WHY oh WHY do I always feel like I am hungry?!?!
Does that happen to you too!?!?
It really gets on my nerves!!
Talking about NERVEs: Believe it or not, they are actually responsible for the struggles of feeling hungry or satiated... Did you know that!? I certainly didn't. How did I find out? My oh so clever and intelligent ♡ told me the other day thinking that telling me this scientific fact (with plenty of detail) it will be easier for me to carry on and not give up - talking about support, eh!? :-o
Believe it or not, it did make me think and because I was busy thinking (and researching and now writing this post) it did take my mind off food and made me somehow get over my need for food in that moment after all... Crisis overcome! PHEW!
Well, if it worked for me, maybe it will work for you too: so allow me to distract you with a couple of facts regarding our stomach-nerve (as I call it) :-)
So again: WHY oh WHY do I always feel like I am hungry (especially when I am trying to diet)?!?!
To feel satiety (a.k.a. full), your brain needs to receive neuronal signals from your stomach. This signal can also be influenced by other factors like our senses: if the food looks, smells, tastes too good ;-)
Bottom line: it's a complex feedback mechanism that actually regulates the sensation of hunger or satiety.
One of these feedback mechanisms is in the stretch-receptor nerves of your stomach-wall. What does that mean? Your stomach adapts to the amount of food you are eating. The stomach wall starts stretching when you start eating: the nerve stretch receptors send signals to the brain that the stomach is expanding and you can begin to slow down and stop eating.
It takes some time though for these messages of satiety to 'travel' from your stomach and reach your brain. In general it takes about 20 minutes till you realize that you are starting to be full. That's why it makes sense to not just shovel your food into yourself but instead enjoy and savor each and every bite... If you eat a roasted pig in 20 minutes or if you chew your way through a lovely salad in the same time... Well, let's just say that it's a HUGE difference: both in calories and nutrients!!!
Now when you are dieting - eating less - your stomach needs to get used (= habituated) to expand less: This takes time! Thats why: your stomach will not just shrink itself right after one smaller meal! The stomach-nerve (as I call it ;-)) needs some time to get used to only expanding a little compared to a lot from before...
It will take some time for your brain and for your 'stomach-nerve' to get used to this 'news' and if you resist your cravings and breaking the rules...
and give your brain and stomach a little bit of time (about two weeks)...
eventually you will be happy and satiated with your diet-portion and not crave or hunger for more.
So just remember this the next time you (or I for that matter - happens all the time to me too!!) oh so desperately want to eat more or snack in-between meals on unhealthy fatty snacks (you know you want to, so don't even try to deny it!!) or or or...
Remember that if you give your brain and stomach just two weeks - be a little patient with yourself!!! (if you won't, who will?!) - it won't be hard to be faithful to your diet anymore and you won't feel like you are constantly starving and hungry anymore but your brain will be filled with the happy feeling of satiety...
It will take some time for your brain and for your 'stomach-nerve' to get used to this 'news' and if you resist your cravings and breaking the rules...
and give your brain and stomach a little bit of time (about two weeks)...
eventually you will be happy and satiated with your diet-portion and not crave or hunger for more.
So just remember this the next time you (or I for that matter - happens all the time to me too!!) oh so desperately want to eat more or snack in-between meals on unhealthy fatty snacks (you know you want to, so don't even try to deny it!!) or or or...
Remember that if you give your brain and stomach just two weeks - be a little patient with yourself!!! (if you won't, who will?!) - it won't be hard to be faithful to your diet anymore and you won't feel like you are constantly starving and hungry anymore but your brain will be filled with the happy feeling of satiety...
yes, for sure your stomach needs to get used to smaller portions. Diets are honestly so complicated! Ive been reading about diets since I was 14, maybe even younger, and Ive seen a lot of opposing data (not having to do with nerves, but in general). I find that the best diet is one that you can stick to. If I absolutely love a particular snack, Ill make room for it in my calories, and portion it out ahead of time by weighing it, and then save it for after dinner. Sort of as a treat for eating so well. It might be seen as a "bad" food, but I've noticed that if I call some of the foods I love, like cookies and chips, "bad," it just makes me want them more in the end lol. So this might be a technique that might work for you, or it might totally sabotage your diet. It just really depends on what works for you. But for sure if your going crazy on your diet, then something needs to happen. And I think keeping busy like you mentioned, works wonders.
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent idea: I too think that you need to be able to eat everything! Otherwise you can only stick to your diet for a couple of days and then your cravings will get the best of you and end up ruining everything by binge-eating... Calculating your small 'sins' into your daily calorie intake will make sticking to it easier and less of a torture... :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Maria!!