How we are able to manage hunger plays a large role in determining our health. If we eat every time we get hungry, and eat typical modern processed foods until we are full, then the result is that we will be obese and unhealthy.
Why is it that this natural sensation leads us astray?
Just like with our sense of taste, the feeling of hunger was made to serve us in a primitive world where food was hard to come by, and getting it was hard work. Animals by and large are hard to catch, and plants while plentiful, often require quite a bit of work to expose or collect the edible parts. Our sense of hunger was designed to be a strong motivator, as a survival aide. We need strong motivation to make the difficult and time consuming search for food seem worthwhile. If we didn't have this, we would eventually have starved to death. For cavemen, hunger was a constant companion, which impelled them to spend much of their time searching for their next meal.
Fast forward to today. We live in a society where food is offered in nearly every building, and where high calorie, processed foods are as close as the next drive through. Animals are no longer hard to catch. They are factory farmed in ridiculous numbers and pre butchered for us. No work or preparation is needed on our part, other than tearing open a plastic wrapper.
Unfortunately, our sense of hunger has not changed at all. We still feel that consuming sensation that we must eat whenever our stomach empties. The problem is that we are no longer filling it up with low calorie veggies. We now eat pastries, meats, and candy as "snacks" to fill us up between our high calorie, processed, and unhealthy meals. Additionally, we now sit at desks all day, instead of working our bodies to catch and prepare our food. Is it any wonder we are obese?
We were made with this hunger sense as standard equipment, and we cannot get rid of it. There is a silver lining, however. We were also given a powerful brain as standard equipment, and it has the ability to override our basic instincts, such as hunger. In order to be healthy in a world full of poor quality calories, we must engage our rational brain.
The first step is to realize a basic truth. This truth is simple. In fact, it is so simple, that I did not realize it, because we are taught the opposite so routinely that I never questioned it. Here is the simple truth
IT IS OK TO BE HUNGRY!
Growing up, I was taught that you ate whenever you were hungry. From as early as I can remember to age 29, whenever the feeling of hunger struck, I ate something. I never bothered to question whether or not I needed to eat. I figured that the sensation of hunger meant that I needed to eat. Based on the above discussion, you can see that this is not the case.
In order to be free of the control of hunger, you need to become comfortable with being hungry. Practice not eating when you feel hungry. At first, it will be very hard, and you may not be able to hold off eating for more than 15 minutes. With practice, you will eventually be able to ignore the sensation of hunger for hours. Then it is time to put your rational brain to work. Now that the feeling of hunger does not consume you, when you feel hungry, ask yourself when you last ate, and if you need to eat, or if you merely need to live with the hunger for awhile.
Knowing that it is OK to be hungry, and that you can always eat later (unlike your primal ancestor, your food will not run away), you will be able to consume less per day, and only eat the amount of food that your body actually needs.
