I know that many of you are trying to lose weight.  In fact 65% of American Adults are considered overweight or obese.  The problem is that excess body fat causes many health problems making weight loss more than just cosmetic.  I want to address hunger in this blog.  My company Physicians Life Centers (www.physicianslifecenters.com) has its primary focus in evaluating and developing fitness and nutrition programs and educating our clients on these topics.  No fancy medications, no cookies or meals to buy and no, I don't sell vitamins.  Hunger is a key element that people complain about with regard to weight loss and is often a cause of failure (there are many more that we can discuss at a later date).  Being hungry is not a disease.  It alone will not kill you.  It essentially is a signal to the brain that there are fewer calories around to store into fat and metabolic changes may be coming.  Too much hunger however can be detrimental to the weight reduction process.  Starvation, when the body is denied calories  for extended periods of time, causes physiologic changes that result is fat storage.  That is why eating one or two meals a day can actually lead to increased body fat compared to individuals who spread meals throughout the day or obtain calories around the time they are needed.  The main fuel source for your body is actually fat.  The machine that burns the fat is run by carbohydrates.  This essentially means that no one dietary plan works for all.  The best you can do is blend your foods together (no not in a blender, but have a variety of protein, fats and carbohydrates with each meal) to give you what you need. 

From a hunger standpoint eating foods with lower glycemic index may not be the answer either as some low glycemic foods have a higher glycemic load per portion than others of equal portion.  However, if you eat a small amount of protein, have moderate or lower glycemic index carbs and healthy fats hunger will decrease because you will be supplying what your body needs.

Now, lets say you want to decrease your calories.  Well, sorry to say but you may be a little hungry.  Just try to tell the difference between mild hunger and starvation. 

The bottom line for today:  a little hunger is not so bad, especially if you are trying to decrease body weight and body fat.

Future blogs:  Eating better, exercise, VO2 testing (exercise testing) and even endurance training.

Corey