Text of the book “GET SLIMMER EASILY. How to love yourself and find harmony for life"

The modern concept of beauty for most girls is equivalent to being slim.

It is thanks to this interpretation that young ladies torture themselves with all sorts of food restrictions.

Such self-experiments most often do not give the expected result; on the contrary, they further provoke the feeling of hunger that haunts us constantly.

Many people believe that the feeling of hunger is extremely difficult to train. After reading our article, you will be convinced that “putting your appetite in its place” is within the power of everyone; moreover, there are many ways to do this without harm to your health and figure.

What causes constant hunger?

The hypothalamus is the so-called culprit of our appetite and hunger. It is this part of the brain that is responsible for the emergence of appetite and regulates the need for nutrition. Hunger occurs when blood glucose levels drop; After eating, the glucose level returns to normal and the hypothalamus confirms that we are full.

For reference: appetite is a reflex that especially helped our distant ancestors, who strove to eat as much as possible in one sitting, preferably even to overeat. Excess food “went” into fat deposits, and when hard times came and it was not possible to eat for a long time, it was successfully used up.

Now this previously useful reflex has been transformed into the so-called feeling of false hunger and has become one of the reasons for psychological dependence on food and, as a result, overeating and metabolic disorders.

In this article we will not talk about how to “stop eating”, but about how to deceive that very feeling of false hunger. To do this, let’s find out how a healthy appetite differs from food addiction.

Conclusion: our appetite often deceives us. In many cases, “hunger urges” are caused by an unstable emotional state, and not at all by the need to replenish energy resources.

Read more about the causes and ways to combat “brutal appetite” in the interesting video below.

Method number 2: How to eliminate hunger with protein

Protein has been scientifically proven to make you feel fuller than carbohydrates and fats. One 2012 study asked participants to eat a full lunch with 20-30% of its calories coming from protein. The researchers found that subjects felt fuller for longer than people who ate a lunch with 10-15% of their calories from protein.

Take advantage of the benefits of protein at every meal and snack included. Focus on lean protein sources such as eggs, skinless poultry, dairy products, seafood and fish. Plant protein is also a great choice, found in legumes, tofu and nut butters.

Here are some examples of how you can increase the protein content of different meals and how to curb hunger:

• Add some plain Greek yogurt to your morning smoothie.
• Mix whole grain crackers or crackers with hummus or braided cheese.
• Add an egg to vegetable soup.
• Add beans and a hard-boiled egg to the salad.

Conclusion: Protein is more filling than carbohydrates and fats. Include protein in every meal to help you feel fuller longer. With its help, your appetite will dull faster.

How to satisfy hunger without food: the most effective ways

In order to deceive hunger and not leave it a single chance to seduce ourselves, we will use the most effective methods that are available to each of us. Choose according to your taste and capabilities:

• Drinking therapy (water, coffee, tea, cocktails to reduce appetite).
• Suppressing appetite using drugs from the pharmacy.
• Sport as a weapon in the fight against hunger.
• Breathing exercises for false appetite.
• Aromatherapy is an excellent help in the fight against hunger.
• Handy and home remedies that “drive away” appetite.

We will talk about each of these magical methods in more detail below.

How to stop feeling hungry when you quit smoking

When giving up a bad habit, you have to use all available means so as not to cause other harm to the body through weight gain. The main thing is to distract yourself from false attacks.

Can help:

• chewing gum;
• sugar-free caramels;
• vegetable snacks;
• plenty of water (a bonus will remove accumulated toxins from the body);
• playing sports;
• going to the sauna and swimming pool;
• distraction by books, films, communication with friends;
• coffee with skim milk;
• a little honey - on the tip of a spoon, be sure to wash it down with water;
• lemon juice squeezed onto the tongue.

These tricks will help you stay on track and not resume bad habits.

Water for weight loss: how to drink water so you don’t want to eat?

Everyone knows a simple and effective rule: you need to drink a lot of clean water - from 1.5 to 2.5 liters per day . But how many people follow it? Often we simply brush aside this postulate and simply force ourselves not to eat. And in vain, because water helps very well in getting rid of false feelings of hunger, the main thing is to know how to drink it correctly.

