Are you the type of person who wakes up & isn’t hungry for hours upon hours? If so, there might be a problem.
Hunger is in fact, a God-given signal that your body needs some energy. And food is where we get that energy from. It’s actually not a good thing if you can go for hours & hours without feeling any hunger.
All of the cellular processes in our body depend on eating enough & the right type of food to work well. Your energy, brain function, hormone production, and much more are all dependent on food.
Not feeling hungry may be a sign that your metabolism isn’t working the way it should. Did you know that the less you eat, the more you slow down your metabolism? That’s right, eating more (of the right foods), will actually increase your metabolism.
Some other reasons why you might not be hungry may include:
Stress – stress hormones slow down digestion & can cause hunger hormones to tank. Try reducing stress by mindful practices such as slowing down meals, yoga & self-care practices.
Medications – low appetite is a common side effect of many medications. If this is something you experience, please discuss this with your doctor.
Aging – hunger slows down as we age due to changing hormones, loss of muscle & decreased calorie needs. It’s extremely important that as we age, we remember to eat high quality, high quantity whole foods with a healthy dose of good fats from things like avocados, coconut oil, fish & nuts.
Sleep (actually a lack of) – Ghrelin is the hormone that is made while you sleep which tells your body you are hungry. Low ghrelin levels could leave you never feeling a growling stomach. A lack of sleep is also connected with high insulin levels. As you are likely aware, high insulin levels for a sustained time period can lead to insulin resistance which can lead to type 2 Diabetes. Sleep is extremely important for maintaining good functions in your body!
Hunger cues help us know when to eat which in turn helps us have the energy we need to live well.
Eating enough food is truly crucial to maintaining a healthy weight. While it may seem logical that eating less would cause weight loss, that scenario only works for a short time period. Eventually, the body hits a “plateau”, which you’ve likely experienced if you’ve ever dieted for an extended time.
What causes that plateau is often that the body decides you are starving it, so it begins to hold on to all extra energy & thus forgoes weight loss as a self-preservation measure.
To be sure you are eating enough, check out Are You Undernourished and Eat More, Lose Weight. If you’re interested in also increasing your metabolism through food and exercise, check out, Make Your Metabolism Work 24 Hours a Day.
Remember not being hungry is not ideal.