Eat Consistently

Seems simple, right? 

The human body is designed to feel hunger and fullness and guide our eating behavior. Hunger, in short, is the body's way of saying, "Hey, I need some nutrients, please." Fullness is the body's way of saying, "Thank you, I've had enough. Let's do something else!" But in our daily lives, many things have to "go right" for us to feel our hunger, or notice it, and for us to feel naturally and comfortably full from eating. 

Hunger

Hunger is cued by an empty stomach, empty intestines, low blood sugar levels, and by certain hormones in your body. You may notice your hunger when your stomach is growling or you feel the emptiness of your stomach. You may feel a decrease in your energy levels, even to the point of feeling light headed or grouchy. However, being so hungry you are emotional is a sign you have gone too long without eating; in other words you got too hungry which can have undesirable results. The results of getting too hungry are discussed below.

Based on the hunger and fullness scale, we want to eat at about a '3'. This is when we may start thinking about food and our stomach may growl a little. Catching these subtle cues of being hungry will help you eat before your body gets too hungry. 

Unfortunately, many things in our every day life can get in the way of feeling hungry. Some examples include stress, illness, heat exposure, and high amounts of physical activity. A rule-of-thumb, to help avoid getting too hungry in these situations is PNF #6, Eat every 3-4 hours. Read more under PNF #6 on how to optimize eating enough throughout the day. 

Consequences of "Too Hungry"

Eating about every 3-4 hours helps ensure we get enough nutrients in over the course of the day and helps us avoid getting too hungry. This is critical because when the body goes too long without getting food, we tend to end up at a '2', or even worse a '1', on the hunger and fullness scale. At this time the body is priming itself to consume as much food as possible. A little about body science: the body will upregulate its digestive enzymes that break food down and it will down-regulate the hormone that communicates to the brain when the stomach is full. Also, when we get to this state, because we are so hungry, we are drawn to simple carb and snack foods and we eat very quickly. So not only do we eat foods that are easy to digest, but the body speeds up that digestion! The end result of getting too hungry, generally, is overeating or "binge eating." 

This cycle is easy to fall into with a busy or stressful work schedule or while trying to follow over-restrictive diet plans. At a certain point, there isn't a lot the conscious mind can do to stop a binge, because the body took over and natural processes for survival were initiated to avoid starvation. 

Fullness

Over-eating typically results in eating past comfortable fullness. On the hunger and fullness scale, we want to stop eating at about a '7'. We want to be full and satisfied by our food, or "satiated." We want to avoid eating to the point of discomfort. Many factors, though, contribute to feeling naturally full and satisfied from food.

One, we want to eat food that we enjoy. This is to say, you do not have to force yourself to eat foods you don't like because they are labeled as "healthy" or "good." Those are just labels and you can always find a food you enjoy to give you the nutrients you need - it just might take some experimentation!

Two, we want to avoid eating too quickly. It's true that it takes the stomach a bit to communicate to the brain about its level of fullness. This is also tied to enjoying our meals and snacks, though! If we eat quickly we don't get to experience the appearance, smell, taste, and textures of the foods we get to eat!

Three, we want to build our meals and snacks with an adequate balance of nutrients to support natural fullness. A balanced snack or meal will include complex carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and whole fruits and/or vegetables. The combination of these nutrients provide the body energy, enjoyment, and satiety. Read more about balanced nutrition in PNF #3 and tailoring your plate to your level of physical activity. 

Nutrients and Natural Fullness

Many processed foods, unfortunately, do not contribute to natural fullness because the lack of complex carbs and proteins. This means we can consume a high volume of heavily processed snack foods, for example, without feeling full and having that natural satiety from eating. Additionally, another purpose of this satiety is to suppress hunger signals until the body is ready for more nutrients. When we don't consume balanced meals and snacks, however, we aren't giving our body all the nutrients it needs to function optimally and thus, hunger will be cued sooner, increasing the likelihood of overeating. 

Another trap we sometimes fall into is trying to achieve unnatural fullness. For example, drinking a high volume of water right before eating or overeating on foods like whole vegetables that are very fibrous. These methods will induce unnatural fullness before we have a chance to get enough of other nutrients like carbohydrates and protein that the body still needs. The result of this is actually getting too hungry later in the day because the body is being restricted on nutrients it needs. Eating a balanced meal will, one, help feeling naturally full, and two, help avoid overeating - no need to try and trick your body into feeling full. A balanced meal or snack will make your body full and your brain happy!

In response to stress and anxiety, some individuals will find themselves overeating and others will avoid eating. If you find yourself in one of these categories, please visit https://devilnutrition.setmore.com/ to set up an individual appointment with a Registered Dietitian. For stress and anxiety management you can also visit the 1/82 EBH Clinic or connect with the Devil H2F Mental Readiness Team.