• Drinking a glass of slightly warm water immediately after sleep will make the body wake up and invigorate, and start the metabolism.
• Often our body experiences thirst, which we mistake for hunger and eat instead of drinking clean water. If you feel a sudden attack of hunger, drink a glass of regular water - without gas or sugar.
• Make it a rule to drink a glass of water 30 minutes before meals and 40-60 minutes after meals - this way you will not eat too much and are guaranteed to improve your metabolism.

Scientific fact : nutritionists have noticed that cool melt water can satisfy even a severe attack of hunger. The same effect will come from drinking a little salted clean water.

The main causes of constant hunger

Hunger in a person can occur for several reasons. Among them:

1. Sudden surges in glucose in the body. They are provoked by the constant consumption of foods rich in simple carbohydrates: buns, chocolate bars, cookies.
2. Psychological dependence on food. It occurs in people who were often rewarded with treats in childhood. In adulthood, they replace food with friendship and relationships with the opposite sex.
3. Metabolic disorders. The condition can be triggered by hormonal changes and endocrinological diseases.
4. Increased physical activity. Hunger can literally haunt people who have high physical activity.

In most of the presented cases, a person’s exorbitant appetite is ensured by an unstable psycho-emotional state. This problem can be dealt with using simple tricks. If they do not help, you need to visit a nutritionist and undergo a comprehensive examination. The cause of hunger can be serious illnesses that need to be treated.

Coffee and tea for weight loss

Today, pharmacies offer a wide range of all kinds of drinks for weight loss - coffee and tea. The effect of these drugs is based on a diuretic and laxative effect, partial suppression of the sense of appetite from the systematic use of these drinks.

Some products are indeed popular because of their effectiveness, but it should be borne in mind that they act differently on everyone, and without trying, you will not know how consuming this or that “cocktail” will affect your body. Therefore, we will give you recommendations on how to deceive your appetite by drinking regular coffee or tea.

• When you feel an acute feeling of hunger (not to be confused with a physiological need), brew yourself ground black coffee without sugar or cream. Pamper yourself - keep only good quality coffee at home, buy your favorite variety and enjoy an aromatic invigorating drink, replacing cakes or sweets with it.

The secret of coffee is simple : it suppresses appetite, energizes and has a diuretic effect, that is, it relieves swelling.

• The same effect is attributed to tea, and to make this drink even more effective, drink green tea with lemon - it will suppress hunger and strengthen your immune system.
• Try this tea recipe: place 2 tablespoons of grated ginger root, 2 whole garlic cloves in a thermos, and brew in 2 liters of boiling water. Leave for 2 hours, then strain. Take when you feel hungry spontaneously or between meals.

Nutritionist advice

Specialists most often do not recommend losing weight while experiencing acute attacks of hunger. This is not only harmful to the body, as it causes a drop in blood sugar and disrupts metabolism, but also does not give the desired result - weight loss occurs quite slowly during fasting.

But whoever listens to the doctors, the girls go back on diets. And mild hunger attacks occur more often in the evening or during the day, when there is no need for extra calories. What to do in this situation?

How to learn to eat less to lose weight

Obesity is a serious problem all over the world. One way to lose weight is to learn to eat less and...

How to satisfy your hunger in the evening

The list of allowed foods for a small snack before bed depends on the chosen diet.

• On vegetarian - these are vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds;
• on protein - a little cottage cheese, boiled meat or low-fat cheese;
• on low-calorie - a glass of low-fat kefir with bran, fruit drink.

When trying to switch to proper nutrition, you can satisfy your evening hunger with whole grain crackers with soft cheese and cucumber, vegetable salad with flaxseed oil, pureed vegetable and chicken soup without bread.

Weight loss drugs

You need to be very careful with pills that dull the feeling of hunger and be sure to consult a doctor, since most of them are diuretics and should not be taken if you have kidney or gastrointestinal diseases.

