Are you looking for effective ways to control your appetite and get more out of your diet? Physical transformation is hard, so you need any advantage you can get. Anyone who’s had success with losing weight knows that most of the work is done in the kitchen. Changing your eating habits is so much easier than burning off a million calories on the treadmill. You can affect greater change by altering your diet away from harmful foods to foods that are more filling and less damaging to your body.
For years, people all over the world find themselves addicted to sugar, empty carbs, and other junk food that does nothing for them but add inches to waistbands. Going on a diet after years of drinking sodas and eating cereal is a huge challenge. Our bodies become used to what we eat. Bad foods are even more addictive, so our bodies cry out for more when we start dieting. Most people feel this surge in hunger and cravings after their first week or two of dieting. That critical time is where most diets are made or broken.
Controlling your appetite and warding off urges to snack will make weight loss happen faster and stay off longer. Dieting isn’t about gimmicks or tricks, but there are certain things you can do to control your appetite and limit the effects of cravings. Here are some things you can do to stay in charge of your diet and get the results you want.
Change Your Routine
Whether you realize it or not, you’re a creature of habit. If you were to step outside of yourself and analyze your day or week, you would see that you fall in certain patterns. Most people are creatures of habit even if they don’t realize it. You probably have your coffee around the same time of every day, and your snacking happens in the same general window each day. If you want to control your appetite, you need to change things up.
Track when and how you consume most of your calories. Insert activities into those windows to reduce calorie consumption and distract your body from any feelings of hunger. Go on a walk in the middle of the afternoon, or find something productive to do in the evening to avoid trips to the cupboard. Changing things up will shift your focus from eating to something else enjoyable.
Create a New Reward System
For a lot of people who struggle with controlling their appetites, it’s hard because they have created a positive feedback loop. Their bodies know that if they act a certain way, you’ll reward it with foods that make it feel good, even though that feeling is fleeting. To change the way your body communicates and how your brain processes foods, you have to create a new reward system.
Some people find success dieting by setting weight-loss milestones and buying something nice for themselves when they meet a certain goal. Instead of celebrating with a cheat meal, buy yourself a new gadget or clothing item instead. You’re rewiring your brain to think differently about food. It becomes less of a desire and transforms into a means to get other things you want.
Check Out the Benefits of Peptides
If you’re interested in research related to appetite control, follow the science and take a look at what is happening in the world of peptides. One peptide, Melanotan 2, is getting a lot of attention for some of its results in recent tests performed on mice. The mice given Melanotan 2 experienced a reduction in preference for fatty foods and exhibiting signs of lower appetite as well. Peptide Sciences says that Melanotan 2 has similar effects to leptin, the hormone that gives you feelings of satisfaction related to hunger. The hope is that peptides like Melanotan 2 will have success in more applications as the medical and scientific community continue to focus on this research.
Identify Real Hunger
A lot of times, we confuse hunger for what is thirst or even boredom. We become so accustomed to eating as a default that it’s what we think of when some new sensation is in our body. Become more attuned to the signals your body is giving and respond appropriately. Get more sleep, drink more water, and start exercising. When you feel what you think is hunger, live in those feelings for a bit, and recognize whether they’re really hungry or something else. Knowing your body better will help you push off what is not really hunger and eat when your body actually needs it. Your result will be better overall health and less sporadic food intake. Your energy levels will stay even throughout the day and you’ll feel more positive about your body.
Whatever you do, start small to increase your chances of success. Stick with something until it becomes second nature and build from there.
