How to beat hunger

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Stop eating boredom and bad moods. Your body doesn't need it.

These tips will save you daydreaming about donuts and chicken legs. However, it is still not worth giving up full meals. Malnutrition can lead to serious health problems.

1. Drink a glass of water

Sometimes thirst is disguised as hunger. The signals are similar, and we may simply confuse our desires. So drink a glass of room temperature water first. If it's hard, add lemon or mint there.

Carry a bottle of water with you all day. The liquid will fill your stomach, and you will need to snack on sandwiches much less often.

2. Brush your teeth

This procedure will relieve your hunger for a short time. Firstly, the smell of mint interrupts the extraneous aromas that previously caused your appetite. Secondly, the toothpaste contains a substance called sodium laureth sulfate. It is it that helps the paste to foam and almost completely turns off the sweet taste receptors. Therefore, the food after brushing your teeth seems bitter.

3. Chew gum

If you don't have a toothbrush on hand, there is an alternative - chewing gum. The effectiveness of this method was proven at the University of Rhode Island. The study found that people who chewed gum in the morning consumed about 70 less calories at lunch.

When we chew, our brain automatically sends a signal of satiety. Thus, we deceive our body.

4. Eat garlic and ginger

These foods, according to nutritionists, dull the feeling of hunger. And if chewing garlic at the workplace is unlikely to work, then drinking water with ginger root throughout the day is not difficult.

The effectiveness of this spice, by the way, has been proven experimentally. According to a Columbia University study, ginger reduces hunger and speeds up the satiety process during subsequent meals.

5. Run

Go for a run instead of another snack. Cardio dulls hunger for a while. The fact is that a hormone called ghrelin is responsible for appetite. It is he who sends signals to the brain that make us reach for a bun or candy. An American study has shown that the production of this substance is reduced during a run. That is why, immediately after playing sports, we almost do not feel like eating.

6. Get distracted

Often we go to the refrigerator out of boredom: we lazily make a sandwich, turn on the TV series and eat what our body, in fact, did not need. So try to keep yourself busy with something active and fun: cleaning, walking the dog, or shopping. The main thing is that this activity should be truly exciting. If after a while you forget about the feeling of hunger, it means that these were really false signals.

7. Beware of mouth-watering content

To get hungry, someone just needs to see a recipe for a delicious lunch on Instagram or an advertisement for a new pastry shop. Nowadays, even such a thing as food porn has been introduced. Watching skilfully edited videos and filtered images awakens the same hunger hormone and, as a result, we want to eat. Therefore, it is better to enjoy pictures of food on a full stomach, and avoid such content the rest of the time.

8. Limit yourself to scent

Smells can not only stimulate appetite, but also suppress it. Feeling full will help you find the aromas of apple, vanilla, banana, or mint. Scientists have found that dark chocolate, or rather its smell, has the same effect on us. If hunger haunts constantly, and willpower fails, keep scented candles or oils with you.

9. Observe the diet

Nutritionists advise to eat 5-6 times a day. But this figure can fluctuate depending on the characteristics of your body.

The main thing is not to change your usual schedule and do not skip main meals. Then your body will also begin to live according to this regime and hunger attacks will become an exception.

10. Have breakfast

The benefits of having the right breakfast have been proven in many studies. For example, American scientists divided the subjects into two groups. The former ate high-protein meals every morning, and the latter drank a cup of coffee before work. Those who ate a heavy breakfast stayed full until lunchtime and consumed far fewer calories throughout the day.

In general, your morning meal should become a healthy habit for you. If the porridge and omelet don't work, experiment. The main thing is to try to include protein and complex carbohydrates in the menu: nuts, legumes (peas, beans), grains (buckwheat, brown rice, oatmeal). The body will spend more time and energy on their processing, which means that the feeling of satiety will remain with you for a long time.

11. Snack right

Finally, the most enjoyable method of dealing with hunger is snacking. It must be correct, balanced and planned.

Fast carbohydrates, especially fast food and sweets, are strictly prohibited. Such foods dull the feeling of hunger, but not for long. And after an hour you will be hungry again.

Better to have a snack with low-fat kefir, boiled egg or a handful of nuts. So the feeling of satiety will remain for a long time without harm to health and shape.