Weight Loss for Food-Lovers with Molly Zemek
Episode- Hunger
Summary
Our topic on this episode of the Weight Loss for Food-Lovers podcast is hunger. Molly explains that there are two distinct types of hunger: real, genuine hunger and artificial, emotional hunger. While real hunger is evidenced by a physical sensation of emptiness, a growling stomach, and/or a headache, artificial hunger is spurred on by certain hormones in the brain being out of whack.
Since processed foods are typically high in calories but low in actual nutrition that the body needs, consuming them elevates the insulin levels in the brain and doesn’t allow the ghrelin hormone to properly signal hunger or the leptin hormone to properly signal satisfaction, causing a cycle of overeating. Molly describes the best way to get these hormones back to doing their jobs effectively: establishing an eating routine and adjusting the types of foods you are eating.
In order to start this journey, she encourages listeners to plan out your meals 24 hours ahead of time and then spend a few days intentionally listening to your body’s hunger signals. At the first sign you are hungry, sit down with your pre-planned meal, remove any distractions, and focus on one bite at a time, then stop eating as soon as you feel the first sign that your body is satisfied. By understanding your body’s signals, you can stop overeating, reduce or eliminate snacks, and provide your body with the nutrition that it is asking for.
Topics Covered
· The differences between real hunger and artificial hunger
· The effects of processed foods on the “hunger hormones”
· Tuning into your brain’s hunger signals
· Setting up an eating routine
· Shifting your hunger mindset
Key Quotes
“Artificial hunger can also come from certain ingredients that we eat where our body doesn’t necessarily absorb a lot of nutrition from them.”
“Scientific studies have shown that when insulin is constantly elevated and fat stores reach a certain height, our body’s normal sense of hunger gets disrupted.”
“We’ve been taught in the diet industry that the last thing we should do is let ourselves get hungry.”
“There is this distinction between how we physically feel when we’ve had enough to eat and how we mentally feel.”
“Out of a place of desperation, we always overeat.”
“So many of us are used to eating around the clock for many other reasons than for true hunger.”
“Genuine hunger is pretty short-lived.”
Links Mentioned
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