Hunger can be a great sign that your metabolism is working and your body is working as it should. However, while it’s natural, hunger shouldn’t be the only indicator that it’s time to start eating.
If you eat only when you’re running low on fuel and your body begs you to fix it, the consequences can be dire.
We support a healthy lifestyle and want to share some of the reasons why hunger can seriously disrupt our eating habits. You can also learn that hunger isn’t always real in the bonus feature at the end of the article.
4. Hunger Leads To Overeating
People who skip meals or eat irregularly often overeat to make up for the food they missed.
The human body needs constant nutrition every 3-4 hours to avoid slow metabolism, power outages, irritability, and cravings.
The longer you go without eating, the lower your blood sugar will be, resulting in a need for sugar in your food.
3. Hunger Doesn’t Help To Lose Weight
accurate. Sometimes, especially after undergoing a grueling diet, people can’t hear what their body is trying to tell them.
The brain learns to moderate hunger according to the lifestyle of the person. So people who always eat once a day can go about their business without feeling any cravings.
It doesn’t make it normal to eat just one meal a day.
Bonus: How To Identify Your Hunger
Scientists have identified three different types of hunger: physical, psychological, and opportunistic. Physical hunger is the normal desire to eat when you don’t have enough food in your stomach.
Rather, psychological hunger is driven by emotions and is essentially a craving for more than food. It is the desire to feel better or happier, or it can be other strong feelings that manifest as hunger.
Finally, there is opportunistic hunger. You see food lying around and you snap it up just because. It has nothing to do with actual hunger, but there is food available, so why not?
In summary, it is important not to confuse the notion of “I need to fill my body with energy” with the other 2 forms of hunger.
How often do you eat? Do you have a fixed feeding schedule or eat when you feel like it?