How to cheat appetite: the best ways to combat snacks and overeating

Best ways to combat snacks and overeating

Another Recently, a diet based on interval starvation has been very popular among young people (and not only). Its essence is that at certain hours of the day a person can eat almost anything he wants, and at other hours - only drink water or other low-calorie liquids.

It is convenient primarily because it does not need to count and weigh anything. Just choose the time of food and fasting, and adhere to this regimen. But this slimming scheme also has its drawbacks, for example, the desire to have a snack in between meals.

How to deal with it, as well as ways to avoid overeating, read in our material.

According to a survey by the International Food Information Council Foundation, in 2018-2019, intermittent fasting (we talked about it in more detail in this article ) took first place in the ranking of the most popular diets among Americans aged 18–34 years. This nutritional scheme has even surpassed the popularity of paleo-, Mediterranean, and low-carb diets, proven over the years. And such a success is quite explainable, because eating on a clock-by-hour basis is much easier than calculating calories, proteins, carbohydrates and fats, composing yourself a diet in advance and restricting yourself in something.

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One of the first about the effectiveness of interval fasting spoke Canadian nephrologist Jason Fung. And he didn’t just talk, but wrote a series of books about it, which immediately resonated in the hearts of adherents of good nutrition. According to Fung, the most important thing is not what a person eats, but when he does it.

In his opinion, this is due to the fact that in the modern world people are constantly surrounded by some kind of temptations: food in vending machines, in coffee houses, with sellers on the street; supermarkets are literally packed to capacity with various “snacks”, and it’s very difficult to get out of them without buying anything harmful.

Previously, stores were not full of so much food. Yes, and people ate, as a rule, at home and at certain times, and, not like now, in fast food shops, cafes and restaurants.

How to avoid temptations and not overeat? Here are some tips from leading experts in this field.

Jason Fung first of all recommends not to go on about advertising. According to the nephrologist, all the statements about the need “are little by little, but often”, are just the result of marketing campaigns of snack producers. Fung is sure that it was they who prompted nutritionists to draw such conclusions. Of course, for a generous reward.

Fung also recommends that his patients who adhere to interval nutrition do not respond to every “signal” about hunger. If you feel hungry during fasting, drink water, tea or coffee without sugar. Liquid will help suppress appetite in order to wait for a meal on a schedule.

Neurobiologist Alex Korb believes that first of all, you need to deal with the causes of overeating. According to the researcher, activity in two parts of the brain - the islet lobe and the basal ganglia - pushes the use of excess human products. The first affects the ability of a person to recognize the state of the body, the second - is associated with the control of habits and behavior.

So, as Korb says, often a person does not distinguish the signals of internal organs sent to him. Therefore, when the signal “something is wrong in the stomach” comes to the islet lobe, a person often thinks that he is hungry and begins to quench his appetite. Over the years, he developed an algorithm of actions: received a signal - then you need to eat. To overcome this urge to unconsciously overeat, you need to connect the prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain is responsible for planning, managing mental and motor activity. In other words, it helps to rationally think and correctly evaluate body signals.

To “turn on” the prefrontal cortex, Korb advises to calm down and be distracted. It can be light physical activity (warm-up, yoga or a walk in the fresh air), work, focus on any task. The main thing is to distract your attention from food and the desire to eat something. There is one way to deceive the islet lobe and the basal ganglia - drink water! You can also "take a mouth", for example, carrots or nuts.

interesting technique that contributes to the fight against overeating is a visual reminder of the early food eaten. Studies have shown that if you leave a plate on the table with the remains of a recent meal, people will eat 20% less. Other studies also claim that the amount of food consumed is affected by the variety of options on the menu (the more meals, the more people eat) and the availability of food (the more difficult it is to get it, the less people will eat).

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Another very important point when eating food is not to be distracted by TV, reading or listening to music. Scientists have found that in this case, the person does not focus on food and, accordingly, poorly remembers this process, because of which he soon has a desire to eat again.

To avoid this, try to focus as much as possible on the dish at ease: on color, taste, texture, details and so on. The more you have memories of the last meal, the easier it will be to postpone the next.

All of these recommendations vary, but have something in common. All of them indicate that you need to eat thoughtfully, but special attention should not be paid to specific foods and diets, but to the process of eating food.

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