The most popular:

• Fluoxetine;
• Reduxin Light;
• Reduslim;
• Turboslim "Day and Night".

In the absence of contraindications, tablets and powders help to lose weight without painful attacks of hunger.

Effective drinks and cocktails that quickly satisfy your hunger

As for hunger-quenching cocktails and decoctions, if you suffer from attacks of uncontrollable appetite, we recommend trying these drinks:

• compote of dried fruits with a minimum of sugar is an ingenious remedy for sudden hunger;
• parsley infusion - chop a bunch of greens and brew it in a glass of hot water; consume after steeping for 20 minutes;
• fig tincture - brew several figs in 0.5 liters of boiling water, and after 10 minutes an effective drink for deceiving hunger is ready;
• Kombucha infusion - not only quenches appetite and promotes weight loss, but also participates in the general improvement of the body's microflora;
• garlic tincture - grind 3 cloves and pour 250 ml of lukewarm water; This drink will infuse for an hour, and you need to drink it at night - 1 tbsp.
• oxygen cocktail , which can be purchased today at any sports center, in a matter of minutes reduces the feeling of hunger and allows you to feel full due to the air bubbles that are present in it.

Is hunger a sign of a serious illness?

It happens that the reasons for the constant feeling of hunger after eating lie in the state of health. The body signals problems, but we cannot always recognize them correctly. In this case, expert advice is necessary. Consider a list of diseases in which constant hunger is one of the symptoms.

If you notice signs of one of the diseases, consult a doctor immediately. Perhaps a constant feeling of hunger is the cause of a serious illness that can be fatal if not responded to in time.

Note! In a normal state, a person begins to feel hungry 10 to 12 hours after eating. If stomach rumbling appears earlier, this is a natural need. Eating infrequently signals the brain to enter energy-saving mode, and metabolism slows down.

Men and women who often drink alcohol have a feeling of a burning desire to snack, even when they have eaten and are not full. This is caused by disturbances in the functioning of the nerve endings of the brain. From an excess of alcohol, control over the signals of nerve endings is often lost. In this case, you need to contact a specialist who treats alcoholism.

Sports to get rid of hunger: the most effective exercises

It has been proven that ordinary exercise done during a hunger attack helps reduce appetite. Even simple exercises distract you from thoughts about food and also help burn calories. We offer some of them.

"Wave".

1. Lying on your back with your knees bent, place your feet on the floor.
2. Place one palm on your chest, the other on your stomach.
3. As you inhale, straighten your chest as much as possible and draw in your stomach.
4. As you exhale, draw in your stomach and, if possible, your chest.
5. Observe the natural rhythm of breathing, and keep your muscles in good shape, do not strain too much. You can also perform this exercise standing or sitting.

After doing 30-40 approaches, you will notice that you don’t want to eat at all. Of course, you cannot replace the physiological need for food with a set of exercises, but it is quite possible to eliminate the appetite that appears inappropriately.

"Swallowing Air" . Remember your favorite childhood pastime - swallowing air followed by burping. This way you will not only get rid of the urges of false hunger, but also activate your intestinal muscles.

"Warming up the dimple above the upper lip" . This point is responsible for the feeling of hunger. Massaging it for 10-15 minutes can dull your appetite.

Breathing exercises are an excellent help in the fight against appetite, which has run rampant just like that.

Check out a set of exercises that are guaranteed to eliminate hunger pangs.

The difference between false hunger and real hunger

Often, people suffering from increased body weight may receive advice from their doctor to eat only when they feel really hungry. Few will explain how a false one differs from a real one.

Let's try to identify the signs of real hunger:

1. It comes to a person after a certain period of time, usually 4-6 hours after, for example, breakfast.
2. It never arises suddenly and abruptly. Irritating factors in the form of delicious smells are not a sign of real hunger.
3. There is a certain feeling of hunger in the stomach, rumbling may occur, etc.
4. Satisfying real hunger brings a person moral satisfaction and a feeling of satiety.

An ideal breakfast should contain dairy products, cereals, eggs and other healthy foods.

