Recently I’ve been reading up on hormones and figured I’d share some of what I learned.  The hormone ghrelin is linked to eating behavior.  It tells us when it’s time to eat while its counterpart leptin tells us when we are full.   One thing we need to watch out for is lack of sleep because when we don’t get enough sleep our ghrelin levels rise. This is why we crave bad food and sweets when we are so tired.

Our eating pattern is also a big factor.  It we take more time to eat instead of wolfing down our food we will feel fuller after just five minutes of eating.  So slow down and enjoy your food!

Finally, eating every two to three hours instead of having just three big meals per day can help prevent binge attacks and hunger swings.  When we eat more often we keep our appetite-determining hormones in our tummies to stay consistent.  Still, eating more often doesn’t have any miraculous appetite-reducing effects.  And I strongly believe it is important to get something — a meal, protein shake or small snack – in your body within thirty minutes of your workout to avoid over-eating later.  Best of luck!  xoxo Jess