4 ms·

also there's a difference between hunger and appetite, is there not? And with appetite (at least for me) what I mean mostly is wanting to have something sugary.

by Tarsul 4y ago

also there's a difference between hunger and appetite, is there not? And with appetite (at least for me) what I mean mostly is wanting to have something sugary. However, whenever I give in to it, it gets even harder to stop then (not just in the minute, but also an hour later or two). Which is why eliminating the first step (giving in once) is the most important part... at least thats what I'm finding out right now. (I wanted to keep eating like a tiny amount of sweets but... really, the body craves too much then. Better to stop full-stop.) I noticed that black tea, black coffee and apples (yes, they have natural sugar I know) reduce my apetite for sweets. Very helpful (although caffeine is its own kind of drug).

csours 4y ago
Yes, that's my experience too. Controlling your food environment is critical. Your brain will remember that you have snacks nearby. The farther away they are, the easier it is to forget them. I did a mental exercise where I put 3 jelly beans in front of me, and I tried to notice when I ate them. The first 3 or 4 times, I didn't notice at all. I only noticed when they were gone and I wanted another one. I think sugar is a triple threat as far as hunger and appetite goes: 1. When you start to eat sugar, you want to eat more. Very sweet things were relatively rare, on an evolutional time scale, this is a completely natural response. There is strong research behind this idea. 2. If you have a high-sugar snack with low protein and low fiber, then your blood sugar spikes and then drops. That blood sugar drop feels terrible and the only way to 'fix' it is to eat sugar. Some people may be able to wait it out, but that can be dangerous in some cases. I'm not a doctor, talk to your doctor about how to handle hypoglycemia. Obviously it is best to not have a hypoglycemic episode in the first place. This is a well known metabolic process. 3. I don't know if there is research on this, but in my experience after I have high sugar snacks multiple days in a row a "monster" wakes up and my appetite gets very strong. I do eat processed sugar still, but I limit it to one or two things a day.

by Tarsul 4y ago

csours 4y ago

Yes, that's my experience too. Controlling your food environment is critical. Your brain will remember that you have snacks nearby. The farther away they are, the easier it is to forget them. I did a mental exercise where I put 3 jelly beans in front of me, and I tried to notice when I ate them. The first 3 or 4 times, I didn't notice at all. I only noticed when they were gone and I wanted another one. I think sugar is a triple threat as far as hunger and appetite goes: 1. When you start to eat sugar, you want to eat more. Very sweet things were relatively rare, on an evolutional time scale, this is a completely natural response. There is strong research behind this idea. 2. If you have a high-sugar snack with low protein and low fiber, then your blood sugar spikes and then drops. That blood sugar drop feels terrible and the only way to 'fix' it is to eat sugar. Some people may be able to wait it out, but that can be dangerous in some cases. I'm not a doctor, talk to your doctor about how to handle hypoglycemia. Obviously it is best to not have a hypoglycemic episode in the first place. This is a well known metabolic process. 3. I don't know if there is research on this, but in my experience after I have high sugar snacks multiple days in a row a "monster" wakes up and my appetite gets very strong. I do eat processed sugar still, but I limit it to one or two things a day.