Signs of false hunger:

1. It can occur at any time, even if you have just eaten.
2. Occurs under the influence of external irritating factors - delicious smells, beautiful pictures of food.
3. The need for food when upset or stressed.
4. The desire to occupy yourself with food while watching a movie or doing monotonous work.

It is very important for every person to learn to identify psychological hunger in order to learn how to deal with it correctly.

Home Remedies to Relieve Hunger Without Food

To avoid feeling hungry, try tricking your appetite with simple home tricks that have proven to work:

• If you are overcome by ravenous hunger for no particular reason (not to be confused with the physiological need for food), chew sesame seeds or eat one fresh cucumber . These products in small doses do not have a serious calorie content, but they do a good job of eliminating hunger.
• If your appetite runs wild before bed, just brush your teeth : this will dull your hunger a little, and you’ll hardly want to eat with your mouth cleaned.
• Taking a moderately hot bath is great for reducing appetite.
• It has been proven that blue color reduces appetite , while red and orange awaken it. Conclusion - dress in blue, cover the table with a blue tablecloth, and “put” blue curtains on the windows, and the feeling of hunger will not haunt you.
• Drink a glass of lemon water , a cucumber smoothie, or green tea.

• Chewing gum significantly dulls your appetite.
• Chew a sprig of parsley - it will ease the feeling of hunger.
• Self-massage the point between your upper lip and nose or do the breathing exercises we described above.

Why is there no satiety after eating?

Many people complain that the feeling of hunger does not go away after eating. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence. Why hunger occurs after eating, how to reduce it, what are the main reasons - many questions plague the mind of the average person.

There are people who complain that the feeling of hunger does not subside even in those moments when the body is definitely oversaturated with food.

Some may think that food addiction and feeling hungry after eating are the same thing, but they are not. So, let's look at the feeling of hunger after eating - the reasons for its occurrence.

Non-compliance with diet

If you don’t have a routine and skip snacks during the day, then we can say with 100% certainty that even after eating a hearty meal, you will feel hungry. All nutritionists recommend eating three to five times a day. It is advisable to eat at the same time every day.

Haste while eating

Since childhood, our parents scolded us for eating quickly in order to quickly run away to our games. These comments are quite serious. After all, when a eater sweeps away the contents of his plate at the speed of sound, his receptors do not have time to convey to the brain that the body is full. Due to the rapid absorption of food, there is a high risk of overeating, and after eating, suffering from a false feeling of hunger.

Try not to rush anywhere while eating and not burden your head with unnecessary thoughts and actions. Concentrate on eating lunch, trying to enjoy the taste of the prepared dishes as much as possible. This behavior will allow you to truly enjoy food and in the future you will not suffer from the feeling of hunger after eating.

Lunch in a hectic environment

A restless environment leads to the fact that you are often distracted from the process of absorbing food. Your brain switches to external stimuli, you begin to get nervous, and try to finish the process of eating food faster. At this time, your body produces fewer necessary enzymes, the digestion process is disrupted and the feeling of satiety does not occur.

The human body often confuses the feeling of thirst with the feeling of hunger.

Increased loads

It’s worth reassuring everyone right away, increased physical activity leads to increased appetite. This is normal and correct, because working muscles very quickly use the energy accumulated by the body. However, if training leads to overeating and a constant desire to eat, there is still reason to think about it.

Here are several reasons for the uncontrollable desire to eat after a heavy meal during physical activity:

1. Your workout is too intense. Remember that the strength part should not exceed more than 40 minutes, take rest between approaches and use the services of a trainer.
2. Poor nutrition and irregular routine. Before training, be sure to eat food at least half an hour before the start. A sports diet must contain proteins and complex carbohydrates.

Non-compliance with drinking regime

Our stupid brain often cannot understand what it wants to drink or eat. Often, if you do not have enough fluid, then even after half an hour of a hearty lunch, you will feel hungry. Try to drink up to ten glasses of water a day.

It is important to understand that water means clean drinking water. Sweet carbonated drinks, coffee, and alcohol do not help saturate the body with fluid.

