Symptoms Of Hunger In Weight Loss

Everyone feels hunger at some point. But, it's even more likely when you're dieting and trying to lose weight. While cutting calories --- along with regular exercise --- is a part of healthy weight loss, you shouldn't be starving. In fact, it could be counterproductive. Chronic dieting suppresses hunger signals and dulls your body's ability to recognize fullness, according to Sharon E. Griffin, a licensed nutritionist with MyFoodDiary.com. Learning how to recognize hunger symptoms can provide several health benefits, including preventing overeating.

Hunger Pangs

These pains in the stomach are quite common during hunger. When your stomach contains food, its muscles go through wavelike contractions to mix the food with gastric juices. However, these same contractions can occur when there's no food in your stomach for a few hours. These contractions or stomach pain can be quite strong, but usually more so in younger people.

Coldness

The popular thinking is that people who are overweight or obese should feel warmer because fat is insulating. While fat is insulating to some degree, body heat results more from eating food and hormone levels, according to Louis J. Aronne, author of "The Skinny: On Losing Weight Without Feeling Hungry." When you're dieting, you're generating less body heat and those insulating fat cells are shrinking. Plus, levels of the hormone leptin drop, which slows metabolism and thyroid function, and muscles produce less heat --- all of these reactions cause you to feel cold, explains Aronne.

Headaches

Hunger caused by excessive dieting and skipping meals can also cause headaches. According to the National Headache Foundation, pain occurs just before meals and may be brought on by muscle tension or low blood sugar. If you're prone to hunger headaches --- or any other hunger symptoms --- you may get some relief by eating smaller meals every three or four hours during the day, instead of three large meals.

Sweet Cravings

Endocannabinoids or ECs are a class of hunger hormones. When EC levels increase, hunger sets in and you develop cravings, particularly for sweets, according to Aronne. As he explains, part of their name indicates that they are similar to cannabis, which also triggers hunger and cravings for sweets. However, while ECs can make you feel hungry, your stomach may really be full, so you're eating more than you should.