Small Steps to Health

Satisfaction and Hunger Signals

July 17th, 2008 by asithi · 4 Comments

Tagged Healthy Eating, Weight, healthy eating, hunger

Do we know the difference between feeling satisfied and uncomfortably full? As I mentioned in a previous post, our stomach is the size of our fist. Though it might take a while before our brain and stomach registered that we are full, our eyes will always think we can eat more .

Satisfied	Uncomfortably Full
When we look at our profile in the mirror, we see no extension in our stomach.	When we look at our profile in the mirror, we look like we have a small pillow stuffed under our shirt.
If we really wanted to, we could go out for a walk right after eating.	We barely have the energy to get up from the table and make it to the sofa.
We feel no change in the way our clothes fit.	When we want to unbutton the top of our pants, that is not a good sign! Every meal should not be a Thanksgiving feast.
We get hungry again in another 3-4 hours.	It takes 6-8 hours of labored digestion before we get hungry again.

Think of your stomach as a gas tank and your hunger as the fuel gauge. We should try to leave the table at 3/4 full, saving full for special occasions. Why? Because full is uncomfortable. We always end up asking ourselves: ‘why did we eat so much?’ Special does not mean every week. And we should be aiming to refuel at 1/4 of a tank. I know there are some people who like to squeeze every last drop out of a tank before refueling, but seriously, do you want to put your body through a forced starvation mode?

What happens when you ignore your hunger signals by forcing your body into starvation mode?

After 30 minutes, our bodies start to wonder why it has not received food and intensify its signals - whether through growls, churning, or pangs. This can be embarrassing sometimes when you are at the office surrounded by your co-workers.

After another 30 minutes, our bodies start to get nervous that it may never get food: ‘Is something wrong? Is food unavailable?’ Our bodies’ survival instincts kick in, breaking down the fuel guzzlers, the calories consuming SUVs in our bodies - the muscle mass, and starts disconnecting our minds with from the hunger signals.

Ever notice now a ravenous hunger can just disappear sometimes after we ignore it for a while? It is not a sign that our bodies are sucking the stored fuel in our fat cells. It is using any available glucose in our blood streams and getting rid of our precious muscle mass.

As I mentioned before, one of the reasons why men drop weight so easily when compared to women, is their larger percentage of muscle mass in their body composition. For women to loose lose this precious fuel burner is like trying to pedal up a hill, but ignoring that the chain is broken. All that work for nothing. Not making any progress, but actually going backwards!

When we diet, fast, skip meals, or ignore our hunger for a period of time, our bodies will do everything possible to make sure that we eat and lots of it the next time it gets a chance. Stop fighting your body! As with everything in life, moderation is key. Being on either spectrum of uncomfortably full and extreme hungry is not going to make us healthy. For every self imposed starvation, there is an equal and opposite binge.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by.

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