{"id":69134,"date":"2022-06-09T19:14:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T23:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=69134"},"modified":"2022-06-22T09:43:47","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T13:43:47","slug":"how-to-control-hunger-during-fasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-control-hunger-during-fasting\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Control Hunger During Fasting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you experience extreme hunger pangs when fasting? How long does it take for hunger to dissipate? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s normal to experience constant hunger during fasting, especially in the beginning stages. As your body gets used to going without food for extended periods, you’ll begin to tune back in with your natural appetite signals. However, getting there will take time\u2014in most people, these signals have been messed up by constant feeding. While your body is adjusting, learning to eat intuitively will help keep hunger at bay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some tips on how to control hunger during fasting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Learn to Eat Intuitively<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most people eat more than they need because they are out of tune with their natural appetite signaling. Ghrelin signals when we\u2019re hungry, and leptin signals when we\u2019re satisfied. As infants, we can easily sense these signals and know when we\u2019re hungry or full. But we lose touch with them as we age, making it easy to overeat and gain weight. According to Stephens, intermittent fasting helps you tune back into your appetite signals. When you\u2019ve tuned back in, you can use those natural signals to eat what feels best to you and to \u201cstop when satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: The notion of \u201cintuitive eating\u201d originates from a 1982 book called Diets Don\u2019t Work<\/em><\/a> by Bob Schwartz. He advocated, simply, to eat only when you\u2019re hungry, to eat slowly, and to stop eating when you\u2019re full. The idea was popularized in 1995 in Intuitive Eating<\/em><\/a> by Evelyn Trible and Elyse Resch, who detailed how to overcome the \u201cdieter\u2019s dilemma\u201d\u2014the conflicting desires to be thin and to binge on treats\u2014by rejecting the \u201cdiet mentality.\u201d Given the similarity of these terms to Stephens\u2019s (\u201cdiet brain\u201d), it\u2019s likely she lifted her ideas from this earlier work.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When tuning back in, it takes time for your appetite signals to reset. To help get you there, Stephens offers the following tips on how to control hunger during fasting: <\/p>\n\n\n\n