<aside> <img src="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" alt="/icons/light-bulb_blue.svg" width="40px" /> The biggest roadblock faced when trying to control what we eat is hunger. The feeling that diverts your attention towards feeding yourself.

Hunger works in a cyclical nature, dictated by your usual eating habits. When you approach one of your ‘usual’ mealtimes, you receive a spike in a hormone called ghrelin, and you get hungry. What you may not know is that once you surpass the window you usually eat in, even if you don’t eat, ghrelin reduces and your hunger goes away until your next expected mealtime.

As we all know, the primary way to combat hunger is by consuming food, which leads to feeling satiated (full). Leptin is the primary satiety hormone; it’s in charge of how full you feel.

Steps to Tackle Hunger:

1 - Hydration

The first place you should turn when you feel hungry is to water. Dehydration can provide the same discomfort as hunger, so it can easily fly under the radar. And so, my first suggestion would be to drink a sufficient amount of water (or, see the ‣) and wait 10-15 minutes.

If your discomfort hasn’t passed, continue to examine your feelings.

2 - Cravings & Deficiencies

Are you bored? Did you just experience an acutely stressful situation? Are you tired? If you’ve just broken your fast, are you letting the floodgates open in search of the next meal?

Specific cravings can also arise as your body’s way of telling you that you’re not satisfying its need for a certain nutrient.

• Low carbohydrate diets can lead to sugar cravings
• Restricting your salt intake too much can lead you to crave salty (often fast) foods
• Craving dark chocolate can be an indication of magnesium deficiency

A quick way to recognise this is to ask yourself, “In this moment, could I eat anything?”, say a plain ham sandwich or a pickle (choose anything that works for you).

If yes, you may well just be hungry. If not, consider that maybe your body is in need of a certain nutrient.

The reward centres in your brain may switch to food as a reward for abstaining from it, in the form of indulgence – almost like ‘feeding time’. This can be especially the case for longer periods of fasting.

Keep your cool and ride the wave.

3 - Eat more food when you are eating

Pretty simple this one.

Increase your consumption of fibrous fruit and veg, protein, and healthy fats—all of which are satiating (filling) which will keep leptin high and hunger at bay.

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