What Are You Really Craving?

      Did other colleges just get done with midterms too? Between 4 extracurriculars, my graduate assistantship, and school, I already had to make a concerted effort to blog. I posted way more regularly in the summer, and my blog is aimed at students in college! Then, in the lead-up to midterms, Student Body got even more neglected . Sorry it's been so long!

     I've heard from a few new readers! Thanks for commenting. I hope you look through the categories on the left and find posts that have covered areas of concern. If there's anything you'd like to see covered, please let me know.

     Right now, I'm struggling with recognition of true hunger. I mentioned in my previous post that studying makes me hungry. Since then, I've realized that there is more to it than that.

     Mid-study session, I often feel the urge for a snack. I explained before that mental exertion actually has been shown to lead to hunger. However, I've noticed that a lot of times, I am craving something other than food. For instance, I'm tired, and my body needs to rest. If I don't sleep, I turn to food. 

     It could be simply a need to ease my mind. It might be just a wish to let loose and have fun for a moment, or be social, or just process what I'm learning. But when I'm in study mode, I don't like to give myself permission to take a break. I prefer to plow through and finish, then rest at the end of the day. Yet for some reason, I do give myself permission if it is to eat. After all, I can't just let myself skip meals all day, or I would binge at the end of the day. So I let myself stop, but only if it's for a "good" reason, like eating.

     The problem with this kind of thinking is that there's nothing wrong with taking a break to nap, or relax, or talk, or whatever. Taking a moment for my mental health is just as legitimate as taking time to eat. Food is a necessity, but so is allowing myself to be happy.

     So my goal is to change this kind of thinking, and ask myself what it is that I'm really craving when I start thinking about a snack. I'll let you know how it goes....

     

Studying Makes Me Hungry

     Has anyone else noticed that since school started, they've been more hungry???

     I noticed this right around the time I read this article. Apparently, there is some preliminary research that suggests mental strain, while not burning any excess calories, might make us more hungry. 

     I can see why. We need energy for work. Food is energy, and mental tasks are definitely still work. But it just doesn't seem fair!

     I am at a job all day where I sit and stare at a computer screen. It actually makes me miss the days when I was a waitress!

     The best advice I can think of: take short walks during the day in which you give your mind a rest and your body some physical exertion. Exercise is also a good way to get energy without taking in any calories.

Does Exercise Really Lead to Weight Loss?

     It's standard advice: to lose weight, exercise. But there are some who disagree, because physical activity makes you hungry. Or course, exercise has numerous benefits, but what is its real effect on hunger and weight?  

     The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association even said in a statement that “It is reasonable to assume that persons with relatively high daily energy expenditures would be less likely to gain weight over time, compared with those who have low energy expenditures. So far, data to support this hypothesis are not particularly compelling.”          Research has found that those who lose weight and keep it off tend to exercise. One recent study suggested 55 minutes, 5 days a week (or about 40 minutes every day.) But these studies don't isolate exercise as the sole factor contributing to the weight loss maintenance. In the study I mentioned, for instance, the women who lost weight exercised, but they ate less too.

     So does exercise contribute to weight loss, or do people who have healthy habits tend to exercise? 

     In New York Magazine, Gary Taubes points to Jean Mayer, influential nutritionist and former president of Tufts University,  as the person who pushed the "fitness revolution." Mayer is credited with defeating the current societal belief that exercise was bad for you. He noticed that thinner people exercised more, and concluded that exercise did not necessarily equal increased hunger. But Taubes claims the 2 studies that he used to prove this have never been replicated.

     Recent studies don't suggest that there is no connection between appetite and exercise. But one especially interesting study does suggest that appetite is related to the intensity of the exercise. Researchers studied the effect of high-intensity and low-intensity exercise on appetite in college women. (Low-intensity exercisers took an hour to burn 350 calories, equal to walking, high-intensity exercisers took about half an hour.) They found that high-intensity exercisers ate more after their work-out than low-intensity exercisers and a control group. 

     The study really got interesting when the researchers calculated "relative energy intake," or the calories each group consumed not included the calories they burnt off through exercise. The researchers concluded that there were "no significant differences" between the groups. However, it is worth noting that low-intensity exercises had the lowest food intake when the calories burnt from exercising were subtracted. Low-intensity exercisers consumed an average of 2397 calories a day, but 2100 a day after subtracting calories burnt from exercise. High-intensity exercisers consumed 2580, 2266 for relative energy intake. The control group had 2285. In other words, this study suggest that for those watching their weight, low-intensity exercise is best. 

     Jean Mayer suggested that exercise doesn't have to lead to increased hunger. This study helped show us where the line is. And if you want to engage in vigorous exercise, like I do, at least you'll now be a little bit more informed.

Hangovers and Hunger

     I'm always a little jealous of my friends who say they can't eat when they're hungover. One of the symptoms of a hangover is aversion to food, but I only have that particular symptom in the morning. I'm always ravenously hungry later in the day, no matter how many alcohol calories I consumed the night before.

     So it made me feel a little better when I found out I'm not alone. Apparently, one effect of alcohol consumption is low blood sugar, which explains why I crave refined carbohydrates the next day, like chips and bread.

      The problem is that eating these fast carbs skyrockets your blood sugar levels, only to be followed by an inevitable crash, and more food cravings. It's a vicious cycle.

      It's best to eat foods that are known for regulating your blood sugar. In fact, a whole-grain breakfast can help regulate your blood sugar for up to ten hours, according to this study. 

     While you might be craving bagels, doughnuts, or fries (high-glycemic index foods that spike your blood sugar), it is especially important to consume low-GI foods when suffering from a hangover.(Read about GI)

     Some examples include fruit such as pears, apples, and oranges, or oatmeal, peanuts, beans, peas, and granola.

     Drinking water and exercise also helps regulate your blood sugar.