A frequent desire to have a snack or a constant feeling of hunger is familiar to many people, especially in conditions of stress and an active rhythm of life. This can cause not only discomfort, but also problems with health and excess weight. Nutritionist Oksana Moskalenko talked about two effective life hacks that have been proven to cure obsessive food cravings.
Normally, a person should have three full meals plus 1 or 2 snacks depending on the need. At other times, we should not chew anything so as not to provoke spikes in blood sugar. However, sometimes, in addition to full nutrition, we have constant snacks, not always balanced food, which satiates for a very short period. All this provokes a person to constantly overeat, which can negatively affect both health and weight. Nutritionist Anna Bukhovska told why we can feel constant hunger, and what life hacks will help to get rid of this habit.
Why do you always want to eat?
"Of course, if you constantly want to eat, you need to understand individually what the reason is. It can be an insufficient number of calories in the diet, that is, a person physically does not finish eating and because of this he will want to eat all the time," says the nutritionist.
Even if you do not skip meals or eat your calorie allowance due to sweets, you will also quickly get hungry, because such food is very fast.
"All these are physiological points, but there are also psychological ones. For example, when we are constantly under stress and want to reduce it. It has evolved so that when we eat, we feel more or less safe and relaxed, that is, food becomes a kind of island of safety. In this way, this process of chewing is soothing," says Anna Bukhovska.
Constant overeating can have a number of negative health consequences, including weight gain. Sometimes you may not even notice it, because you are throwing something in your mouth on a vending machine, without feeling hungry or even understanding whether you need food or when you last ate.
How to stop constantly chewing
"First, you need to balance your diet and have three main meals. It should be a normal amount of food, not 100 g, and the diet should include all food groups: vegetables, fruits, various cereals, legumes, which many ignore," advises the nutritionist. "Also, the diet must contain various fats and high-quality protein. If at least one of these things is missing, a person will quickly become hungry."
Protein can be obtained from various sources, including plant sources, because all food groups should be present in the diet. The main sources of protein are meat, fish, legumes, seafood, etc. You can choose from what you eat and what is available to you at that moment.
"Another life hack that will help is to eat something crunchy. Many people start to eat more junk food in autumn and winter, for example, chips, crackers, crunchy sweets. There are good substitutes for this case! You can buy fruit chips without additives or vegetable chips (but not everyone likes their taste) without oil," advises Anna Bukhovska.
While regular potato chips are deep-fried, healthier fruit and vegetable chips are made by dehydration, that is, drying. They are healthy, so you can safely use them if you want to crunch or chew something while watching your favorite TV show or podcast.
"It can also be fresh carrots, there are special baby carrots in stores that are good for a snack. In addition to the fact that it will be a fresh element on your plate, it will also be crunchy and soothing," the nutritionist emphasizes.
Anna Bukhovska also recommends a variety of nuts, seeds, various breads and crackers - everything that can satisfy the need for chewing.
"It is important to eat nuts whole, because it is the moment of chewing that is important. You can also dry bread in a pan, grill or even in the oven, prepare pita bread breakfasts, which, if dried in a pan, turn out to be extremely crispy," says Anna Bukhovska. "That is, you need to add different textures, eat not only puree with cutlet, but also whole meat that needs to be chewed. After all, the chewing factor is very important and the moment when the food crunches brings us pleasure."
If you notice that you are constantly hungry and constantly skipping meals, review your diet and try to strictly adhere to the regimen of full three meals a day. Try to eat all food groups to get the necessary nutrients and cover deficiencies. Be sure to add some crunchy elements and do not be categorical about your favorite products.
