Deception: Hunger & Satiety

Words, whether spoken or thought, can be deceiving to our brain and the brain can then deceive us into action. There are two words which I feel need some clarification and explanation: hungry & satiety.  Hungry I feel can be a deceiving word and satiety is the brain deceiving us.  Let me explain....

Hungry, by definition, means "feeling or displaying the need for food", with synonyms such as "ravenous, empty, hollow".

Satiety is from the root word "sate" which means "satisfy to the full".

When someone says to themselves or out loud "I'm hungry", it should be clarified internally whether the trigger sent a minor message of a DESIRE to eat vs. a NEED to eat.  Questions such as "Is it mealtime?" or "What did I last have to eat and when?" should be quickly processed before pulling into that drive-thru or grabbing/buying that sports bar.

"Satiety" is an unfortunate result of our brain telling us we should always have this feeling of fullness--that we should "feed" the impulse to eat whatever is easiest at the slightest trigger of "hunger".  Deception at its finest.

Are we really "ravenous" when we say we're hungry?  Do we have to be "satisfied to the full" all the time?

Talk to your clients--and yourself--about recognizing this difference.  Our bodies like to have some degree of regulation with regular meal times vs. the grazing throughout the day that many of us do.  Mindful eating is an integral part of what allows us to control our intake.  Being able to pause for a moment to allow us to think about the timing and the need for what we are considering eating at that time is critical for overall health.

It's not just food itself that's producing obesity and preventable diseases, it's also our brains deceiving us....