How Does The HCG Diet Eliminate Hunger?
By Richard Lipman M.D.
Jan 3, 2012
When we experience hunger, we are being told by our stomach or brain that there is a need for food. Often there is an uneasyfeeling or pain in the abdomen when we are hungry. The problem is that many external and internal signals can signal hunger, even when there is no hunger. Learning to recognize true hunger is important in controlling our weight. The HCG diet increases metabolism and produces rapid weight loss. As in any diet, Hunger in HCG diet needs to be controlled.
For some, hunger pains are often mild and go unnoticed while others feel stomach contractions that can be cramping and painful and at times very distressing. Dieters are familiar with hunger and…show more content… Cravings are different from hunger. They are an intense, irrational desire for a particular food which often occurs whether an individual has eaten or note. Often they occur in the evening even one half of an hour after a big meal. People with cravings describe an intense feeling of pleasure when they eat a certain food.
PHYSIOLOGICAL CAUSES OF HUNGER:
Going Long Periods of Time without eating: Probably the most common cause of hunger is the absence of food for 4-5 hours. Some people can go for 6-8 hours or even longer before experiencing hunger while others need food much more often.
Low blood sugar: Researchers believe that a low blood sugar causes contractions of the stomach and feelings of hunger. This may serve a "fail safe" signal telling us to eat before we faint from a low blood This may be even worse in people with diabetes taking medications.
Pregnancy may cause hunger: Women who are currently pregnant may also experience hunger pains related to their condition due to movement of baby and pressure on the…show more content… The nature of the stress may play the most important role in overeating. Major stress appears to cause less eating and minor stress may cause more eating. The type of stress, along with the type of foods desired while under stress, plays an important role in overeating. People usually crave sweet or salty snack foods over meal-type foods. Sweet and salty snacks are high in calories, rarely satisfy hunger, and create desire for more food, regardless of whether a true physiological need exists.
Fatigue causes feelings of hunger: Some people cannot distinguish between hunger and fatigue. When they're fatigued, they could be just as hungry, after a large meal, as they would have been, if they hadn't eaten for a whole day. A 1999 study at the University of Chicago, found that sleeping only four hours a night for four days resulted in a decrease in metabolism and an increase in hunger.
Hunger, cravings and appetite are regulated by complex interactions among our endocrine glands, our stomach and colon and our brain. Each of which sends chemical signals to the brain to tell us when we are hungry and when we are full. The smart dieter that wants to lose and keep the weight off learns to read his body responses and only eats out of hunger rather than emotion. The recent success of the HCG diet is due to the fact that HCG suppress
