We all get hungry. But how can you tell when it is real hunger? After all, it seems like every minute we see pictures of decadent food on TV or social media -- heavy sauces slathered over meats or pasta, vegetables covered in buttery crusts or cheese, or fattening desserts that topple the chart in sugar and calories. Each picture surely causes hunger pangs, giving indications that you must be hungry. But are you really hungry?
How to Know if You Are Really Hungry
Real hunger is determined by various physiological systems in your body. In your brain, hunger and fullness signs come from the lateral hypothalamus and the ventromedial hypothalamus. These are two nerve centers deep inside the hypothalamus that help regulate when you’re hungry or full.
The lateral hypothalamus responds to any internal or external stimulation that causes you to feel hungry.
Once you've finished eating, the ventromedial hypothalamus sends signals telling you when you're feeling full and have had plenty of food.
How Can I Stop Feeling Hungry?
If you are always hungry, there are steps you can take to reeducate your stomach’s muscle memory to send “I’m full” signals to the brain. Your brain works with your stomach through a unique mechanism called “muscle memory.” This means, your stomach grows accustomed to holding a specific amount of food before it lets the brain know it’s full. If you have overeaten for some time, this “muscle memory” will only signal when you eat a lot of food.
But you can start to listen to your body’s very distinct hunger signals like a noisy, growling stomach. Then, only eat enough healthy food to fill satiated, but don’t overindulge. In four hours, your stomach may start growling again, or you will feel real hunger pain. That means it’s time to eat a balanced snack or meal but, again, not too much. By doing this, you will eat only when truly hungry and just enough to feel satisfied instead of binging out-of-control on snacks or eating large meals that pack on pounds.
Sources
Psychology Today: Hunger It’s All in Your Head.