That's not so easy, and sometimes I joke that my stomach has been replaced by a black hole or some other tear in the space-time continuum. Matter may go in, but it forever departs from known reality. The hole is unfillable.
I found a few ways to keep from getting to this point, and if I plan correctly, I can go for a whole day on very little food. Here's how:
What I have found works for me to moderate my appetite and develop steady energy:
1. Using carb reduction to get appetite under control.
Limit sugar and carbohydrate intake at breakfast to no more than a couple teaspoonfuls in a couple cups of coffee, or a small piece of fruit.Limit sugar and carbohydrate intake throughout the day to small quantities. No big bottles of juice. Maybe one piece of fruit.
As I think I mentioned elsewhere, after exercise (particularly weightlifting or high-intensity aerobic exercise, but any movement is better than none) is one of the best times for carbohydrate intake. Have most of your carbs then. This is the time for all the juice and cookies and pasta, although sweet potatoes, squash, and fruit would be much more nutritious choices. I've had some points where I got really sleepy after exercise if I didn't eat carbohydrates soon afterwards. While your body is repairing itself after doing some physical work, this is a time when glucose is most useful, and taking in some starch or a little sugar may be helpful in maintaining a constant energy level.
The first time I experimented with low carb eating and I found I wasn't getting hungry every two hours felt like a major revelation. It was a liberation in that I was able to be productive and focused without having to pay attention to food all the time.
2. Get enough sleep!
Your appetite regulation will be messed up if you don't sleep enough. When I skimp on sleep, I'm much more willing to eat whatever, and it's much harder to hold myself to any nutrition plan.3. Pay attention to exercise type and amount
Some types of exercise stimulate appetite, whereas other types of exercise have much less of an effect. High-intensity aerobics and pliometrics, and heavy (1-rep-max) weightlifting seem to me to have the biggest effect on making me hungry. Yet, if I commute home half an hour on my bike, it doesn't make too much of a difference.Furthermore, regular exercise can help you be better in tune with your body, as it stimulates signally between the brain and the rest of the body. When this happens, you develop a better sense of when you actually do need food (feeling low energy, some hunger) and when you are actually full when you eat.
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The word "hangry" is a portmanteau of "hungry" and "angry" and is a great description (at least in English) of that feeling when the Hunger Monster arrives. Having named this feeling, I hope you now have some tools to do something about it.
Some thoughts on the science of why this works
I wanted to provide more scientific backing behind what's going on here, but it's not looking like I'll have a lot of time to provide full citations in the near future. Please feel free to email me relevant review articles at j@sleepfoodexercise.com.My current understanding is that insulin regulation is largely behind the phenomena I've been discussing. The idea is that sugar intake signals your body to spike insulin levels. Then, responding to the insulin, the cells in your body rapidly remove all the glucose from your blood, and your blood sugar levels crash. The brain, used to the presence of lots of glucose, initiates a feeling of hunger, in order to take in more food to stabilize blood sugar levels to a more customary level. By reducing the overall sugar intake, or taking in carbohydrates that are more slowly absorbed, you train your body to regulate blood sugar levels more evenly without requiring rapid responses of glucose and insulin.
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