Hungry.

Hunger has been such a critical, new-age word meant for all sorts of things. The first time I considered the use of the word outside of anything food related, was when rappers said they were "hungry." It meant success typically (money, fame, notoriety). I'm a little old-fashioned I guess because to me hunger is in relation to food and food alone. My desire for anything else isn't necessarily as powerful as hunger is.

Even the pigs eat their greens.

What is this uncomfortable sensation though? Like being hungry is a biological desire for nutrients aka food? To some, it means a deficient blood sugar where food help raises to a sustainable level, other people refer to hunger when they are bored and something, "sounds good." I can relate to both. I can understand hunger for stimulation and hunger for the biological components. The hunger for nutrient purposes is one I have grown more fond of. The stimulation version of hunger still lies inside, managed through understanding its powerful manipulation. If you can relate, then this post makes sense, if not then lucky you, go do something else.

 

Food is one of the most powerful stimulants, especially when you are in need of it. When you are full or no longer require any more fuel, the body does a good job of indicating that. Unfortunately our biology be can figured out and overruled to some extent. Food additives and reprocessing of food items prevents the proper signals from reaching the brain to say you've had enough. It's like instead of taking the square peg and putting it in the square-shaped hole, you take a bunch of small balls and pour them in there. The hole never is completely covered, you can just keep going. Eating "fast food," or "junk" food is like that because many of the nutrients have been taken out (it helps preserve the food longer, among other reasons).

 

So, how can someone tell if they are hungry or not? The easy answer is if anything with one ingredient sounds good. Like raw almonds for instance, or a vegetable, or a piece of meat, minus all the sides or a bun. These simple foods contain nutrients that the body needs for various functions. Hunger makes sense when to satisfy the hunger you are then satisfying nutritional needs. So, being hungry is just your body's way of communicating with your conscious mind that you are getting a bit deficient.

 

Now, if you report hunger after smelling something stimulating like pizza, donuts, a cookie, you are being influenced by the environment. I mean, this could fall under the technical umbrella of hunger, however to satisfy this desire for something as stimulating as a cookie or donut doesn’t really satisfy at all, it just pleasures. Satisfaction and pleasure are two completely different things. When you are looking to satiate the hunger, pleasure does not necessarily equate to this desired effect, but instead foods with nutrients, easily absorbed and understood by the digestive system sends a more meaningful signal to the brain that you have met the quota and you are free to stop.

So many colors, try and eat a pizza's worth of calories here.

 

This is why when you remove highly stimulating foods it becomes a lot easier to manage one's weight and have more energy or just feel better. The body is no longer deficient as it might have been with large calories, little nutrients. In fact, a prime example of this was on the a recent episode of My 600 Lb. Life. In this particular episode, a 600 pound lady was actually experiencing symptoms related to nutrient deficiencies. She was literally suffering from something people in 3rd world countries face. This a potential for anyone when they want to lose weight, yet still try to eat the same foods just less, your body needs the nutrients and without getting them, it only makes sense for the body to crave more. Of course our conscious selves would rather have denatured protein in a burger with sugary-sauce and French fries with a milk shake, but that’s like taking a backhoe full of dirt to fill a tiny pot. The dirt overflows and there's a mess everywhere. Fortunately for us, this mess is handled by our efficient human bodies and even the overflow calories have a place to go, fat cells.

 

So, it is important to make sure you are hungry and not bored or eating because of stimulation or entertainment. There is a purpose if something "sounds good" and it could be because your body is like "oh my goodness, I need more amino acids, give me some eggs." Then the filters of a flawed conscious mind interpret this as "oh a cake sounds good." Technically it is not a "wrong" thought due to the eggs in a cake, but you can see how it would cause some problems.

 

So, easy remedy, check to see if a one-ingredient foods sound good. If not, then you might not actually be hungry. If you find yourself opening the fridge door, just to look, again probably not hungry. If you were just fine, saw a pizza commercial and now pizza, "sounds good," again, probs not hungry.

 

There's a million different ways to combat or get more insight here, but for now it serves you well if you haven’t already, to find stuff to do, to invest in, to find fulfillment other than food being it. Though Nikki Minaj might brag about "being hungry," I don't think you want to be, so try and fill that need more efficiently.