With
different classes and schedules, sometimes it is easy to skip a meal or only
eat a small snack. Then what happens? It
gets to be dinner time and you are ready to FEAST! You are so hungry that
everything looks delicious and it all goes in your mouth very quickly. In this situation it does not seem like you
are overeating, but that is exactly what is happening. Eating an excessive
amount of calories at one meal is very confusing to your body. Eating too much food after not eating at all
encourages your body to hold on to every calorie and store the energy, because
your body doesn’t trust you to give it fuel on a regular basis anymore! Also,
it is very hard on your body’s processes, hormones, and enzymes to digest and
absorb that much food at once.
Overeating
can be avoided if you know how to keep your body fueled and happy! Here are
some tips to help you prevent getting to that “hangry” state:
1.
“Out of sight, out of mind.” Put the cookies and chips in the cupboard and keep
fruit on the counter.
2.
Don’t eliminate foods you enjoy eating—if you tell yourself you can’t have
something it just makes you want it even more! Give yourself the option to eat
whatever you feel like.
3.
Find ways to cope from a hard day—write down what is stressing you out, call
your Mom or a good friend to get things out, listen to music, go for a walk, or
watch TV for 30 minutes.
4.
Portion out food, DON’T EAT FROM THE CONTAINER!—don’t let yourself grab the
whole bag of chips or pint of ice cream.
ALWAYS put a portion on a plate or bowl and finish that serving before
you get more.
5.
If you are hungry, bring in more variety to your snack—try changing up what you
eat every time you get hungry. Switch
from salty to sweet to cool to chocolate and you’ll never get bored with eating
a healthy snack
6.
Stop midway through a snack of meal and analyze your hunger level:
Starving:
An uncomfortable, empty feeling that may be accompanied by light-headedness or
the jitters caused by low blood sugar levels from lack of food.
Hungry:
Your next meal is on your mind. If you don't eat within the hour, you enter
dangerous "starving" territory.
Moderately
hungry: Your stomach may be growling, and
you're planning how you'll put an end to that nagging feeling. This is optimal
eating time.
Satisfied:
You're satiated—not full, but not hungry, either. You're relaxed and
comfortable.
Full:
If you're still eating, it's more out of momentum than actual hunger. Your
belly feels slightly bloated, and the food does not taste as good as it did in
the first few bites.
Stuffed:
You feel uncomfortable and might even have mild heartburn from your stomach
acids creeping back up into your esophagus.
7.
Spoil your appetite: Eat before a meal.
Have a small snack before a meal to prevent yourself from succumbing to
cravings or a starving feeling.
8.
Refuel every 4 hours—your body depletes its glucose stores every 4 hours and
then sends cues to your brain that it needs more fuel. Listen to your body cues!
9.
Snack on Fiber during the day—fiber-full snacks help you stay full longer!
10.
Drink water!!!! Keeping your stomach partially full of water will help control
your hunger.
Resources:
http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/tune-your-hunger-cues-lose-weight
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