11 Unexpected Reasons Why You Feel Hungry

 Are you ever frustrated thinking you feel hungry more often than you should?  It’s not just you.  Learn about the physiological bases for being hungry…and how you can reduce your hunger.

True or False?  Less sleep.  More eat.

It’s true.  When you’re short on sleep, it messes with the hormones that let you know you’re hungry and makes your body think it needs calories when it actually does not.

“Hangry.”  Fact or fiction?

It’s a real thing.  “Hangry” is a combo-word of hungry and angry.  Basically, hunger stresses your body out.  Low blood sugar sends you into a sort of “fight or flight” mode.  When your blood sugar dips, your body reacts with the “glucose counter-regulatory response.”  This response turns on stress hormones which makes you feel edgy and irritable.

Can you guess what time of day the typical person feels the hungriest?

If you guessed sometime in the morning, that’s logical.  After all, you’ve been fasting all night.  Scientists say, however, your body wants more food just before you go to sleep, around 8 pm.  It’s due, in part, to your brain preparing for the calories your body needs to last through the night.

How to detect whether your hunger is a physical or an emotional need.

Worried about emotional eating?  Watch for hunger that comes on quickly and urgently.  Intense feelings can drive you to calm yourself with food.  Be aware because you’re more likely to eat past the point of feeling full with this type of hunger.

Will pictures of delicious food make you feel hungry?

For sure!  And there’s a physical basis.  Pictures of yummy foods actually increase the levels of a hormone called ghrelin in your blood.  Ghrelin makes your feel like it’s time to eat.

Which one makes you hungrier?  Working on your Income Tax Return or chilling on the couch. 

You won’t burn more calories working on taxes than you do chilling on the couch, but using brain power for mentally taxing work can make your insulin and glucose rise and fall, which can make you feel hungry.

Why does your stomach ‘growl’?  Does it mean you need to eat?

Your stomach is working all the time mixing up foods, fluids and gasses in your digestive system and makes noises for many different reasons.  Sometimes it can mean you’re hungry, other times it does not.

What type of food makes you feel full the longest?  And what kind of food makes you feel full the fastest?

Protein takes the longest to digest and sticks with you the longest.  Fiber makes you feel full the fastest but won’t stave off your hunger as long.

Is it true that sometimes when you feel hungry, you’re actually thirsty?

Since the same part of your brain, your hypothalamus, controls both hunger and thirst, sometimes when you feel like you need a snack, you actually need water.  So, try a glass of water first next time you have the urge to reach for a snack.

How does your stomach know when it’s full?

Your stomach has “stretch receptors” which send signals to your brain when you’re full.  These are triggered when food or water stretches the lining of your stomach.

How long does it take for you stomach to tell your brain that it’s full?

It takes at least ten minutes for the signals from the stretch receptors to reach the brain, so it’s best to eat slowly.  When you eat quickly, your brain won’t get the message until you’ve eaten more than you need.

To learn more about reducing hunger and losing weight, contact the body shaping experts in San Antonio at 210-227-3051 or visit www.SculptAway.com.