Scientific Reasons why you may be Eating More
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Nutrition -
Jul 4, 2011
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Scientific Reasons why you may be Eating More
Have you ever been amazed at how much you can eat? I constantly stun myself.
I am not a very big person, I’m an 5’5” and 118 lbs, but my appetite rivals that of Adam Richman on Man vs. Food or those guys on Epic Meal Time on YouTube. (Love those shows! I have a fatty residing within.) I know. You guys don’t believe me. No one does. But I’ve even had people say to me, “Wow for such a tiny person you sure can eat a lot.” It is embarrassing how much I can stuff into my body, but my appetite is just overwhelmingly ginormous sometimes. Have you ever been told that?
I don’t know whether I should blame it on my crazy workouts, my inner fatty, or my sheer attraction to all things food, but I definitely think my appetite needs a second look! So I took some time to do a little research on why my eyes may be bigger than my stomach.
Here are the top SCIENTIFIC reasons why you may be eating more, from TIME Magazine:1. You’re used to eating at certain times during the day. Time.
“Through routine, we condition our bodies to expect breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time each day,” says Randy Seeley, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati. Part of the reason you’re hungry at noon is because that’s the time you’ve eaten for the last 100 days.
2. Seeing food makes you want it. Sight.
Research using MRIs shows that brain patterns of people viewing photos of foods they like and foods they don’t like are “very different,” Seeley says. “The body anticipates when food is about to enter the system.” And that’s why your mouth starts watering when you see Mom’s pie.
3. You can always make room for dessert. Variety.
Even after eating a large meal, we often “make room” for dessert, because a desire for sweets hasn’t been satisfied. Ann Gaba, a registered dietitian at New York Presbyterian Hospital, says that sometimes all it takes is a bit of fruit in a salad during a meal to curb a sugar craving.
4. Ever been lured into a fresh bakery with it’s doors wide open? Smell.
Scent is one of the key ways we cue our bodies that food is near. Once the trigger goes off, it can induce the insulin secretion that makes us think we’re hungry. Says Sharron Dalton, a nutrition professor at New York University: “Smell and sight alone activate the appetite cascade.”
5. Raising your glass can raise your appetite too. Alcohol.
Alcohol Drinking has not been scientifically proved to stimulate appetite, but too much beer, wine or liquor can impair judgment, causing us to eat more. “Most people who are on a diet will say it’s a lot harder to push themselves away from the table if they’ve been drinking,” observes Seeley.
6. Packing on the blubber during Winter months? Temperature.
The colder the temperature, the more people tend to eat, which is why restaurants often keep thermostats low. “Your metabolism drops when it’s time to eat, and eating warms you up,” says David Ludwig, professor of pediatrics at Harvard. “Heat is a satiety signal.”
7. You’ve heard this before, but hear it again. Refined Carbs.
After a meal heavy in refined carbohydrates, like white pasta, the body may crave food again within only a few hours. These foods cause blood sugar to drop, and “when our blood sugar is crashing, we’re going to be a lot more interested in food in general,” Ludwig says.
So there you go, all the silent culprits to why you may be eating more than you should. I always thought my stomach lining was just unproportinally bigger than it was supposed to be 😉
Now keep in mind that I do not go Epic Meal Time all the time, so just be mindful of your diet in the overall sense. Once in a while indulgence is truly okay. It’s JUST PLAIN FUN and in my opinion healthy for the spirit and the soul. We can take care of fat burning with POP Pilates and intense interval training later. Be resilient!
<3 Cassey
RESOURCE: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626481,00.html
“Through routine, we condition our bodies to expect breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time each day,” says Randy Seeley, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati. Part of the reason you’re hungry at noon is because that’s the time you’ve eaten for the last 100 days.
2. Seeing food makes you want it. Sight.
Research using MRIs shows that brain patterns of people viewing photos of foods they like and foods they don’t like are “very different,” Seeley says. “The body anticipates when food is about to enter the system.” And that’s why your mouth starts watering when you see Mom’s pie.
3. You can always make room for dessert. Variety.
Even after eating a large meal, we often “make room” for dessert, because a desire for sweets hasn’t been satisfied. Ann Gaba, a registered dietitian at New York Presbyterian Hospital, says that sometimes all it takes is a bit of fruit in a salad during a meal to curb a sugar craving.
4. Ever been lured into a fresh bakery with it’s doors wide open? Smell.
Scent is one of the key ways we cue our bodies that food is near. Once the trigger goes off, it can induce the insulin secretion that makes us think we’re hungry. Says Sharron Dalton, a nutrition professor at New York University: “Smell and sight alone activate the appetite cascade.”
5. Raising your glass can raise your appetite too. Alcohol.
Alcohol Drinking has not been scientifically proved to stimulate appetite, but too much beer, wine or liquor can impair judgment, causing us to eat more. “Most people who are on a diet will say it’s a lot harder to push themselves away from the table if they’ve been drinking,” observes Seeley.
6. Packing on the blubber during Winter months? Temperature.
The colder the temperature, the more people tend to eat, which is why restaurants often keep thermostats low. “Your metabolism drops when it’s time to eat, and eating warms you up,” says David Ludwig, professor of pediatrics at Harvard. “Heat is a satiety signal.”
7. You’ve heard this before, but hear it again. Refined Carbs.
After a meal heavy in refined carbohydrates, like white pasta, the body may crave food again within only a few hours. These foods cause blood sugar to drop, and “when our blood sugar is crashing, we’re going to be a lot more interested in food in general,” Ludwig says.
So there you go, all the silent culprits to why you may be eating more than you should. I always thought my stomach lining was just unproportinally bigger than it was supposed to be 😉
Now keep in mind that I do not go Epic Meal Time all the time, so just be mindful of your diet in the overall sense. Once in a while indulgence is truly okay. It’s JUST PLAIN FUN and in my opinion healthy for the spirit and the soul. We can take care of fat burning with POP Pilates and intense interval training later. Be resilient!
<3 Cassey
RESOURCE: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626481,00.html
