Do You Control Your Appetite?

Naturally, after recently bragging to a gym mate about how I hadn't been sick in years, I was struck down with a nasty flu bug. My long list of symptoms included zero appetite. Not only was I not hungry, everything I ate tasted awful.

After nearly two weeks, I knew I was on the road to recovery when I woke up with a voracious appetite. It felt so good to feel hungry again. It felt exquisite to once again experience pleasure from food.

Controlling Appetite
This experience prompted me to reflect on the importance of appetite. So often, people ask me how they can control or suppress their appetite. It's common to view our appetite as the enemy, something that can't be trusted, something to fear, something that must be controlled.

When you think about it, however, your appetite is essential for life. It keeps you alive by telling you it's time to eat. Fighting it simply goes against the laws of nature.

Fighting your appetite often leads to intense cravings, overeating and binge eating. And, fighting anything puts your body in the physiologic stress response.

Yet, so many of us have been trained to believe that having an appetite is bad and that controlling it is good.

In Caroline Knapp's book, Appetites, she speaks of our culturally conditioned suspicion that "hungers themselves are somehow invalid or wrong, that indulgences must be earned and paid for, that the satisfaction of appetites often comes with a bill...appetites are at best risky, at worst impermissible...yielding to hunger may be permissible under certain conditions, but most likely it's something to be Earned or Monitored and Controlled. A controlled appetite, prerequisite for slenderness, connotes beauty, desirability, worthiness."

Your Appetite: Friend or Foe?
What's your relationship like with your appetite? Is it your friend or foe? Do you trust it, fight it, ignore it, override it? Are you grateful for it, or frustrated by it? Do you feel anxious when it calls, powerful when you restrain it, or weak when you cave into it?

Finding Your Natural Appetite
While it may take some time, it is possible to cultivate a relaxed, life-affirming relationship with your appetite. Doing so requires tuning into the wisdom of your body and trusting it to guide you--not some external forces or a belief that wanting food says anything about who you are as a person.  

Belly Full But Mouth Still Hungry? 3 Reasons Why...

Do you ever end a meal with a full belly yet your mouth is still hankering for something more?

This is called "mouth hunger," and it happens for many reasons from nutritional to emotional. Let's explore three of them here.
 
1. Lack of Awareness
When you eat breakfast while driving, inhale your lunch while working, and scarf down dinner while watching TV, you rob your brain and body of the complete eating experience--that is, the nuances of your food's taste, texture, aroma, and appearance. Your lack of presence leaves you full yet unfulfilled, so your mouth demands more.
 
2. Macronutrient Imbalance
If your meal doesn't provide a balance of macronutrients--protein, fats and carbs--your mouth hunger may be a yearning for a particular nutrient. Sometimes I crave almond butter after finishing breakfast, which I've discovered is my body's way of telling me it needs more morning fat and protein.
 
3. Low-Pleasure Foods
Low-pleasure foods can show up on your plate in many ways. It may be due to a recipe not turning out quite right, a diet plan that doesn't satisfy your taste buds, or a meal made with poor quality ingredients. Regardless, when your meal doesn't provide pleasure, your mouth will seek satisfaction from more food.  
 
Hit Pause, Get Curious
The next time your belly is full but your mouth is still hungry, hit pause and get curious. Reflect on what may have been missing from your meal.

Do you need to slow down and ditch the distractions?

Do you need to pitch your low-carb diet?

Perhaps you need to swap your takeout food for homemade fare.
 
Respond with curiosity and compassion, not judgment or guilt. Engage fully with the experience and let it expand and deepen your relationship with food and your body.