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In a previous article that you can find here , I told you about the main causes of weight gain. And in particular the fact that we eat too much in relation to our physical activity. That’s why, in this article, I want to bring you 5 tips to learn how to regulate your hunger and lose weight without dieting if that’s your wish.
If you do not need to lose weight, this will allow you to reconnect with the sensations of your body but also to facilitate your digestion. Indeed, by eating less, the digestive system eliminates what is brought to it more easily, it is less overloaded and the energy released can thus be used for other organs. You will feel lighter, more energetic and therefore fitter.
Food has three roles:
homeostasis : providing the energy and nutrients needed to meet the body’s needs to function without deficiencies or excesses.
Hedonism : bringing pleasure
Symbolism : because our diet allows us to identify with a group and contributes to our socio-cultural integration.
The three are essential and specific to each one. Energy intake is regulated by hunger and satiety. We must therefore recognize them to have a diet that is adapted to our energy expenditure. Indeed, this expense is specific to each one, there are three different types:
the basic metabolism which corresponds to the expenditure of energy necessary to operate all our organs at rest. This corresponds to 60% of energy expenditure over 24 hours.
the energy expended by physical activity whether sporting or not. When you vacuum, you expend energy! It therefore varies from one individual to another and corresponds to 15 to 30% of energy expenditure over 24 hours.
the thermal effect of food ; it is the amount of energy by digestion and the whole process of absorption and transformation of food. This is equivalent to 10% of energy expenditure over 24 hours.
It is therefore necessary to find the balance between inputs and expenditures.
Here are the 5 tips to learn how to regulate your hunger and lose weight without dieting.
1st tip: Eat according to your hunger
This requires recognizing physical hunger and psychological hunger. As I explained to you in the article on the 3 causes of weight gain , physical hunger is a hollow feeling in the stomach, at the base of the sternum.
As can be seen in this diagram, the stomach is located in the middle, below the breasts.
stomach
This is where you should feel the sensation of hunger. There are several stages of hunger, the intensity can be barely noticeable, well perceived but comfortable, unpleasant or even painful. When it is too important, it can be associated with dizziness, headaches, a feeling of weakness.
When we eat because we are hungry, the stomach sends a signal to the brain to trigger the appetite; it is this process that awakens the 5 senses and makes eating a pleasure. From the start of food intake, a food counter is started and the stomach fills up gradually. The pleasure decreases, a signal is sent to the brain which triggers the feeling of fullness and a feeling of satisfaction. We then stop eating.
When we eat without being hungry, it is often because of an emotion or the sight of a food that makes us want to. The appetite process does not start and we eat without experiencing pleasure. What causes food intake to stop is the overflow of the stomach which sends a signal to the brain and then triggers a feeling of frustration or even guilt. It’s a vicious circle that starts then because these negative emotions make you want to eat even more even if you’re not hungry.
Tips :
To find out if you know how to recognize the feeling of hunger, I offer you a test . I discovered this test during my training in obesity nutrition at Montpellier University Hospital. You lose weight without dieting can download it by clicking here . Its objective is really to make you discover and become aware of your feeling of hunger. I have practiced it myself, which leads me to regularly ask myself the question: “am I really hungry? “If so, I eat. If I find that I’m not really hungry, I don’t eat. But sometimes I still eat out of cravings or because my mood is gloomy and it makes me feel good!
2nd tip: Recognize satiation
This is something very difficult. You can find the explanations on the difference between satiety and fullness in the article on the 3 causes of weight gain.
Your body fears lack and therefore prefers reserves. That’s why we eat more than necessary and have difficulty stopping even when we are no longer hungry. You may have noticed that being hungry is a rather unpleasant feeling, while being full is a very discreet feeling, almost imperceptible if you don’t pay attention to it.
Recognizing that we are satiated therefore requires training and for this, there are 2 important rules :
focus on what you eat and eat without being distracted, such as reading or watching TV
eat slowly to recognize the signal of satiety as soon as it arrives.
Tips :
To help you, I offer 2 tests that I invite you to download.
The quarter test and the three bite test : choose the one that suits you best. But it is important that you know how to recognize your feeling of hunger before doing these tests. I lose weight without dieting therefore invite you to put into practice the first of these 5 tips to learn how to regulate your hunger. I recommend that you start with the quarter test which will make you aware of the feeling of fullness. You can then do the three-bite test to work on satiety.
By doing these tests, you may be afraid of being hungry. This is completely normal as you will find that you will decrease the amount you eat. You must then allow yourself a snack and avoid nibbling. But what’s the difference? This brings me to the third tip:
3rd tip: Differentiate between nibbling and snacking
Snacking is eating outside meals without being hungry, due to a negative feeling, boredom or any other possible reason. It is often accompanied by a feeling of guilt and shame. It does not meet a physical need but an emotional need.
Snacking is eating between meals because you are hungry! We then respond to a physical need of the body which is in demand for energy. So there’s no reason to feel guilty even if it’s not time to eat and it doesn’t matter what you eat.
What you also need to understand is that if you even snack on an apple, it is an excess calorie intake even if it is low. Whereas if you take a snack by being attentive to muscarinic receptors what you eat and listening to your feelings, you will eat only what you need, regardless of the food.
Tips :
The first step is to know why you are snacking. Is it out of envy, boredom, stress, negative emotion, to be less hungry at the next meal? Once you have identified the cause, you will find the solution more easily. You have resources, trust yourself!
The second step is to change the way you snack. You do it out of greed, it’s ok because it’s out of the question to deprive yourself; this would lead to frustration and it lose weight without dieting would be even more difficult to control oneself. Do you snack quickly, doing something else, feeling guilty? So change that! Take the time, choose what you want to eat, sit down in a quiet place and awaken your 5 senses to take the time to taste your food. You will see that you will gradually reduce the quantities and take more pleasure.
