If you decide to start eating healthy, remember that you cannot drastically cut your diet. Are you wondering how to start eating less? There is no point in going to extremes. Spontaneous fasting, after so many years without any restrictions, has never brought any benefit to anyone. If you reduce the amount of food consumed per day, then only gradually, so that the body does not experience serious stress. This rule also matters for your psychological health. This immutable rule also includes the fact that in no case should you refuse morning meals, because it is with breakfast that the body receives energy for further normal functioning.
Eat more protein
Research shows T. L. Halton, F. B. Hu. The effects of high protein diets on thermogenesis, satiety and weight loss: a critical review / Journal of the American College of Nutrition that a high protein diet is better satiating, and therefore reduces appetite. Therefore, after a piece of lean meat, you don’t want to eat longer than after the same amount of vegetables. The norm is calculated by M. S. Westerterp-Plantenga, S. G. Lemmens, K. R. Westerterp. Dietary protein - its role in satiety, energy, weight loss and health / The British journal of nutrition individually. Optimal - 0.8–1.2 g per kilogram of body weight. The most protein is found in meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products.
Cellular hunger
Do you want honey when you have a cold? Chicken noodles after the flu? Chips in a summer park? These desires can either express the body’s needs for certain nutrients and microelements, or simply be a whim. To learn to feel whether these are the true aspirations of our body, it is useful to practice a little:
- When looking at a bag of chips, ask yourself: “Am I sure this will make me happier?” And until you get an answer, don’t clog your stomach.
- Always drink a glass of water before meals: thirst can easily be confused with hunger.
Eat more fiber
She stretches L. Chambers, K. McCrickerda, MRYeomans. Optimizing foods for satiety / Trends in Food Science & Technology stomach, slows down its emptying and increases the release of the satiety hormone leptin. True, not every type of fiber acts this way. Research shows that whole grains are best for reducing appetiteD. N. Cooper, R. J. Martin, N. L. Keim. Does Whole Grain Consumption Alter Gut Microbiota and Satiety? / Healthcare and legumesS. S. Li, CWC Kendall, RJ de Souza, VH Jayalath, AI Cozma, V. Ha, A. Mirrahimi, L. Chiavaroli, LSA Augustin, SB Mejia, LA Leiter, J. Beyene, DJA Jenkins, JL Sievenpiper. Dietary pulses, satiety and food intake: A systematic review and meta‑analysis of acute feeding trials / The Obesity Society products.
We pass by low-fat products and go for fruit
How to limit yourself in food during the day? Many people who are losing weight, as soon as they see the inscription “0% fat”, sweep such products off the shelves. But it has long been proven that most of these products have absolutely no benefit to the body. This is explained quite simply: in order to reduce the percentage of fat content, for example, in milk, you need to add something (obviously unhealthy) to it, which will affect the composition.
As for fruits. If there are not enough of them in your daily diet, then this matter urgently needs to be corrected. After all, even one green apple contains the daily human requirement of vitamins. In addition, many fruits are quite sweet, and this is a real salvation for those who like to pamper themselves with confectionery.
Eat more solid foods
In one studyB. A. Cassady, R. V. Considine, R. D. Mattes. Beverage consumption, appetite, and energy intake: what did you expect? / The American journal of clinical nutrition, some of the subjects ate solid food for a snack, and the rest ate liquid food. It turned out that among the members of the first group, hunger passed faster and did not appear for a longer time.
And based on a meta-analysis of 22 studies, E. Robinson, E. Almiron‑Roig, F. Rutters, C. de Graaf, CG Forde, CT Smith, SJ Nolan, SA Jebb. A systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effect of eating rate on energy intake and hunger / The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, scientists confirmed that if you have to chew food for a long time, then satiety lasts longer than usual. This means that a person will eat less.
Limits without limits
If you are losing weight, this does not mean that you have to chew the hated salad and shed tears. Choose food to your liking. If just the thought of broccoli spoils your mood, cook yourself something more tasty and filling. A person’s weight loss program is laid out in their head. Scientists have proven that people who convinced themselves that their portions were large and the food was delicious became full faster than those who ate forcefully. This is one of the most important rules for losing weight.
Read food labels
The researchers conducted an experimentA. J. Crum, W. R. Corbin, K. D. Brownell, P. Salovey. Mind over milkshakes: mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response / Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, during which participants were offered a cocktail. At the same time, one group was told that the calorie content of the drink was 620 kcal, and the second - 140 kcal. Both of them drank a glass and had their blood tested for the hunger hormone ghrelin. Then the scientists gave real calorie labels (380 kcal) to read, and after 60-90 minutes the participants repeated the procedure. It turned out that the level of ghrelin changed depending on the person’s awareness of the greater or lesser calorie content of the product.
How to painlessly limit yourself in food?
To follow the new regime and not feel deprived, you can use these tips:
- Chewing gum is a good way to temporarily suppress your appetite. Everything is simple here. When a person chews, a signal is sent to the brain that food has been consumed. At the same time, the stomach remains empty, and the feeling of hunger goes away;
- If you have dealt with the problem of excess weight, then now there should be no place for idleness in your life. When a person is not busy with anything, out of boredom he will go to empty the refrigerator. Do useful things (at home or at work), find a hobby that really interests you.
- Find a place for yoga in your life and introduce the principles of conscious motivation into your daily routine.
This is not a complete list of actions that will help you lose 5 kg in 2 weeks.
