Hunger and appetite from a nutritional psychology perspective
As you learned in the previous post, your motivation comes from extrinsic and intrinsic incentives. Hunger and appetite are both motives that arise from within you (so, intrinsically). That's why both are incredibly strong and it's hard to resist them.
We eat because we're happy, sad or simply bored and sneak into the kitchen. We eat because we fancy a certain flavour, out of peer pressure ("because everyone else is eating") and because the smell from the snack bar makes our mouth water.
Are we really hungry in those moments?
No.
And that's exactly our big problem: we find countless reasons why we feel like eating right now and don't pay attention to our body's signals, which show us exactly whether our body needs nutrients at the moment (hunger!) or not (appetite!).
Bet that...
...there are less than 10 minutes between spotting the muffin in the kitchen when you're bored and throwing the empty wrapper in the bin? Don't believe it? We do. The cucumber next to it, on the other hand, you leave lying there.
What determines our eating behaviour?
Our eating behaviour (which includes hunger and appetite) is governed by the complex interplay between our digestive organs and our brain.
Neural and hormonal signals from our gastrointestinal tract are sent to areas of our brain (the hypothalamus and the medulla oblongata) that tell us how full we are.
When we perceive food through our senses (through smells, the sight of it and so on), the electrical signals are sent to the visceral sensory cortex, an area of the cerebral cortex. It is closely wired to the reward system in our brain: it controls motivated behaviour, and with it the act of eating, and gives us satisfaction from good taste - no matter whether we're really hungry or just feel like eating.
So what do these insights into hunger and appetite do for us?
Many of us find it hard to tell appetite from hunger. We eat even though our body doesn't need any food energy. If this behaviour becomes a habit, there's a risk of being overweight.
Ask yourself whether your current eating behaviour is intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. This is also decisive for your success when changing your diet! Be aware of which situations make you reach for which food, so you can actively counter it. Pause for a moment and think ahead: are you really hungry?
Our lifehack for telling hunger and appetite apart
To find out whether you're really hungry, all you need to do is ask yourself this question: "Would I eat a plain cucumber right now if I had one?" If you answer this question with "YES", you're probably hungry. If not, then you just have an appetite!
Learning to tell hunger and appetite apart with intermittent fasting
For all the snackers among us: many people who fast report a much improved regulation between hunger, appetite and fullness after a fasting period. The intermittent fasting programme from frank juice, as well as any form of juice cleanse, can help you pay better attention to your body's signals. Take a look HERE right away!
Hunger and appetite from a nutritional psychology perspective
As you learned in the previous post, your motivation comes from extrinsic and intrinsic incentives. Hunger and appetite are both motives that arise from within you (so, intrinsically). That's why both are incredibly strong and hard to resist.
We eat because we're happy, sad or simply bored and sneak into the kitchen. We eat because we fancy a certain taste, because of peer pressure ("because everyone else is eating right now") and because the smell from the snack stand makes our mouth water.
Are we actually hungry in those moments?
No.
And that's exactly our big problem: we find countless reasons why we feel like eating right now and pay no attention to our body's signals, which show us very precisely whether our body needs nutrients at the moment (hunger!) or not (appetite!).
Bet that...
...there are less than 10 minutes between discovering the muffin in the kitchen when you're bored and throwing the empty wrapper in the bin? Don't believe it? We do. The cucumber next to it, on the other hand, you leave lying there.
What determines our eating behaviour?
Our eating behaviour (which includes hunger and appetite) is governed by the complex interplay between our digestive organs and our brain.
Neural and hormonal signals from our gastrointestinal tract are sent to areas of our brain (the hypothalamus and the medulla oblongata) that tell us how full we are.
When we perceive food with our senses (through smells, the sight of it and so on), electrical signals are sent to the visceral sensory cortex, an area of the cerebral cortex. This is closely wired to our reward system in the brain: it controls motivated behaviour, and with it the act of eating, and gives us satisfaction from good taste, no matter whether we're really hungry or just fancy food.
So what do these insights about hunger and appetite do for us?
Many of us find it hard to tell appetite from hunger. We eat even though our body doesn't need any food energy. If this behaviour becomes a habit, there is a risk of becoming overweight.
Ask yourself whether your current eating behaviour is intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. This point is also decisive for your success when changing your diet! Be aware of which foods you reach for in which situation, so you can actively work against it. Pause for a moment and think beforehand whether you're really hungry!
Our life hack to help you tell hunger and appetite apart
To find out whether you're really hungry, all you need to do is ask yourself this question: "Would I eat a plain cucumber right now if I had one?" If you answer this question with "YES", you're probably hungry. If not, you just have an appetite!
Learning to tell hunger and appetite apart with intermittent fasting
For all the pleasure eaters among us: numerous fasters report a greatly improved regulation between hunger, appetite and fullness after a period of fasting. The Frank Juice intermittent fasting programme and any form of juice cleanse can help you pay better attention to your body's signals. Why not take a look HERE right away!
