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One of the most frequent complaints I hear from people when they’re trying to curb
their food intake is that they’re hungry all the time. When your body needs fuel, you’ll
know it. Your stomach rumbles and your energy might start fading and those signals can be
hard to ignore and if you’re trying to control calories, it can be even be more of a challenge
to control your hunger at the same time. So here are some tips that might help, first
be sure you recognize hunger for what it is. You might thing you’re hungry but you could
just be bored, tired, or anxious. Sometimes you see or smell something that looks really
tempting and you just want to eat but you aren’t really hungry. If you’re not sure,
try doing something else to distract yourself first and then check in with yourself a little
while later. Have some protein in each meal and snack, high protein foods satisfy hunger
better than just foods that are high in fat or carbohydrates. Protein foods work not only
in your digestive track but they also affect your brain chemistry to help you to feel satisfied
and keep mentally sharp. Include foods that contain water and fiber, bulky watery foods
like vegetables, fruits, soups, and smoothies are great hunger busters because they help
fill you up with relatively few calories. Get regular exercise, while it’s true that
you need the proper foods to fuel your activity, the eating exercise connection is complex
and there is a growing body of evidence that exercise is beneficial for appetite control.
Stay hydrated; for one thing fluids with meals may make your meals seem more filling. Another
reason is that when you get dehydrated, it’s not uncommon to confuse feelings of thirst
with feelings of hunger. You may just need fluid, not food. Lastly eat several small
meals and snacks, frequent feedings will help keep your blood sugar level even throughout
the day. That’s important because when you go too long without eating your blood sugar
dips causing your hunger to spike and when you eat small frequent meals, it’s a lot
easier to manage your hunger when you know you’ll be eating again in just a few hours.