Is managing your hunger supporting you?
I saw a friend this week who I haven’t seen in awhile, she looked amazing and released some weight. She said, “I realized how hungry I needed to be before I ate.” Do you wait long enough to feed your true hunger or are you managing your food so you don’t fear being or becoming hungry?
First, let’s break down how blood sugar functions in your body. You eat some food, your blood sugar goes up, insulin rises to take care of the nutrients, the nutrients are transported toward their respected organs, your blood sugar normalizes, and all is well. The goal is you will get hungry again when your body truly needs more energy.
In some people, however, eating food causes the pancreas to secrete a large amount of insulin. Your blood sugar drops from its postprandial (blood glucose after a meal) high, but the insulin goes above and beyond, then your blood sugar continues to plummet past “normal.” Then hunger becomes constant, but you’re not really receiving nourishment. You’re just eating to push up your blood sugar.
Then we have the quick fix feeling when the brain tricks you by secreting endogenous opioids, morphine for the brain, together with dopamine, cause you to want more of whatever food triggered those secretions. Examples of these foods can be sugar, dairy, wheat, flour and alcohol.
So, it seems my friend supported her blood sugar functioning by feeling her true hunger and waiting to eat so her body could receive the energy it truly needed.
How to help your pancreas not to go over and beyond:
- Cinnamon: Add in a warmed nut milk as a snack if you are not feeling hungry but not yet trusting your blood sugar, especially mid morning or mid afternoon when your energy level slumps.
- Gymnema Leaf (Gymnema sylvestre): Helps to support healthy blood sugar levels already in the normal range by modulating intestinal glucose uptake: Fenugreek Plus from Metagenics is a great brand to try. A portion of these supplements support the author of these informational blogs & videos:) thank you!
- Two cups of Veggies twice a day: The new 2×2:) I LOVE teaching others to add in 2 cups of veggies twice a day. Either juiced, blended, sautéed, salads, soups, and raw.
- High Fiber Foods: Add these food in your rotation; artichokes, green leafy vegetables, chia seeds, flaxseeds, apples, pumpkin seeds, almonds, avocado and sweet potatoes.
- Sleep: Lack of sleep can raise stress and appetite hormones (like cortisol and ghrelin, which make you hungry), making it harder to void sugary snacks, refined grain products and caffeine overdose. So if you have a tough night, just be on high alert that these cravings may come in but you are prepared with these other tips.
Play with your hunger and begin to decipher if you are feeding your blood sugar or really giving your body the nutrients it needs to give you the energy you deserve.
Stay balanced & embrace your hunger,
Heather Fleming, C.C.N
P.S. Check out my video when my body steered me to try something new! Your cells are your inner guidance system. Stay cool & have a happy holiday!
