliminate sugar and dairy products at least for a while and eat more foods that contain indigestible fiber, as well as alkalizing blood and internal environments. Then unfavorable conditions are created for harmful microorganisms, and they decrease. Load up on raw plant fiber (green leafy vegetables, root vegetables, cereal sprouts). Be sure to have at least three raw fruits or a serving of berries per day – they contain organic acids. There are many such acids in fermented foods. For example, natural apple cider vinegar. It is good to add 1-2 teaspoons of this vinegar to water and drink daily.
Sauerkraut is very useful (according to the recipe for fermentation without salt).
The second common cause is chromium deficiency. You can take chromium picolinate and see if the cravings have decreased.
The third reason for the passion for sweets is the lack of oxygen. This may be due to thick, dehydrated blood, high blood glucose, low hemoglobin, lack of oxygen in the air (when a person walks a little, spends a lot of time at home).
The fourth reason is toxic load. Toxins are 80% water soluble and are excreted through the kidneys, sweat glands of the skin and lungs. And 20% fat-soluble – excreted through the bile, intestines and sebaceous glands of the skin. Therefore, it is required to activate the excretory systems.
Other causes of sugar cravings include: stress, unbalanced diet, and this may also be related to your first eating experience when you were given a product after breastfeeding.
If you want sweets immediately after eating, then, often, this is a lack of energy, which is not enough for the digestion and assimilation of the food eaten. Pay attention to the right combination of products. Perhaps you really do not have enough calories, nutrients, proteins.