Training (and Taming) Your Appetite

Ever notice that if you are accustomed to eating at the same time everyday, you will get hungry at that same time each day... like clockwork?

Scientists have discovered there are cells in your stomach designed to tell time.  These cells function as part of your circadian clock, your body's internal way of keeping vital processes "on schedule."

Food-entrainable oscillators (FEOs),  researchers explain in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are stomach cells that stimulate the release of grehlin, the hormone of hunger. 

It seems these cells can adjust to your daily habits.  Want to eat mid-morning, after exercise, or eat an earlier dinner?  After a few days of changing your schedule, your hunger cues may change with you. Your FEOs may stimulate ghrelin release to coincide with your new routine.

Knowing when you will get hungry means you can be prepared with healthy snacks and meals.

One caveat: lack of sleep elevates ghrelin, so inadequate rest might cause you to eat more.

Training Tip: Eating your meals and snacks at the same time everyday and getting plenty of rest may help you regulate the hormone of hunger.  Also, remember your protein when you want to keep hunger in check.  Protein has been shown to increase satiety and lower ghrelin levels more efficiently than carbohydrates and fats.