Contents:
- Medical Video: The Hungry Girl's Tips to Eating Healthy at a Restaurant
- How can hunger occur?
- The benefits of eating only when feeling hungry
- Benefits of eating before being hungry
- So, which one is better?
Medical Video: The Hungry Girl's Tips to Eating Healthy at a Restaurant
Hunger is basically a body mechanism to signal that the body's energy has begun to decrease, so it needs to be replenished by eating food. Even so, there is still debate when should we eat, whether when hungry or have to eat before being hungry?
How can hunger occur?
Hunger is triggered by hormones originating from the digestive tract, namely leptin and ghrelin. Changes in levels are both adjusted for the availability of food reserves in the body. The ghrelin hormone is a trigger for hunger and desire to eat. The level increases before eating and will drop a few hours after eating. While the leptin hormone is a trigger for satiety which levels increase when the body's energy has been fulfilled from food, so it can provide a sense of satiety.
Either eating when hungry or before hunger is a method of regulating diet, so it does not affect food absorption too much. The difference between the two is the body's effect on hunger and how we respond to hunger.
The benefits of eating only when feeling hungry
There are two reasons why our diet should only follow hunger
Limit daily calories - recommendations for eating only when you're hungry, aiming to reduce daily calorie consumption, especially for people who are on a diet. For some people, eating food is not triggered by hunger, but rather a result addicted to sweet foods or salty and snacking habits, so that you consume excess calories than you need. Although it's a little difficult, this method is also useful in changing the habit of snacking on someone.
Adjust the calories spent for activities - the mechanism of hunger only occurs when the body lacks energy, so when hungry is the right time to re-fill energy. Calorie consumption is more likely to be needed when many activities that involve physical activity and thinking skills in a day. So, only eating when hungry is a method of regulating the right diet if you are less active, especially in physical activity.
Even so, we also need to recognize hunger and ensure that it is not just "cravings" to eat something. This can be done by not immediately deciding to take food, but wait for around 10-15 minutes. If there is no sign of feeling hungry like a decrease in concentration and abdominal sounds, or if hunger is lost, then you don't really feel hungry.
Benefits of eating before being hungry
There are several reasons why eating the body before giving a hungry signal is better, including:
Respond to hunger wisely - in fact, hunger often influences our decision to choose food. When feeling very hungry, we tend to choose foods that are strong in taste like sweet, salty and fatty, this can trigger addiction and eat excess food. Conversely, eating before hunger will also affect the assessment of the food to be consumed and make it easier for us to choose healthier foods.
Reducing the risk of eating too fast - In addition to influencing decisions in choosing food, eating before being hungry also influences how a person enjoys food. Someone who eats before hunger is more likely to eat slowly and stop eating faster because the hormone ghrelin level is not too high.
Good for improving meal schedules - busy and many activities often make us skip meals. Although often not feeling hungry, this still has a negative impact on health and affects the body's performance. This can be corrected by eating before being hungry but according to the schedule in the morning, afternoon and evening.
So, which one is better?
Each method of regulating diet has advantages and disadvantages of each so it must be adapted to the needs of each individual. Eating only when hungry is likely to be difficult for some people, including those who have metabolic syndrome such as diabetes or obesity, because their bodies are more "immune" to satiety or leptin. In addition, the quality of nutrition must be considered in applying both by consuming fibrous foods and high in protein to maintain satiety in sufficient time.
