Many things can confuse your ability to detect true physical hunger and fullness. If you’ve been ignoring your hunger and fullness signals for a while, your physical sensitivity to them decreases.13 This comes from chronically restricting food intake, continually cleaning your plate or limiting eating to certain times when following a diet.
Here is what’s super interesting about following a diet plan — how do you feel when you are trying like crazy to follow it? How do you feel when you’re counting, tracking, measuring, reading, calculating and following directions? You feel STRESSED, right?!?! You think you’re doing something good for your body by being on the program, but you’re actually increasing your stress and increasing your cortisol.35-36
Cortisol is a steroid hormone made in the adrenal glands of the body. It is often called the stress hormone due to its connection to your stress response. Some research shows that a high level of cortisol may lead to weight gain.35-36 You need to do something different. ONE-TWO PUNCH is different and easy to follow without increasing stress.
Stress clouds your ability to sense true physical hunger or fullness, and the cortisol cues your body to hang onto the fat. So you’re getting a double whammy. It’s stressful to try to stay on a diet plan. On top of that, the increase in cortisol35-36 is actively working against what you’re trying to do!
If you’ve been following various diets for a long time, it may take practice to rediscover your hunger and fullness cues.12-13 Your stomach comes to expect food at certain times. If you’re in the habit of grazing all day, your body has been taught to crave a continual supply of food.
It takes practice to recognize what physical hunger is as opposed to what else it might be. And remember, hunger can show itself in various ways. We all feel hunger differently, although there are generally recognized sensations.13
References
12. Herbert B, Blechert J, Hautzinger M, Matthias E, Herbert C. Intuitive eating is associated with interoceptive sensitivity. Effects on body mass index. Appetite. 2013;70:22-30.
13. Murray M, Vickers Z. Consumer views of hunger and fullness. A qualitative approach. Appetite. 2009;53(2):174-182.
35. Geiker N, Astrup A, Hjorth M, Sjödin A, Pijls L, Markus R. Does stress influence sleep patterns, food intake, weight gain, abdominal obesity and weight loss interventions and vice versa?. [Published online ahead of print August 28, 2017]. Obes Rev. 2018;19(1):81-97.
36. Tomiyama A, Mann T, Vinas D, Hunger J, DeJager J, Taylor S. Low Calorie Dieting Increases Cortisol. Psychosom Med. 2010;72(4):357-364.
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