Why? We have a lovely hormone produced in our bodies that we can blame for much of our overeating. It’s called ghrelin (rhymes with melon). Before a meal when our stomachs are feeling the tug of hunger, it’s because our bodies are aware that we need food, and thus produces ghrelin. You might say that it is our bodies’ strategy for survival against starvation. I suppose we might forget to eat if it weren’t for that hormone (yeah, right!).
Ghrelin is a natural response to a body’s lack of food, but it is not unalterable. We condition our bodies to produce ghrelin more or less often. When people initially reduce their food intake while dieting, their bodies respond by producing more ghrelin. Needless to say, it can be very hard to stay on a diet when ghrelin levels are gushing forward.
There are some tricks to lowering our ghrelin levels. For instance, ghrelin levels are reduced for up to two hours after aerobic exercise. Eating protein, potatoes, grapefruit, and healthy fats can also lower ghrelin production. Sometimes even inhaling the aroma of food can trick the body into reducing ghrelin—if you can endure the torture of that!
Over time, if we can endure the body’s initial resistance to eating less, our bodies will adjust to a smaller amount of food. Ghrelin levels will eventually stop over-reacting. It may take a while for our bodies to adjust to a new way of eating, but eventually it really is possible to eat less and not feel hungry all the time.
I've said it before, but for me the trick is to eat a little bit whenever I feel hungry. That way I'm never longing for food and don't, as a result, overeat because of perceived "starvation." Then, in time, my appetite seems to go down, probably because of lower ghrelin production.
ReplyDeleteVery true!
ReplyDeleteI always make the mistake when I first start a diet to go "too far" in hunger, then ending up shaking and weak—and sometimes I've compensated by overeating again. Shall we say counter-productive?
ReplyDeleteI like the smaller meals idea, however I've found the just makes my metabolism go faster. What does help for me is to find something low-calorie so sip of (water, coffee, tea, etc.) while I'm otherwise engaging my mind. Helps a lot!