Eat at Mealtime to Control Appetite and Hunger

Healthy weight loss isn’t a matter of seeing how long you can suppress your appetite and sustain hunger. Unsatisfied hunger can lead to regaining the weight you worked so hard to lose. To lose weight and keep off, learn to eat the right foods. Reduced calorie consumption or an increased burn due to exercise can spark hormone changes that boost appetite. You can blame that on the release of ghrelin hormone, which is programmed to spike any time you lower food intake or increase your metabolic rate.

To ensure weight that was suddenly lost is regained, your body will reset your metabolic rate to burn fuel more efficiently, which automatically slows calorie-burning and revs up your appetite. Hunger doesn’t have much to do with burning stored fat, but what you eat can make a difference. When your appetite indicates you are running low on the nutrients you need to fuel your body, it signifies that it is time to eat the right foods.

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:

• 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.
• Stay Well Hydrated – Drinking water has been shown to slightly increase the numbers of calories you burn each day. Moreover, consuming water can ensure that you are truly hungry and not confusing feelings of thirst with hunger sensations.
• Pick Healthy Snacks – If you feel hungry between meals, have a glass of water. If hunger persists don’t go back to your bad habits of snacking on high-calorie junk foods. Plan for high-fiber protein snacks.
• Be a Smart Shopper – A key to ensuring that you continue to eat right is to become a smarter shopper at the grocery store. Avoid impulses and temptations by sticking to a prepared grocery list.
• Stop Eating When Full – Your brain is programmed to eat, drink and be merry. As you eat less to lose weight, it sabotages your plans for starvation by signaling your appetite that you must be hungry, so you must learn how to stop eating when you’re full.

The benefits of simple forms of exercise like walking routinely can go way beyond burning calories. Exercise can increase your metabolism for immediate effects while improving your outlook for the rest of your day. Since metabolism is the process through which your body converts the food you eat into energy or decides to store excess energy as fat, long-term weight control depends on understanding how your metabolism works.

Now that you’ve lost weight, it is important to continue to make small adjustments that you can live with for the long haul. That way you can avoid many of the triggers that make it harder to keep the weight off, including a slower metabolism. By taking charge of your food environment for when you eat and how much you eat as well as what foods are easily available, you set yourself up for weight control success. Contact MRC to learn more about our personalized menu plans.