HUNGER: You’re Looking at it all wrong

“I’m losing weight and I’m not even hungry!”.

“I don’t eat until after lunch because I’m not even hungry until then”.

Have you said either of these before when on a new diet kick? Or maybe you’ve heard someone say them?

Typically they’re said boastfully, but it is not a badge of honour. And it is not a healthy sign in general. I will explain why in a minute but perhaps you can relate with one (or both) of these common remarks. If so, keep reading…

Firstly, both statements show a clear lack of understanding of how weight loss actually works. And secondly, they both imply that hunger is a bad thing that is to be avoided at all costs if possible. It is not the goal to avoid hunger during weight loss. Quite the contrary, it should be accepted (and even celebrated to an extent) because it is a natural physiological process in a healthy human as well as a reasonably good indicator that you are, in fact, in a calorie deficit. Before I show you why you’re looking at hunger all wrong, let me actually explain what hunger even is…

Basically, hunger is experienced when our body is in a state of metabolic breakdown. This means that you are not consuming enough food in the form of calories to maintain your current body weight. Hence, your stomach signals the release of a hormone called ghrelin (coined the “hunger hormone”) which results in the typical feelings of hunger that we all know. The intention of this is to motivate you to eat some food in an effort to maintain your current body weight and NOT use current energy stores as fuel. The reason your body prefers to maintain it’s current form is explained by something called self-preservation. Self-preservation is a basic instinct seeking to protect oneself from harm or death. The reason our self-preservation instincts kick in during a moment of inadequate food is because your body assumes it’s in a famine of some kind, or at least at risk of such. And it knows that if this continues you will starve. If your body is successful with getting you to consume enough food during feelings of hunger then it has managed to avoid starvation and your basic instincts of self-preservation have won. During periods of dieting, your body effectively assumes that it’s in a state of famine. It has no interest in losing weight for any reason.

When you embark on a diet plan that results in you deliberately under-consuming calories in order to lose weight, you are fighting very old biological systems that are impressively well-designed to keep us alive. This is very important to understand. Now, with that info in mind, do you see why experiencing hunger isn’t all bad necessarily? And might even be seen as an indicator of success if your goal is to lose weight? Sure, hunger is uncomfortable - that’s probably why most people make decisions to avoid it. It increases cortisol and adrenaline (two powerful stress hormones) which can lead to irritability and anxious feelings. Sound familiar? This is exactly what happens when you get “hangry”.

Think about it - most people start a diet plan and they are gung ho. All fired up to crush their goals. Then they actually start feeling hungry… and then they start to think “Oh, I don’t like this feeling. How much longer is this diet gonna last? I want to lose weight but I don’t want to feel like this. I already ate all my allotted food for the day and it’s only 4pm? Oh no…This diet is too extreme, I shouldn’t be feeling like this!”

Have you ever had thoughts like this after starting a new weight loss plan?

The point I am trying to make is that while hunger is certainly not something we’d actively pursue in a “normal” circumstance, it is something that can be highly valuable when you’re dieting if you can understand what it actually means. It’s a tool. It’s a signal. It’s a sign. It’s biology. It’s INEVITABLE.

Instead of fighting the inevitable, it’s much more reasonable to simply accept that you will be hungry on many occasions during your weight loss journey. And that’s ok. If you spend all your effort on the latest tricks and tips to avoid hunger at all costs, then you haven’t really set yourself up well longterm to manage your emotions around eating since you will be so sensitive to changes in your mood relating to food. Accepting hunger as a natural biological process and seeing it for what it is - a reasonably good indicator that you are successfully consuming less food than you need to maintain your current weight (aka a calorie deficit) - then you will be much more likely to stay consistent with the plan you are on.

All this to say that hunger is a GOOD thing when dieting, despite the symptoms feeling bad. Embrace the inevitable and welcome it with open arms instead of constantly running away. This simple change in reframing how you see hunger and it’s symptoms will unlock how you manage your behaviour around food forever and make your journey to a healthier body weight a lot more positive.

• Tim

Follow me on Instagram: @tim_mshc

Send me feedback: valeofitnesscoaching@gmail.com

Apply for coaching: https://forms.gle/kiFPLS1nrzpUv7MX7

Learn more here: www.valeofitnesscoaching.com