My father used to teach me that you need to finish your meal still a little hungry.. but not starving! Right? So why sometimes, we think we have been eaten enough and still we would start again from beginning? The points are two: either you have been running a marathon or made a triathlon competition just few hours before, or you have eaten without including food which has high power of making you satisfied. Let’s skip the first option and focus on the second one.
First of all, we need to make a distinction between being hungry or having need of food and having just a wish of food. In the second case, we usually have this feeling even at the end of a complete and abundant meal, after seeing a dessert on the menu, on the table next to us or on tv.. and suddenly our brain is imposing us to grab a piece of cake full of cream before to stand up. That is not so bad.. but if you do it on a regular basis, you should not wonder that your trousers are not fitting anymore.. mamma mia!!!
Let’s skip also this case..
you have a nice dinner or lunch, you left with still a little hunger and after one hour you are already starving. Your main activity during the day: typing on a computer in your office!! Something wrong!
Let’s have a closer look into your meal plan: you might not have included any protein dish or you are exceeding with food at higher glycemic index.
It has been shown that proteins can satisfy more than fat and carbohydrate so if you are thinking to exclude them from your diet you should then also think how to manage the feeling of hunger without jumping into junk food. Proteins have also higher thermogenic power so more time is needed to digest them. Please consider anyway that excess of protein can damage kidney and cause fat deposit since the extra proteins will be converted in fat. You need to calculate the right amount of protein for you based on your weight and your physical activity. Usually is recommended to take around 0.8 g per kg of body weight per day.
Signs that you might lack of a good protein intake are:
- swollen and puffy skin (edema)
- fatty liver: accumulation of fat in liver
- depigmentation, red and flaky skin
- brittle nails
- hair loss
- loss of muscle mass
- low bone mineral density which leads to risk of bone fractures
- increase severity of infections
- greater appetite and calories intake
Another reason why it can happen you feel like to eat even the table just one hour after a meal is the abundance of food with high glycemic index or a lack of the ones with low glycemic index. This index is used to evaluate the relative ability of food containing carbohydrates to increase the level of glucose in blood. When the level of glucose in blood is too high, cells send a signal to the brain that it seems there is a lack of nutrients. The body reacts and ask the brain to send us signals to get more food!
In conclusion, if you want to feel satisfied after your meals for a longer time, include proteins and low glycemic index food. You find glycemic index in the picture!
Enjoy and see you next meal!!
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