Gateway to Health Challenge
Newsletters
Week 7
Honoring Your Hunger:
Key to Achieving and Maintaining a Healthy Weight
By Linda Rellergert, University of Missouri Extension, adapted by Molly Vetter-Smith, University of Missouri Extension
To explore the principles of Intuitive Eating as outlined by authors Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, this week’s feature article is about honoring your hunger to help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
While it may seem backwards to train yourself to eat
to help with weight control, research shows skipping meals,
especially breakfast, is associated being overweight. Also,
dieting is associated with weight fluctuations, which 95% of
the time leads to returning to one’s original weight within
5 years, and 50% of the time, those who regain weight, weigh
more than they did before they started the diet.
Our bodies signal hunger in a variety of ways. Chances
are, you have noticed some of these signs:
- lightheadedness
- mild to severe headaches
- mouth watering
- stomach growling
- stomach pains
- restlessness
- irritability
- feeling somewhat anxious
The brain turns on these signals when it is running low
on fuel as a way of urging us to eat. Since our very
survival depends on keeping the brain supplied with fuel,
these urges are very strong.
If we don’t eat when we are hungry, don’t eat enough or
don’t eat the right kinds of food, there are consequences.
The brain responds as if we are in a famine and does what it
can to avoid starvation. That response includes:
- Slowing down metabolism so we use less energy.
This might sound like a good thing, but we get more than
just energy from our food. We also need the nutrients
from adequate amounts food for good health. Most of
those needs do not go down even if your need for energy
is reduced.
- Increasing the drive to eat. When food
becomes available again, we are driven to over-eat. Even
someone not dieting or starving but just very hungry
before a meal would likely want to overeat. Notice how
much more food you want to order at a restaurant or buy
at the grocery store when you feel ravenous. This is a
natural reaction to physical hunger.
- Increasing efficiency of fat storage. There
is increasing evidence that as the body needs fewer
calories due to lower metabolism, more of the fat that
is eaten will be stored rather than used. The result is
that it is easier and easier to get fatter after every
diet.
With dieting, we make decisions about eating based on the
diet instead of hunger. We eat when the diet says it is time
to eat rather than when our body says it is in need of fuel.
Or, we eat only as much as the diet says we can have, not
the amount our body says it needs. The more we diet, the
more we learn to ignore what our body says. Eventually we
lose touch, we may no longer be able to sense when we are
hungry, when we are full.
The question, then, is how to recapture the ability to
sense hunger so that we can respond to it before we get so
hungry we want to overeat. Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
offer some suggestions in their book, Intuitive Eating.
Recall the last time you did feel hungry. What did that
feel like? Think about ways people have described hunger —
stomach growling, gurgling, stomach pain, lightheadedness,
feeling faint, restless or unable to concentrate, irritable,
headache. Is this what you felt?
For the next couple of days, check in with your stomach
every few hours and try to describe what you are feeling.
Don’t go without eating for more than five hours when
awake. Longer than that and you will be likely to overeat at
the next eating opportunity as your fuel stores are used up.
Expect your appetite to change from day to day. Research
shows that people who eat a little less one day are likely
to eat a little more in a day or two and vice-versa.
Finally, try not to be too rigid about this principle of
honoring hunger. Normal eating is flexible enough to allow
for those times when we eat because something looks so very
good or because it is a special occasion. Having a piece of
birthday cake to celebrate a co-worker’s birthday is fine
even if you’re not really hungry. You might want to make it
a small piece, though, just to avoid being uncomfortable.
Normal eating also allows us to plan ahead with our
eating. For example, if you will be going out later and
won’t be able to eat, it is fine to eat now even though
you’re not especially hungry. This kind of eating will keep
you from overeating because of getting overly hungry.
Honoring hunger is all about listening to the body and
responding to the signals it is sending. People who do this
are more likely to achieve and to maintain a healthy weight.
NUTRITION TIP OF THE WEEK:
Snack Right
By Greta Hopke, University of Missouri Extension, adapted by Molly Vetter-Smith, University of Missouri Extension
Snacks can be very important aspect in honoring you hunger as well as meeting your dietary needs of fruits and vegetables, but they can be helpful or harmful! Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind when snacking:
- Eat a snack size that fits your hunger level, if you
know you will be eating a meal soon, don't turn the
snack into a meal
- Make your snack help meet nutritional needs and
goals-- try to include fruits and vegetables! See this
week’s recipe of the week for a quick easy dip for fresh
veggies.
- Snack on foods that will give you energy that will
last. A snack high in sugar may give you quick energy
but will likely leave you feeling tired after a half an
hour. So, try to have you snack include some protein and
fat to keep you satisfied. Also, fiber keeps you feeling
full longer.
- Plan ahead. If you are going to have a snack, take
one with you. Healthy snacks are very limited in vending
machines.
EXERCISE TIP OF THE WEEK:
Plan an Active Summer Vacation
By Linda Rellergert, University of Missouri Extension, adapted by Molly Vetter-Smith, University of Missouri Extension
This time of year we are starting to think about and plan
for a summer vacation. The goal of most vacations is to have
fun and to rejuvenate. An active vacation is a great way to
reduce stress, lighten spirits and become or stay fit.
Having fun is the primary objective, so be sure to match
activities with family likes and dislikes as well as
abilities and interests.
- Choose a destination featuring fun outdoor
activities—national parks for hiking, the shore for
swimming and beach combing.
- Take part in the fun. Vacations are a good time to
try out activities you might not have a chance to try at
other times of the year—water skiing, canoeing/kayaking,
hang gliding, snorkeling, scuba diving, hiking, rock
climbing, body surfing. Let loose and give it a whirl.
- Alternate quiet activities with more challenging
ones or this may feel more like work than fun. Inclement
weather may also affect your plans so have a variety of
possibilities in mind.
Try to include some activity into the trip as well
as the destination. If driving, stop several times for
an activity break such as sight seeing. A short walk or
game of Frisbee will keep the “when are we going to get
there” moaning to a minimum. Layovers in airports or
train stations provide time to stretch and walk off
stiffness.
Don’t stop when the vacation is over. Decide to include
fun, physically active events in your daily and weekly life.
Take a mini-vacation every day and feel better physically
and mentally.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK:
Quick and Easy Bean Dip
By Linda Rellergert, University of Missouri Extension, adapted by Molly Vetter-Smith, University of Missouri Extension
Quick and Easy Bean Dip and Pita Crisps are toothsome goodies which just happen to be low in fat and sodium, and high in fiber, calcium and taste. Buy some fresh vegetables at the Farmer’s Market to eat dip with pita crisps, and curb your between meal hunger with this healthy snack.
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.5-15 oz) red kidney or pinto beans, rinsed and
drained
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Optional Seasonings: Ground pepper, and/or cayenne
pepper
Place all ingredients in blender or food processor and
puree until smooth. Scoop into small bowl, cover and chill
until ready to use, up to 5 days.
Makes 1 ¼ cups. Nutrition information per
2 tablespoon serving: 67 calories, 3g total fat (<1g
saturated fat), 7g carbohydrates, 2g protein, 3g dietary
fiber, 98mg sodium.
Pita Crisps
2 whole wheat pita breads (6 inch)
Olive oil spray
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut each pita bread into 8 wedges,
then separate the two layers to make 16 wedges. Place wedges
on large baking sheet in single layer. Spray lightly with
olive oil spray. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 15
minutes.
Makes 8 servings of 4 crisps each. Nutrition information per serving: 49 calories, 1g total fat, 9g carbohydrates, 2g protein, 1g dietary fiber, 109mg sodium.
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