Eat a piece of dark chocolate
It turns out that he is capable of L. B. Sørensen, A. Astrup. Eating dark and milk chocolate: a randomized crossover study of effects on appetite and energy intake / Nutrition & Diabetes Moreover, milk chocolate does not have this property. And in another small study, E. T. Massolt, P. M. van Haard, J. F. Rehfeld, E. F. Posthuma, E. van der Veer, D. H. Schweitzer. Appetite suppression through smelling of dark chocolate correlates with changes in ghrelin in young women / Regulatory peptides it was possible to establish that you don’t have to eat dark chocolate: just smell it to feel full.
Physiology of appetite in humans
The physiological mechanism of appetite is to regulate food intake through changes in the level of food arousal. This level can be either low or high. The latter is accompanied by an urge to search for and eat food. This is a conditioned reflex that a person develops over the years and depends on the diet, habitual environment, and emotional state.
The set of structures of the central nervous system forms the food center, which regulates eating behavior. If the appetite is increased, then the excitation of this center is strong, and accordingly, it is more difficult to control. And if it is reduced, then the excitement is weak. Appetite also depends on the chemical composition of the blood, which inhibits or stimulates the food center.
Use small plates
The amount of food a person can eat is estimated at L. R. Vartanian, N. M. Reily, S. Spanos, C. P. Herman, J. Polivy. Self-reported overeating and attributions for food intake / Psychology & health by eye. If we put the same portions in plates of different sizes, then we will assume that there is much more food in the smaller dishes than in the wide ones, where there is free space. The study showedB. Wansink, K. van Ittersum. Portion size me: plate‑size induced consumption norms and win‑win solutions for reducing food intake and waste / Journal of experimental psychology. Applied that such visual assessment also affects the feeling of satiety. Therefore, if you use a small plate and put less food on it, you can be as satisfied as with a large portion.
Train your willpower
Always remember that all your efforts to organize a balanced diet will pay off with interest. Scientists have proven that people who are overweight are more unable to resist even minimal temptations than others. Therefore, your task is to train your willpower for the sake of your own health. If you are thinking about how to learn to limit yourself in food, then try to study psychology and self-control, be stronger than your weaknesses.
Don't forget about physical activity
Aerobic exercise helps reduce appetite. In one study N. Evero, L. C. Hackett, R. D. Clark, S. Phelan, T. A. Hagobian. Aerobic exercise reduces neuronal responses in food reward brain regions / Journal of applied physiology subjects exercised on an exercise bike for 60 minutes after an overnight fast. Then the participants in the experiment underwent an MRI of the brain. It turned out that sport helps change the way neurons react to food. Food did not evoke the same interest as before physical activity, and people also enjoyed eating less and did not look forward to eating.
Another study M. M. Schubert, S. Sabapathy, M. Leveritt, B. Desbrow. Acute exercise and hormones related to appetite regulation: a meta‑analysis / Sports medicine showed that physical exercise suppresses the production of the hormone ghrelin, which increases appetite.
Visual hunger
An eclair in a pastry shop literally screams: “Eat me!” Looking at a cookbook makes you salivate. This is eye hunger. “The sight of food triggers the release of hormones and insulin,” comments psychotherapist and nutritionist Gerard Apfeldorfer. “They sharpen the appetite.” How to control your appetite:
- Try to switch your attention and “eat” something else with your eyes, for example, a magnificent landscape or a good photograph. Perhaps this will be enough and hunger will disappear.
- Set the table and arrange food beautifully on plates, even if you are having lunch or dinner alone.
- Before you start eating, carefully examine the contents of your plate, not your iPad or iPhone.
Get enough sleep
If a person sleeps less than the recommended 7–8 hours a day, his K levels increase. Spiegel, E. Tasali, P. Penev, E. V. Cauter. Brief communication: Sleep curtailment in healthy young men is associated with decreased leptin levels, elevated ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite / Annals of internal medicine hunger and appetite. I especially want high-calorie foods that contain a lot of carbohydrates. This is due to the fact that the production of the hormone leptin decreases, but the level of ghrelin increases.
Olfactory hunger
A person can distinguish ten thousand smells and often enjoys the aroma of food no less than its taste. Brioche, roast or steak... One fragrance can whet your appetite. To satisfy such hunger, you need:
- Inhale the aromas of the foods on the plate, just as we do with a glass of wine.
- While eating, concentrate on the smells - inhale, inhale, inhale.
- Regularly arrange an aromatherapy session with your favorite notes - vanilla, almond, cocoa - and observe what emotions they give rise to.
What to do to prevent the development of eating disorder: what to avoid and what to pay attention to
Initially harmless new eating habits, fads with diets and food experiments can, over time, provoke eating disorders.
Diagnosing an eating disorder is often difficult because the signs are not always obvious to the person himself, not to mention those around him: sometimes even loved ones may not notice these manifestations. As a rule, this is caused by the fact that people with a broken relationship with food hide their differences, and often do not recognize them themselves.
What behavior to pay attention to
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The presence of at least several factors from the list and their impact on your quality of life, health and psychological well-being indicates that you need to contact a psychologist specializing in eating disorders.
Night snack: benefit or harm
The human gastrointestinal tract continues its work at night, so it is necessary to have dinner. If you systematically go to bed hungry, over time you can acquire chronic diseases - from gastritis to stomach ulcers. In addition, night hunger leads to insomnia and headaches, decreased performance, memory impairment and irritability. There are 2 basic rules for eating at night:
- Do not go to bed immediately after eating. It's better to take a short walk or watch TV first.
- Try to eat a smaller portion than for breakfast or lunch.
However, eating before bed can be harmful. The main mistake is eating foods that are too high in calories and fat. At night, the body needs a minimal amount of energy to function. Therefore, an excess of heavy food leads to the fact that it does not have time to be digested and stagnates in the intestines. This can lead to poor health and excess weight in the future.