Pure natural water is extremely beneficial for the body. It rids the body of waste and toxins. Thanks to water, beneficial substances penetrate the cells of your body faster.

Vitamin and mineral deficiency

Few can boast of a complete and balanced diet. The pace of development of the chemical industry leads to a deterioration in the quality of food products. The result of these processes is a lack of vitamins, minerals, micro- and macroelements that take part in the process of proper digestion and metabolism.

A lack of magnesium and calcium provokes cravings for sweet and salty foods. And eating sweets further reduces the content of these substances, only increasing hunger. A person finds himself in a vicious circle. The solution is to increase your intake of dairy products, leafy greens, seeds and nuts.

You need to monitor the sufficient amount of fluid intake and try to learn to distinguish the feeling of thirst from the feeling of hunger.

Iron deficiency has the greatest effect on the feeling of hunger. Women during menstruation are susceptible to uncontrollable eating. The solution is to eat more rabbit meat, fish, pumpkin seeds, and dried fruits. For better absorption of iron, these foods should be consumed with foods that are rich in vitamin C.

A lack of omega-3 fatty acids causes cravings and leads to overeating. The solution is to eat fatty sea fish, oysters, shrimp, mussels.

A lack of B vitamins leads to overeating. To preserve and accumulate them, you should give up alcohol, coffee and sugar. You need to eat meat, dairy products, eggs, and greens. Eating raw foods is very beneficial.

For pathologies of the nervous system

If a person is constantly in stress mode, a malfunction occurs in his body. Nervous anxiety increases cortisol, which leads to obesity and insulin resistance. Constant mental stress increases the amount of norepinephrine. This substance affects the appearance of uncontrolled appetite.

To cheer themselves up after stress, people try to eat sweet, unhealthy foods containing hydrocarbons. They produce serotonin, which improves a person’s mood, but they also inhibit the formation of leptin (the hormone responsible for satiety).

Digestive system diseases

Increased appetite may indicate that a person has pathologies of the digestive system. This can be caused by several reasons:

1. Fast peristalsis. Food simply does not have time to stay in the gastrointestinal tract.
2. Disturbance of the intestinal mucosa. The body does not fully absorb nutrients from food.
3. Disruption of the normal functioning of the enzyme systems of the pancreas, liver, and intestinal walls.

In some cases, a persistent feeling of hunger is not directly related to food at all, but indicates a lack of vitamins and microelements in the body.

To exclude all causes, it is necessary to undergo a medical examination, do an ultrasound of the gastrointestinal tract and undergo a series of tests. After eliminating the root cause, the constant feeling of hunger after eating will gradually disappear.

Lack of physical activity

If a person leads a sedentary lifestyle, then all the energy received from food is not spent anywhere. The body begins to make reserves, the walls of the stomach expand due to the abundance of food, and much more food is needed to satiate. This lifestyle can lead to psychological disorders and dysfunction of the brain centers that are responsible for feelings of satiety and hunger.

In addition, there is a psychological factor - a person begins to eat out of nothing to do in order to occupy his free time.

For a balanced life, people need exercise. Try to brighten up your life with jogging, yoga, cycling or going to the pool. Even simple walking will be a good alternative on the path to a healthy life, helping to ensure that the feeling of hunger goes away as quickly as possible.

From mental activity

Increased mental activity, oddly enough, takes a lot of energy, leading the smart guy to the desire to have a snack. Afterwards, mentally working people often continue to suffer from hunger.

It's all because of our brain, which sends a signal demanding that we replenish the missing energy as soon as possible. It should be remembered that this desire is easily corrected by introducing foods with a high glucose content into the body.

Doctors and nutritionists unanimously say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

The best sources of glucose are: rice, corn, potatoes, nuts, legumes. When planning their diet, knowledge workers need to include these foods in their diet as often as possible.

To urgently solve the problem of hunger, such people are advised to eat any sweet product that can increase the glucose level in the body.

Lack of normal sleep patterns

Normal human sleep should be at least 8 hours a day. The body must be given the opportunity to recover. Chronic lack of sleep leads to decreased leptin production. Leptin is responsible for the body’s feeling of fullness with food.

