Is hunger holding back your fat loss?

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  Hunger comes up quite a bit in the health & fitness world. For some people, getting hungry is simply a mild irritant but for others it seems more serious than the threat of a nuclear fallout. In nearly every case, I blame it on the way that we were raised or the habits we’ve created through years of poor behavioral choices. Over the years I have worked with people from nearly every continent (still waiting on someone from Antarctica) and when “hunger” gets brought up it’s an issue. We have been mentally programmed from a VERY early age to avoid hunger at all costs, “finish our plate”, “eat all your food”, not to mention most restaurants in North America and all over Europe now have servings sizes that are 2x-4x larger than what we need in one sitting and most of us have no problem consuming it all in one sitting. We were raised and given special meals at the special times of our lives which without even realizing it trained us mentally to associate food with so many different emotions that we have. We learned to turn to food in our time of need, our time of stress, our time of celebration. We can ask ourselves “what’s wrong with a great meal in time of celebration” and there is nothing wrong with that per-se, the problem only arises when we allow food to control us rather than us controlling food. A problem more and more people are having.
  Before we go too much further let’s get the low-down on what “hunger” really is, and what science and many clinical tests tell us is most likely going on.

  First off, hunger is really a sensation, this is totally different than an energy deficit. A true energy deficit doesn’t happen too often and is normally accompanied by other symptoms like dizziness, cold sweats, shakiness, concentration trouble and extreme lethargy, however many people “feel” a false sense of hunger multiple times a day. This is because our sensation of hunger can be caused by many different things and a true energy deficit is really only caused by one thing, lower blood glucose levels.

  Many tests have proven that a majority of times when people “feel” hungry it is more of a craving for the pleasure we will receive from eating rather than a true need for fuel.

  This is the exact same craving for sex, it is a craving for the pleasure we will receive NOT because we are really lacking anything physical internally. It’s mostly mental a majority of the time.

  All humans through the force of evolution (not the monkey to human kind, but rather the kind where a majority of human existence required us to hunt our own food or go hungry) have been trained to crave and desire the food that is presented before us. This is partly why cravings come harder and stronger(giggity) when we physically see the food (think about the last company potluck, Holiday party or sample kiosk at the grocery store). We simply crave the food much more when it’s in front of us rather than a mere thought of it. It’s engraved in our brains to eat when it’s available.

  But like many other things, there’s another level to this. It’s not all evolution and lack of self-control. The hormone Leptin is what’s produced when we eat, especially large quantities of food (fuel). This gives us a sense of “fullness” so that we stop when we’ve had enough, or in many cases, more than enough. After 3-4 hours the Leptin levels die down and that in-turn spikes the Ghrelin hormone to pump through our body. Ghrelin is the hormone that makes us “feel” hungry even when we are likely not in an energy deficit. When Ghrelin levels rise we start to crave food, our brain tells us we must have it and our cravings start to rise. This can be a dangerous combination when Ghrelin is present AND we have tempting foods right in front of us. Without a solid mindset and laid out plan, we will surely be tempted to devour the food in front of us regardless of whether we truly need it or not.

  On top of all that, our sensation of hunger can be triggered by many things like emotions of all kinds: Joy, sadness, love, lust, loneliness, etc. and also stress. We literally are trained to turn to food as a coping mechanism for our emotional state regardless of good or bad.

  Eating is important, necessary and food is an important aspect of our lives but when our goals are to lose fat we must not be afraid to get a little hungry. What I always tell my clients is that in general I want them getting hungry shortly before it’s time to eat. 20-30 minutes before meal time their body should be telling them. If they’re “crashing” or experiencing any signs of low blood sugar (shaky, light headed, cold sweats, dizziness) then that’s too far and either their meal timing or overall nutrition needs to be adjusted.

  When you’re experiencing hunger that is not caused by our emotional needs or cravings caused by habits then it is a clear sign that we’re in a caloric deficit and a good chance that we’re tapping into our own body fat stores at that very moment.

  The moral of the story is that hunger isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Embrace it when needed and use it to your advantage!

  Your partner in health,
  -Jeremy Reid

  PS: I want to hear your thoughts! Comment on my facebook page with your thoughts. Do you find yourself eating even when you’re not truly needing it? Do you find yourself emotionally eating? Tell me all about your experiences in the comments below and also share this with your friends who need to hear this!

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  March 4th, 2016 | Jeremy Reid | No Comments |

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