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| Friday, June 25, 2010 |
| Why You Shouldn’t Deprive Yourself |
If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you know that dealing with feelings of hunger is often part of the package. I like to call it diet deprivation. According to a new study, depriving yourself or skipping meals could very well be sabotaging your best efforts at weight loss.
Researchers found that the “hunger” hormone ghrelin, which acts in the brain to stimulate your appetite and increase food intake, actually makes high-calorie, high-fat foods more appealing. That means when you’re feeling hungry or deprived and ghrelin gets released, you’re more likely to crave something unhealthy.
But that’s not fair you might say. If I’m working so hard to avoid all those unhealthy foods, I should surely get rewarded. I’m sorry to say, it doesn’t work that way. Think about how many times you’ve eaten like a bird all day only to scarf down a whole pint of ice cream (or a half box of Cheeze-It’s in my case) right before you go to bed because you’re starving.
You can blame it on years of evolution people. In prehistoric times, the brain sought out calorie dense food because it was necessary for survival, but hard to come by. Nowadays, high-calorie, high-fat food is everywhere you turn and the desire for it persists, especially when you’re dieting. Unfortunately, evolution hasn’t caught up with our “supersized” lifestyle.
What’s the solution? Don’t deprive yourself or let yourself get too hungry because it’s more likely you will just end up overindulging on the wrong foods. This could help explain why someone who skips breakfast wants to go for a candy bar and bag of chips for lunch instead of soup and salad. Here are a few tips to keep you on track:
- Start your day with a nutritious breakfast. Even if you have to grab something on the go, do not…I repeat…do not skip breakfast.
- Eat small frequent meals throughout the day to keep hunger at bay. I like to eat every 3 or 4 hours. If this isn’t possible or convenient for you then be sure to keep healthy snacks handy to tide you over until the next meal.
- Stay hydrated. Dehydration can often be mistaken for hunger which can lead you to eat when you don’t really need to. Aim for half your body weight in ounces of H2O a day.
- Fill up on fiber. Fiber works by promoting a sense of “fullness” which helps prevent overeating and weight gain. To get fiber eat a variety of plant based foods including fruits, veggies, whole (unprocessed) grains, beans and legumes.
Last but not least, stop viewing your “diet” as something you turn on and off like a light switch, but rather as part of a healthy lifestyle. Food is meant to nourish your body. If you deprive yourself (which leads to the inevitable cravings for unhealthy foods we talked about earlier) you’re certainly going to miss out on some of the vital nutrients you need to keep your body running in top condition. Indulge your cravings from time to time; it may just help to prevent the dreaded BINGE. And remember, it’s all about balance!
- Lauren
If you like this article, you might also enjoy…
Sensei Talks: Is it healthy to eat small frequent meals?
Sensei Talks: Crush Those Cravings
Labels: healthy eating, Lauren
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posted by My Sensei @ Friday, June 25, 2010   |
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| 2 Comments: |
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A great post, full of common sense. As a former yo-yo dieter, I can tell that I started to lose weight the day I stopped thinking going on diet and decided to go for a healthier lifestyle (stop eating junkfood)
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Amen to this post! :-)