Many people struggle to maintain a healthy weight. Most diets also focus on reducing calories and cutting certain foods from the diet. It’s not uncommon to hear someone say, “I just can’t eat that, it’ll make me fat.” The advice is often: If you eat that food, you will gain weight. That makes sense. After all, if we take in more calories than we burn (through exercise), we store the excess as body fat… right? However, research shows that our bodies are hardwired to be hungry to increase our chances of staying alive long enough to pass on our genes.
Why Havent I Been Hungry?
At some point, the body stores all of the energy it can from the food you eat. When this happens, your body begins to burn stored fat for energy. This is called ketosis. Ketosis can cause unpleasant symptoms such as the dry mouth and bad breath. Other common symptoms include dizziness, headaches, and aches and pains in your muscles and bones. These symptoms are often called ‘keto flu’. They usually pass after 2 or 3 days.
Why Don’t We Feel Hungry All The Time?
- The primary function of your brain is to keep you alive. You have a very small amount of fuel (food) in your bloodstream and the brain needs the energy to keep you alive. The body will use every bit of that fuel it can get its hands on, including fat. This means that if you are not eating enough calories, the body will start storing fat to make up for the lack of food. Even if it doesn’t need any more weight, the body still wants to store as much fat as possible because it knows there is no way it can survive without any extra calorie storage right now.
- The body has a very complicated system for making sure we don’t get too hungry or too full at all times. We have receptors all over our bodies that monitor our caloric intake (or lack thereof). When we eat something nutritious, these receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are full and don’t need any more food at this time. When we eat something less nutritious (like a candy bar), the receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are hungry.
- The body has a complex system for making sure we don’t get too hungry or too full at all times. We have receptors all over our bodies that monitor our caloric intake (or lack thereof). When we eat something nutritious, these receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are full and don’t need any more food at this time. When we eat something less nutritious (like a candy bar), the receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are hungry.
- The body has a complex system for making sure we don’t get too hungry or too full at all times. We have receptors all over our bodies that monitor our caloric intake (or lack thereof). When we eat something nutritious, these receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are full and don’t need any more food at this time. When we eat something less nutritious don’t need any more food at this time. When we eat something less nutritious (like a candy bar), the receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are hungry.
- The body has a complex system for making sure we don’t get too hungry or too full at all times. We have receptors all over our bodies that monitor our caloric intake (or lack thereof). When we eat something nutritious, these receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are full and don’t need any more food at this time. When we eat something less nutritious (like a candy bar), the receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are hungry.
- The body has a complex system for making sure we don’t get too hungry or too full at all times. We have receptors all over our bodies that monitor our caloric intake (or lack thereof). When we eat something nutritious, these receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are full and don’t need any more food at this time. When we eat something less nutritious (like a candy bar), the receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are hungry.
How To Have A More Stable Appetite
- The body has a complex system for making sure we don’t get too hungry or too full at all times. We have receptors all over our bodies that monitor our caloric intake (or lack thereof). When we eat something nutritious, these receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are full and don’t need any more food at this time. When we eat something less nutritious (like a candy bar), the receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are hungry.
- The body has a complex system for making sure we don’t get too hungry or too full at all times. We have receptors all over our bodies that monitor our caloric intake (or lack thereof). When we eat something nutritious, these receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are full and don’t need any more food at this time. When we eat something less nutritious (like a candy bar), the receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are hungry.
- The body has a complex system for making sure we don’t get too hungry or too full at all times. We have receptors all over our bodies that monitor our caloric intake (or lack thereof). When we eat something nutritious, these receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are full and don’t need any more food at this time. When we eat something less nutritious (like a candy bar), the receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are hungry.
- Your brain has very high energy requirements, as does your nervous system. The body needs to keep these systems running so that you don’t die of starvation or choking on your vomit. Without these systems, the body would not be able to function properly.
- When you are starving, your body will use stored muscle tissue (and other tissues) as fuel for survival since fat stores are low in the body at that time. If you only eat once a day, then your body will use up all its stored fat reserves before it has eaten enough food to satisfy its needs for fuel/energy. In this case, the body will start breaking down muscle tissue and other tissues to fill up on energy until it can get more calories from food again and doesn’t need any more food at this time. When we eat something less nutritious (like a candy bar), the receptors signal back to our brains and tell us we are hungry.
Bottom Line
A stable appetite means you are less likely to overeat. This can protect against certain diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. To have a more stable appetite, it is important to maintain a healthy diet and get enough sleep and exercise.
