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Often, having heard the aroma of fresh pastries, we immediately want to have a bite. The smell of food makes us feel hungry. To control appetite, you need to learn to distinguish the signals of your body and distinguish between a real need for food and a false one. This is the first step towards mindful eating, says psychologist and nutritionist Jan Chosen Bays.
Modern dietetics distinguishes seven types of hunger. Each of them can be quenched in its own way. But not every hunger should be a reason to go to the refrigerator or order dessert in a cafe.
stomach hunger
This feeling is familiar to everyone. Loss of strength, weakness, bad mood and slight dizziness are signs of physiological hunger or stomach hunger. Only it is dangerous to health and requires prompt quenching. The problem is that, following the lead of our rumbling stomach, we start eating for the future, we cannot stop in time, or we fill the stomach with junk food – chips, crackers, sweets.
How to control?
Try to eat regularly in small portions 4-5 times a day to prevent acute feelings of physiological hunger. If you still feel its unpleasant symptoms, drink a glass of water and think about how you can satisfy your hunger with benefit. Eat an apple or a green salad instead of fast food. This will help buy time to cook or order a full lunch or dinner. Is the food ready? Don’t jump on her! Eat slowly, chewing each bite thoroughly.
Regardless of the speed of food consumption, the brain needs from 15 to 30 minutes to signal satiety.
Regardless of the speed of food consumption, the brain needs from 15 to 30 minutes to signal satiety. This is because enzymes (proteins involved in the transmission of this signal from the stomach to the brain) are produced only some time after the start of the meal. Can you imagine how much extra you can eat during this time!?
cell hunger
We crave iced lemonade in the heat of summer and hot broth when sick. Cellular hunger is the body’s response to an internal imbalance or deficiency of certain substances.
How to control?
Cellular hunger, like physiological hunger, must be satisfied. In addition, it is often important to find the cause of its occurrence. If you constantly crave fish, you may have an iodine deficiency. Do you dream of a steak at night? It is worth checking the level of hemoglobin in the blood.
eye hunger
Scrolling through the menu with pictures, you want to order each dish. When you go to the bakery for bread, you can’t resist buying a cake with whipped cream. Visual hunger is to blame. An appetizing picture attracts you – beautiful desserts, golden brown french fries, etc. The type of food provokes the release of insulin, which exacerbates appetite.
In a bright plate on a beautiful tablecloth, even unleavened porridge will seem like a delicacy.
How to control?
Regularly satisfy the hunger of the eyes not with food, but with pleasant views. Admire the scenery while walking in the park, go to museums, look at albums and art books. Set the table, even if you are going to eat oatmeal for breakfast all alone. In a bright plate on a beautiful tablecloth, even unleavened porridge will seem like a delicacy. And a cake in a candy store wouldn’t be so desirable.
Nose hunger
We distinguish 10 smells and enjoy the aroma of food as much as its taste. Sometimes the aroma of an apple pie or a roast with herbs can whet your appetite. And now you are already eating everything to the last crumb.
How to control?
While eating, focus on the aroma of the dish, enjoy it and eat slowly. Surround yourself with pleasant smells, for example, light aroma candles with notes of cocoa, vanilla or cinnamon.
mouth hunger
This desire to feel a certain texture or taste on the tongue: to eat something crispy or, conversely, airy, sweet or spicy.
How to control?
Choose a healthy way to satisfy that hunger. Want to crunch on crackers? They can be replaced with healthy seaweed chips or a handful of nuts. Cravings for sweets? Buy not a cake, but dried fruits.
mind hunger
Nutritionists impose on us a lot of rules from “we need to eat fresh fruit every day” to “refined sugar and flour are unhealthy.” Trying to follow all the recommendations violates the harmonious relationship with food. If you eat according to the instructions all the time, a breakdown is inevitable.
Sometimes we eat certain foods not for taste, but to experience the emotions associated with them.
How to control?
You can not divide products into harmful and useful. Try to eat varied, allowing yourself pleasant indulgences. Having ceased to be prohibited, any product loses its halo of attractiveness, and you get rid of the obsessive desire to eat it.
Hunger for emotions
A hot croissant reminds you of a romantic trip to Paris, and pancakes with jam remind you of a vacation with your beloved grandmother. Sometimes we eat certain foods not for taste, but to experience the emotions associated with them. Feel love, comfort, peace, joy.
How to control?
Try to stir up pleasant memories in a different way – review photos, listen to your favorite music or call a loved one. You should not try to cheer up with food, disperse boredom, brighten up loneliness or drown out anxiety. Food is not the best way to achieve emotional balance. It is necessary to realize your eating habits in order to put things in order both in feelings and in the menu.
About expert
Jan Chozen Bays is a pediatrician, psychologist and Zen specialist. Author of books on mindful eating.