Hunger and Satiety

Do you know what makes you feel hungry? How do you know when to stop eating? Hunger (feed me) and Satiety (I'm full) are a team effort, with different parts of the body reacting in different ways. When you're awake, if the stomach goes without food for three or four hours, it starts to contract and might even generate a few rumbles and growls.

A part of your brain, the hypothalamus, gives you cues about when to stop and start eating. When we are exposed to cold conditions it seems to trigger the hypothalamus to send out "eat" messages. This is a good survival instict - for a caveman. When you eat, your metabolic rate increases, helping you to generate heat and increase your fat stores, which provide insulation. When protein, fat, and carbohydrate levels in the blood get too low, your liver sends messages to your brain to go on a search and seek mission. I'd like to think we've come a long way since we had to go kill a beast and bring it back to the cave.

An interesting connection, or lack of connection, exists among tasting, salivating, chewing and swallowing and satiety. When you eat, food passes through your esophagus and into your stomach and small intestines. The stomach becomes distended and sends messages to your brain that say, "Enough already, turn it off!" However, research conducted among people with certain medical conditions that prevent food from entering the stomach, such as a hole in the esophagus, found that these people still experienced a sense of satiety. This finding demonstrates how the different parts of the body are interwoven.

The pace at which you eat also is important. You should try not to eat too quickly. If your body doesn't get a chance to register that you've eaten, you'll never feel satiated. This scenario will result in overeating, and eventually excess weight gain. The important thing to remember is that there is truth to the suggestion that you should eat slowly and without any distractions. Stop eating in front of the t.v., computer or while you're driving your car. Make meals a special and relaxing time. This can help you eat only the amount of food you require and prevent those extra pounds.

Did you ever continue to eat when you already felt full? Many of us do. Sometimes we don't even recognize it when we do it until someone says, "Um, hey, didn't you just eat lunch and you're already eating that candy bar?" A trick I like to use is eating 6-8 small "mini-meals" throughout the day instead of three big meals. When you break up your daily calorie consumption it not only increases your metabolism but you also feel full and tend to keep your energy levels up. Eating less more often as well as a general decrease in your daily calories combined with exercise allows you to develop a surefire plan for healthy weightloss.