Numerous scientific studies have shown that people who sleep 4-6 hours want to eat much more than those who sleep 8-9. Having not received enough energy from quality sleep, your body seeks to take it from food.

Try to organize quality sleep for yourself. Before going to bed, a walk in the fresh air and reducing the use of mobile phones, computers and other electronics will help.

Beware of diabetes

If you begin to notice that the portion of food that was previously normal for you no longer satiates you, then this is a serious signal to be wary. An additional signal will be a constant feeling of thirst, which usually occurs after eating salty food.

Unfortunately, not all people find time in the morning to have breakfast, but yet it is breakfast that increases productivity by 30% and gives a boost of necessary energy.

It is worth going to the clinic to get tested for diabetes. Type 2 diabetes helps convert food not into energy, but into fat. The constant feeling of hunger in this case is caused by increased secretion of insulin, which begins to work incorrectly - to absorb sugar with disturbances.

Type 2 diabetes usually develops over time and occurs in people over 40 years of age. One of the main reasons for its occurrence is poor nutrition.

Hormonal abnormalities

Everything in life should be in moderation. Disruption of the required amount of hormones can lead to frequent feelings of hunger after eating.

Increased levels of the hormone ghrelin in the body causes an increase in enzymes that are responsible for fat deposits and reduces the consumption of existing deposits. By acting on the hypothalamus, ghrelin causes hunger.

Another hormone, leptin, is often called the satiety hormone. Accordingly, the less of this hormone in the body, the more you want to eat. After all, leptin acts on the hypothalamus, blocking the appearance of a neuropeptide that causes hunger.

Increased levels of the male hormone testosterone in a woman lead to increased breakdown of nutrients. Testosterone is a metabolic enhancer that promotes rapid weight gain and hunger.

If your breakfast turns out to be hearty and healthy, then during the day the feeling of hunger will not bother you as much, and you will eat much less for lunch and dinner.

Often, hormonal abnormalities require a thorough examination and medical intervention, so if you begin to experience constant hunger without changing your lifestyle and nutrition, be sure to consult an endocrinologist and get tested for hormonal levels.

Motivation: how to force yourself not to eat?

In moments when a brutal appetite awakens, only strong motivation can keep you from setting foot on the beaten path to the refrigerator. We offer effective motivational techniques to force yourself not to eat.

1. Visualization : imagine as clearly as possible that you are attractive, slim and fit. Will this beautiful woman really go and start eating food at night? 2. Set a clear goal : how much do you need to weigh, what size clothes to wear? 3. Get on the scale regularly . There is no better motivation in the world than realizing the fact that you have managed to lose a kilogram again. Praise yourself for every step towards your ideal figure. 4. Play on the feeling of guilt in front of yourself : convince yourself that everything you eat tomorrow will end up on your wasp waist and beautiful hips. 5. Eat only in front of the mirror : watching your reflection while eating, you are guaranteed to eat 20-25% less. 6. “Before and after” : an excellent motivation for those losing weight is contemplating photographs of thinner women who were able to overcome their appetite and achieve perfect shape. Can't you do that? 7. Find like-minded people, arrange a kind of weight loss “challenge” and fight your appetite together - fun and effective.

How to satisfy hunger without food: detailed instructions

1. First, find out if you are really hungry? Drink a glass of lukewarm water: if you still feel hungry after 10-15 minutes, you may really need a snack.
2. Analyze your condition: maybe your appetite has increased due to stress? Try not to eat the cake, but, for example, take valerian, maybe the feeling of hunger will disappear by itself.
3. Do breathing exercises and self-massage as described above.
4. Perform simple physical exercises - pump your abs, jump rope, perform a plank or wave exercise. For 30-60 minutes the feeling of hunger will go away.
5. Take a hot bath, preferably in combination with aromatherapy - arm yourself with an aroma lamp or use foam with the scent of vanilla, citrus, banana or lavender.

Remember, nothing increases your appetite more than idleness. Load yourself with work to the maximum, distribute your time so that there is no time left not just for food, but even for thinking about it.

