YOUR HEALTH: 3 Surprising Reasons You Are Always Hungry
Whatever your wellness goals—sexy for the summer, a stronger leaner body or overall vitality, it may feel like a rather steep uphill battle because your appetite is always working against you. Do you find yourself gazing longingly into your fridge a little too often? If there isn’t an obvious reason why you need more fuel that normal like growing a small human in your uterus or a drastic shift in your activity level, perhaps you should consider these sneaky hunger activators. Writes Orjiugo Oguguo Hourihan
You don’t sleep (well)
It is sometimes as simple as, you snooze, you lose (fat). According to a 2004 study, among others, lack of sleep is related to increased hunger and obesity. People who sleep less than six hours a day were up to 30 percent more likely to become obese than those who slept seven to nine hours. Shortened sleep is associated with decreased leptin (hormone that signals satiety) levels and increased ghrelin (hormone that stimulates hungers) levels. This is why sleep is considered a cornerstone of fat loss.
You are dehydrated
Believe it or not, thirst or dehydration can feel like hunger. Stay away from unnecessary indulgence in junk foods and easy-reach high sugar snacks by staying hydrated. Thirst happens when your body needs water and if you don’t give it enough, it receives hormonal signals of hunger. Making sure you are getting upwards of two litres of water everyday, which can stop you believing you are hungry. Other ways to up your intake include eating high water content foods like fruits and vegetables, adding fruits like lemons, oranges, watermelon chunks or strawberries to your water and drinking first thing in the morning.
You are stressed out
Your body responds to all stress in the same way. Your brain tells your cells to release stress hormones: adrenaline, which prepares you to fight or flee; and cortisol, which tells your body to replenish the energy you used to fight or flee, whether you used it or not. This can make you hungry and/or make you store fat. Not only will you be hungry, you will crave high salt, sugar and fat foods to help your brain release pleasure chemicals that reduce tension. Who has ever found that stress is reduced at the bottom of their tub of Haagen Daaz? Say ‘I’.
