Controlling Hunger to Prevent Binge Eating
Controlling Hunger to Prevent Binge Eating
When your blood sugar is low, there are special hormones in your blood and stomach that tell your brain that you need to take in more food. Well, this is how the whole hunger and feeding mechanism is supposed to work. However, there are other factors which increase a person’s appetite, and can cause them to eat more than they should. If you believe that your appetite is too large, you will have to do some introspection to see what could be the problem. You may have to visit the doctor as well. Increased appetite is usually not life-threatening, however, overeating can cause health problems down the line.
If you find that your hunger is not relieved by portions that used to do the job in the past, then you will have to look at what changed in your life since then. If you have started an exercise regimen recently, or you have been more active, then your body will need more energy to meet the increased demands, which increases your appetite. If this is the case, it won’t be much of a problem unless you’ve been putting the wrong foods into your body. Eat more proteins and vegetables and do not go overboard on your carbohydrates, which can make you fat. Your carbohydrates include your starches and your sugars.
There are other factors that cause an increase in appetite. One of these is your mental health, due to common issues such as stress, anxiety and depression. It has been proven that when a person is stressed or depressed, a person will most likely eat more. Not only will they eat more, but they will eat more mood-elevating foods such as simple carbohydrates, also known as your sugars. Healthy foods do elevate your mood, but sugar does a much quicker job. The bad news is that the high you get from intaking sugar doesn’t last long, which causes you to eat even more sugar to compensate. If you believe you are depressed, you should visit your nearest psychologist or psychiatrist, and they will tell you what steps you should take. If you have been stressed out recently, start decreasing the amount of stress you allow in your life. For example, at work, ask for less hours or less projects to work on. You may be paid less, but your health is more important.
Other factors include mismanagement of a diet. Have you gone on one of those diets that asks you to cut out carbs completely? These diets hardly ever work, as people crave even more carbs than normal when they go on these diets. Do you feel light headed at times? Then you may need to visit the doctor. Increased appetite and light headedness are symptoms of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Your doctor may prescribe drugs to correct the problem, and also tell you how to manage your diet. You might also look at any medications you are taking. There are some prescribed drugs that can cause an increase in appetite, for instance, antidepressant drugs, ironically.
There are small things you can do to control your hunger. One of these is dividing your meals into more meals, which means you are eating more times throughout the day. You won’t feel hungry all the time, and you will actually lose weight this way. If all else fails, talk to your doctor.