Why do we feel hungry? Is it different from the desire to eat? Is it possible to control hunger? There are countless questions about this strange sensation that seems to open holes in our stomach, giving us headaches and insatiable desires.
In addition to all these sensations it causes, hunger means much more. It is the result of a request from our body, which tasks our nerves with generating certain reactions so that we can understand that we need to eat, the organism is asking.
As it is a nervous activation mechanism, emotions can be modified and sensations varied. It's worth understanding why and how your body reacts and understanding that feeling hungry is not a good sign.
Why the irritation?
When we eat, nutrients are distributed throughout the body and used as energy. Thus, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrate molecule, protein and also fat begin to circulate in our bloodstream, generating well-being and providing the brain with information about satiety and available energy.
When we go for a while without eating, nutrients are no longer present in the bloodstream, consequently the brain understands that it will need more energy and processes the information of lack of glucose, a direct source of energy for its functioning. The low level of glucose alters the nervous functioning and can generate different symptoms such as those already mentioned: headaches, changes in emotions, irritability, dizziness and at higher levels, fainting due to a literal lack of energy.
balance
The healthy diet considered by professionals includes balanced meals with all nutrients and food classes in moderate amounts. The amounts refer to how much energy your body will need to perform the day's activities, whether they are routine ones such as: brushing your teeth, talking, walking or the simple act of blinking your eyes; whether they are high-level activities such as intense sports and training.
Failure to regulate the amounts and composition of daily meals is responsible for eating disorders, excess or lack of weight. That is, if you do not provide your body with the energy it needs for everything it does, or on the contrary, you get carried away by gluttony and exaggerate in food causing the body to store it in the form of fat, something is unbalanced and must be corrected. modified.
The Harms of Hunger
Nutritionists and doctors in general recommend that each individual eats within the three-hour period, that is, three hours after the last meal, some food should be ingested again. The explanation lies in the fact that one should not feel hungry. When the body manifests hunger it is already in a state of need and starts to have bad consequences. Within this period of three hours the body, if properly fed previously, still contains nutrients for proper functioning and prepares for the new support that will enter correctly.
We must know, however, that hunger is an evil. It is not good for the body to feel hungry, not only because of the side effects that we experience in practice, but because of a whole supply mechanism that is altered and has internal consequences for the correct functioning of the organism.
What happens if we remain hungry?
If hunger is not responded to, that is, if we let the sensation persist, some effects are inevitable. Contrary to what many think, starving is not synonymous with losing weight, but on the contrary, it means gaining weight! That's right. Once your brain understands that it will need to reserve much more nutrients for the next period without food, it will store all the energy from the carbohydrates and fats that will be ingested, as a guarantee of sustaining itself. The point is that these reserves are the unwanted fat that the body stores to survive.
Also, when we eat hungry, we tend to eat much more than we really need. This happens by combining what your mind is processing: “I will need more reserves” with what your eyes are seeing and desiring, after all your body is asking for it. In this way, we eat compresses, without thinking, and along with that, other consequences: fast-prepared foods such as industrialized foods full of preservatives and high levels of sodium and hydrolyzed fat; incorrect chewing; exaggerated amounts and nonsense, especially sweets, responsible for an immediate feeling of well-being.
food change
It is more than proven that hunger does not make you lose weight or even good for your health. Therefore, it is important that all of us, as difficult as it may seem in the rush of everyday life, create a food routine.
It's really not easy to eat every three hours, we don't have time and sometimes we don't even have the patience to stop all our tasks and pay attention to the meal. However, the benefits are so many that it is worth the effort. Your body needs this security and you will feel the effects in practice. Better mood, mood, skin and hair, as well as better control over weight and binge eating.
A good nutritionist can and should help you with a food plan that fits into your daily life. With smaller but better and more frequent amounts your body will never complain about that scary stomach growling again.
- Written by Julia Zayas of Team Me Without Borders.
