Losing weight increases the sense of hunger, that’s why

When we lose weight, we don’t just lose weight or, if we’ve done everything right, body fat. Our body undergoes changes in hormonal and bacterial flora, but also psychologically, after losing weight, it is difficult to maintain life with a new regime , undoubtedly more restrictive in terms of quantity of food than when we were overweight. Put simply, after losing weight we cannot go back to eating what we ate before the diet : we will necessarily eat less, because our daily metabolic needs will be lowered, that is, we will need fewer calories to live while maintaining the new weight.

MAINTENANCE DIET: WHY WE FAIL
And it is precisely on the maintenance phase that many people gain weight, nullifying the sacrifices of the diet . One of the reasons why this happens is the sense of hunger . A study found that hunger increases after losing weight, so on the one hand we need to have less food, but on the other hand we are more hungry in general than before we went on a diet. Much more hungry. People generally think it is a self-control issue with food. If I don’t get enough what I should eat in the maintenance phase it means that I’m failing, if I feel hungry and I give in, it means that I’m not smart enough to “resist”. In reality,it’s a hormonal problem, not a willpower problem.
Yes, because weight loss causes our body to increase the production of a hormone, that of hunger, called ghrelin . Ghrelin is a hormone that is produced by our intestines, by specialized cells found in the back of the stomach, and partly by the pancreas. When we lose weight, the body increases ghrelin levels to counteract our weight loss. We must understand that the body perceives weight loss as the result of a famine. From this point of view, that is, from an immune and defense point of view, we are no more evolved than our ancestors. If there is famine, the body is pushed to look for more food. Yes, but if losing weight increases the sense of hunger by increasing the production of ghrelin, how long does this process last? Well, hold on tight.

INCREASED SENSE OF HUNGER AFTER WEIGHT LOSS: HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
What I just wrote to you is nothing new. It is already known that after losing weight and also during the diet itself, ghrelin levels rise, as well as leptin levels (satiety hormone) fall. In practice we have two problems: on the one hand we feel more hungry (our body produces more ghrelin), on the other we are satisfied with more difficulty (our body produces less leptin). Yes, but how long does this hormonal imbalance last?
According to recent research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology , the “increased” sense of hunger will never go away. The ghrelin levels do not adjust, either with maintenance or after years of losing weight.

People who lose weight are destined to contend with greater hunger than those who have never been on a diet. They will have more and more cravings for food. Are there any solutions?
Yes, but you need to customize them . A solution can be a moderate diet that makes us lose weight little by little, combined with the right physical activity. Another can be the volumetric diet : that is, increasing portions with low energy density foods that do not affect our daily calorie balance. Wholemeal pasta and rice, both cooked and raw vegetables at every meal, which make it voluminous and satiating. Or the use of chia seeds, konjac and other fibers that give us a greater sense of satiety. For others it may be useful to change the number of meals, for example eat little but often, or on the contrary eat a lot only in one meal, and skip another one, for example with intermittent fasting.
There are strategies to get around the problem, you just have to have the EXTREME patience to find the one that’s right for us.
And remember that the increased sense of hunger is a biological problem, it is not a personal defeat, it does not make us abnormal, it is a natural consequence to take into account if we want to lose weight.