Biopsychosocial model and hunger

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hey,
i was reading over the materials in your seminar on fatigue (I went to the Sydney one earlier this year) and I was thinking of applying the structure idea to hunger.

bio - not sure
The words grelin and leptin are used but I don’t really understand
stomach ache/discomfort
have not eaten enough food
medications?

psych - food advertising creating “stimulus-response” conditioning to junk food
food focus/searching for food
comfort eating
food fears
expectations - “I’m on a diet I should be hungry” “it’s 3pm I should be hungry”

social - learnt eating behaviours from family
Food on social media - bragging about food quality/quantity - “I don’t want to eat poverty macros” “look how much food I can eat and still be shredded” 10,000 calorie challenge, epic cheat days
socialising with friends always including food / alcohol
food as gifts
Food and religious practices (fasting/feasting)

So using this analysis not eating enough food is only one of many reasons why a person is hungry.

Currently my hunger management tools include; going for a walk, blocking all food ads from my social media (regardless of whether the food is healthy or not), drinking Diet Coke, portioning my food onto plates,

my question is: are there any more hunger management tools I could use and are any of the ones I use unhelpful?

thanks for all your work

2

Michelle,

Yes, there are plenty of inputs to hunger that span all of these domains.

I think assessing if the tools you’re using currently are helpful or not would involve looking at how they (the tools) are affecting your adherence. If they’re improving it then that’s a good sign :slight_smile:

As far as other hunger management tools, yes, there are near-infinite strategies that can be employed depending on a person’s needs, preferences, etc. One thing I like to do to identify potentially beneficial strategies specific to an individual is asking them, “What strategies are resources do you think would be beneficial to you?” That helps narrow things down a bit :slight_smile:

-Jordan

3

Thanks Jordan!

the intense hunger I was experienced has appeared to pass for now. Which is good. I will probably never know what exactly causes it, but I have decided to try not to dwell. I’m going to try and think of it like a day in the gym where I am unexpectedly weaker then normal then a week later I’m back to normal strength. With no clue why there was a change.

I also read a lot of memes on Dr Nadolsky’s insta when I was hungry instead of eating which kept me more adherent to my plan.

Thanks for your help!