Sleep has a very strong influence over how much food we eat. Photo / 123rf
Sleep has a very strong influence over how much food we eat. Photo / 123rf
OPINION Weight loss - and health success is all about staying the course. That means understanding the many things that influence our energy intake, which in turn influences our body weight.
Our hunger level comes to mind first because it plays a huge role in our energy intake. Making ourselves awareof what influences it, allows us to implement the first steps towards controlling it as best as possible and thus controlling our body weight/fat.
Stress – Stress often leads to excess eating. Both anxiety and stress lead people to eat even when they are not truly hungry.
A stressed mind releases the hormone cortisol, this hormone encourages fat gain in the stomach region. It sabotages any effort to gain a lean body and crushes any hopes of maintaining proper body composition.
Associating certain feelings with food is dangerous and becomes problematic. Whenever we experience similar feelings of anxiety and stress, we end up craving these same unhealthy foods.
Sleep – Seems like an odd guy to include here but the truth is sleep has a very strong influence over how much food we eat. If we are not sleeping well, we wake up craving carbohydrates far more than if we had enjoyed a deep, restful night's sleep.
The most important factor influencing our food intake is the food choices we make daily. Photo / 123rf
When we do give in and feed our body sugar carbs it is craving, we are much more likely to convert them straight to body fat stores.
Eight hours of sleep is mandatory for most, with a few exceptions, to maintain a lean, healthy body.
Exercise Habits – Exercise habits have a huge impact on our energy intake. The more we workout, the more fuel we require because of the "basic energy in versus energy out" principle. Therefore, proper exercise increases our food intake as well.
Food Choices – The most important factor influencing our food intake is the food choices we make daily. Eating certain foods helps us to control hunger, making it easier to sustain calorie intake.
Focusing on colourful fruits and vegetables not only brightens our day, but provides important nutrients, antioxidants and fibre our body needs to stay healthy and function properly.
As a bonus, these healthy choices are also low in calories! When it comes to fruit, just be aware of the natural sugars and go a bit easy. However, when it comes to eating vegetables, you cannot eat too many of these colourful, nutrient-dense foods, the more the better!
Processed carbohydrates need attention. When eaten alone they do one thing – they make us want to eat more and more food. On the flip side, a protein and fat combo considerably blunt our hunger, allowing us to push food away, resulting in less calories and less weight gain.
The consumption of processed foods is a major reasons obesity has become a worldwide epidemic of sorts. The reality is, if it's manmade, it's not from the land and it's not what we should be eating.
Remember – no matter what food choices we make, even healthy ones, will increase body weight if we eat too much of them. If we're looking to add flavour, our focus should be on herbs and spices rather than heavy cream sauces.
Experiencing true success with our diet demands a plan that makes us work as little as possible to maintain it. That means eliminating calorie counting, because, let's face it, the more calorie counting we subject ourselves to, the less likely we are to stick to our diet plan.
Learning to love food in its natural state is another key measure. Once we train our taste buds to re-appreciate natural foods (nature's bounty), we lose our taste for other foods (processed types) that contributed to our excess hunger and weight issue in the first place.
We need to consume primarily carbohydrates and proteins early on and right before/after training or exercising and shift to protein/fibre (vegetables and healthy fats) in the evening.
Using this knowledge (whether weight loss is a goal or not) also better primes us for optimal fat burning.
Daily Activity – While structured exercise is one thing, our day-to-day activity levels also influence and play a big role in our energy intake.
Sitting around without much to do/activity level (boredom?) tends to prompt hunger and the desire for food. On the other hand, being active and getting out tends to decrease our desire to eat over the short term. Keep in mind that someone moving around all day will burn more energy, so their body becomes hungrier and prompts the intake of energy to replace this need.
Becoming aware of the multiple factors that influence our hunger level is, without a doubt, the first step towards controlling the best we can. If we make sure to abide by smart guidelines (proper exercise, etc), adopt the right structure to our diet, choose the right foods at the right time of day and learn to honour and listen to our body, our diet and our body should stabilise. Our hunger and calorie intake will fall into place, and we'll lose weight naturally without really trying.