The main secrets of getting rid of hunger without food

Paradox: in order not to be hostage to a constant feeling of hunger, you need to eat right , and we will teach you how to do this:

1. If you eat food while listening to music or TV, more will “fit” into you - scientifically proven; Conclusion - eat in silence.
2. Don't snack on the go or while standing - eat while sitting.
3. Eat from “toy” dishes - with a tiny fork from a small plate.
4. Spread your meals out over 20 minutes, chewing your food thoroughly. It is after 20 minutes that your brain will give you a signal that you are no longer hungry.
5. Avoid food temptations: do not keep sweets and other “junk food” on hand.
6. Before going to bed, be sure to take a walk - this will help reduce your appetite.
7. Sleep more: according to statistics, a well-rested person eats much less than a person who does not get enough sleep.
8. Eat little by little, but on a schedule - this way your body will stop spontaneously feeling hungry, and you will begin to control your appetite.
9. Avoid hot sauces and seasonings - your appetite's best friends.
10. If you really want to eat, eat foods high in fiber.

Hedonism for dummies

Is it even possible to lose weight without starving? Logic tells us no. If losing weight was easy, we'd spend our entire lives wearing the same size jeans we wore at school.

Sometimes we find ourselves stronger than hunger - one in six people who lose 10% of their maximum weight manages to stay at the achieved level for a year or longer. Alas, the remaining five are somehow regaining at least some of their former weight. But why? The scheme seems simple: calories are needed for the normal functioning of muscles, bones, and organs; In a healthy body, hunger determines exactly how much energy you have expended and how much you need to eat to meet the needs of all the listed systems. Why do we continue to eat even when all the energy “holes” have already been closed?

This is because food gives us pleasure. The human brain reacts to food in much the same way as it does to drink or drugs. And at some point, the brain ceases to distinguish why we feel the desire to “eat another piece”: whether it is because we do not have enough fuel, or because we urgently need to improve our mood. The possibility of this pleasure, momentary and so accessible, turns out to be much more convincing than the illusory hope of parading on the beach under the gaze of admiring girls. And we perceive this hedonistic craving as hunger.

We make about 200 food-related decisions throughout the day, and many of these decisions are related to our mood and circumstances. Here are the most risky situations:

• you dine with a company (you can eat on average 236 kcal more than in splendid isolation);
• you sleep little (people who slept only four hours for four days increased their diet by 300 kcal per day);
• in front of you is a buffet (the more different food you see, the more you put on your plate);
• you eat in front of the TV (people can consume 76% more while watching a screen than in peace and quiet).

And this is just the beginning of a list that is very individual. Some people eat more when they are happy, while others eat more when they are stressed. Some people dive into food after a couple of glasses, while others, on the contrary, “sit down” on chocolate bars when they give up beer. Finally, we eat simply when there is food: the smell, taste and sight of delicious food makes us behave like that laboratory mouse that pressed the button 700 times in a row, sending an electric shock to the pleasure center of the brain. We can eat one, two, or three steaks in a row - and realize that we will never put another piece of this delicious meat in our mouth. But then the steak is replaced by cake - and magically space appears in your stomach, and you continue to eat. This is hunger, yes - but a hunger for pleasure, not for energy.

Well, then physiology turns on (more precisely, breaks down). If you regularly overeat, your body builds up fat reserves, and the connection between the areas of the brain responsible for appetite and other organs (muscles, digestive system, liver and pancreas) weakens. Your body becomes less sensitive to two of the most powerful appetite-regulating hormones: leptin from your fat cells and insulin from your pancreas—even though the fat version of you produces more of them.

It turns out that the fatter you are, the more hunger is detached from its original function - to send a signal that the body needs energy. Is everything really a vicious circle, and you are doomed to eat more and more and become fatter? Not really. Of course, it is impossible to completely get rid of hunger, but there are a couple of ways to reduce it (or take your mind off it). There are many options. Read on and choose - one, two, or all at once.

Your great willpower will also be supported by these five small tricks.