Hunger, Cravings, and Weekends

I have been asked by many people about what to do regarding feeling hungry and or feeling hungry soon after eating. Also, there have been some questions regarding weekends being so difficult.

As for hunger here it goes. There are a few different thoughts on this one. One thought is that many of us are really not feeling hunger but we are feeling in the mood to eat. I am a big advocate of not letting your self truly get hungry. If you do allow your self to get hungry you may find yourself overeating as soon as you are around food. In addition, when you are hungry you may be less selective what you are eating and grab the first piece of food that come in front of you.

Try to reduce the size of your main meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner. This will start to educate your body and mind that it is Okay to eat less. Over time you will get used to a smaller portion. The most effective way to accomplish this is to eat slower. Also, using smaller plates and utensils will give you the illusion of having more food. You eat as much with your eyes as you do with your mouth.

For many of you, you may just be feeling a craving to eat. Research has shown that cravings are transient and last about 20 minutes. If you can distract your self for the 20 minutes, chances are you can beat it. Try talking on the phone, taking a walk or playing with your kids, dog, cat or friend. That aside let me give you some strategies for this.

1)Make sure to eat more frequently. That means make sure you are eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition, you should have a small snack mid morning, in the afternoon and one later in the evening. The goal here is to not allow you’re self to get hungry. If you do not allow your self to get hungry you will be less likely to overeat at meal time.

2)Drink lots of water or other non-caloric drinks. Drinking does a great job in reducing the feeling of hunger. It also has the added benefit of forcing you to get more activity as you will need to run to the bathroom more often 

3)Eat lean protein. Of all the foods you eat protein will “stick” with you the longest. It takes our bodies longer to digest protein than other foods giving you the sense of fullness longer.

4)Eat more whole grains. This is especially true for diabetics. White flours, white rice, and regular pasta are digested much faster than their whole grain counterparts. In addition whole grains will result in a lower insulin response than white making your blood sugar much more stable. These too will stick with you longer and give you the feeling of fullness longer.

5)Eat more high water and high fiber foods. These are of course fruits and veggies. Think about eating raisins versus grapes. If you eat 10 raisins or ten grapes which do you think will keep you feeling full longer? Both 10 grapes and 10 raisins contain the same calories. The grapes have much more water than raisins and would be the better choice for helping you feel fuller with the same calories. High fiber foods take longer for your body to digest and therefore also keep you feeling full longer. Whole grain foods always have much more fiber than refined white grains. So if you are eating bread, crackers, pasta, or rice choose 100% whole grains or brown rice. Popcorn with nothing but a little salt on it makes a great high volume, whole grain snack.

Soup is one of my super-stars for allowing me to feel like I am eating more but not consuming lots of calories.

As for Weekends, this is a tough one. Our routines are off and we have been conditioned to let it all go on the weekend. Here is where a little extra will power comes into play. Also, set your self up for success instead of failure. Either get rid of the bad foods or put them away in an inconvenient place. Also, keep handy and accessible the healthy and low calorie snacks. Here is where laziness works for us. If we have easy access to good food, fruits and cut up veggies, we will tend to go for them rather than getting up on a step ladder to reach high up in the back of the pantry to get the Oreo cookies or Twinkies.

Plan to spend some time cooking and learn how to cook healthier lower calorie foods. Make the entire food experience fun and enjoyable. Cooking is particularly fun if you can do it with a loved one. Make cooking an activity rather than just something you must do in order to eat. Cooking is so much fun. Get out of your comfort zone and go buy a cook book and start playing with your food.

Stuart