Drinking Water Helps to Manage Appetite and Hunger

After years of bad information about dieting, many people believe that experiencing uncomfortable feelings of hunger and forcing yourself to ignore your appetite is necessary for you to shed unwanted pounds. In other words, food is the enemy. To lose weight and maintain the new weight, you must respect the physiological mechanisms that resist your weight loss efforts. Moreover, it is crucial to maintain your motivation to follow a menu plan filled with a variety of hunger-satisfying meals and snacks.

A recent study in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism concluded that overweight people who lose weight need long-term support to help manage hormone balances through a personalized plan. A smart approach to losing weight doesn’t involve starvation and shouldn’t require you to endure feelings of hunger all the time. However, people have trouble distinguishing hunger and thirst, so start by drinking the recommended daily average.

Being conscious of your food intake each day can help you maintain your goal weight by keeping you aware of how much you have eaten. Try these proven tips for better weight control:

• Stay Well Hydrated – Water keeps you hydrated and is one of the best fluids to consume to flush out toxins that may have taken up residence in your system. It can help you manage appetite and hunger sensations.
• Eat Regular Meals – Skipping meals never works well. You can try eating more smaller ones to keep your metabolism working harder for longer but set a goal to always (and only) eat at mealtimes.
• Pick Healthy Snacks – Adding lean proteins to your daily intake can increase the release of hunger hormones that induce satiety and are important for weight regulation. Plus, it requires more energy to break down protein.
• Be a Smart Shopper – Purchase lean proteins, whole fruits, fresh vegetables, and high-protein snacks, while avoiding empty calories from baked goods and highly processed foods.
• Stop Eating When Full – Although it sounds like a no-brainer, it assumes you weren’t instructed to clean your plate during your growing years and that you are not eating distracted.

Understanding that you do not always choose to eat when you are actually hungry can be crucial for long-term weight loss success. Managing eating triggers can make a huge difference in your efforts for ongoing weight management. Regardless of how you feel about limiting carbohydrate intake, many processed foods contain unhealthy amounts of refined carbohydrates that convert to sugar. Weight management requires replacing refined carbs with healthier counterparts.

A temporary return to old eating habits does not have to mean failure. Identifying negative situations and personal difficulties quickly can allow you to discover alternative methods for coping rather than relying on overeating. Effective strategies that encourage weight loss can also play an important role in long-term weight management. Contact Metabolic Research Center to learn more about our proven strategies for maintaining a healthy weight.