Drinking Water Can Trigger Feelings of Fullness

If you are not accustomed to feeling hunger, managing your appetite can take some adjustments. You have to control your emotions for both what you eat as well as how often you plan to eat, which is key to unlocking permanent weight loss. Feelings of thirst are often mistaken as hunger pangs. That’s because water and fiber work well together to slow your digestion, which allows you to feel full longer. So, you may actually think you are hungry when you’re not.

The stress hormone cortisol is released when you need to deal with your fight-or-flight mechanisms. Unfortunately, it most often triggers an appetite for high fat or sugar laden foods and drinks as an errant hunger signal. To help you control the natural sensations of hunger or appetite, eat your food slowly and enjoy every bite. This can make mealtime more satisfying with a lesser consumption of food. Chances are you will be satisfied with less food.

When you eat too little food, your brain can sabotage your weight loss efforts. Your brain may be telling you that you are hungry when you really need to curb cravings produced by your appetite. Check out the tips discussed below:

• Stay Hydrated – Drinking enough water throughout the day can keep you feeling full. Moreover, people often confuse feelings of thirst for sensations of hunger, which can trigger an imaginative appetite that can create all sorts of food cravings.
• Protein & Fiber Snacks – So-called high volume foods like fruits and vegetables contain both water and fiber to help fill your stomach. Volumetric food studies suggest you can eat as much as you want of high volume-low density foods.
• Reduce Sugar Intake – A sugar high is all fun and games until the crash occurs. That’s why reducing your sugar intake can help stabilize blood sugar levels. When you need to snack, eat healthy protein and fiber treats.
• Eat Slowly – Appetite is more complex than hunger, which makes losing weight much harder. Nonetheless, eating slowly and chewing your food more thoroughly will give your body enough time for you to experience pleasure and satiety.
• Add Spices – Chia seeds are chock-full of fiber and adding them to your food as a topping can make for a natural appetite suppressant. The seeds swell in your stomach to keep you feeling full longer.

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. Debunking myths about food, dieting, and exercise is crucial to developing sustainable strategies that you to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, including recognizing roadblocks to keeping the weight off.

Even though you cut calories to lose weight, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to eat less food to maintain your new weight. Instead, focus on eating high-fiber foods and proteins that are higher in volume and take longer for your body to digest. Permanent weight loss requires healthy changes to your lifestyle and the food choices you make. For the support and education you need for weight management, contact the pros at a Metabolic Research Center near you.