Why people overeat: the answer was on the surface

A bad mood leads to automatic weight gain and serious health problems.

Nutritionist Serhii Antoniuk wrote about this on Facebook.

Biochemically, a bad mood is a decrease in the level of endorphins, hormones that cause a feeling of calmness and satisfaction with the situation we are in. According to the nutritionist, this is a kind of marker of the body's comfortable state.

"If the level of these hormones drops, then a person is looking for an opportunity to replenish it. One way is to eat, especially fast carbohydrates, such as sugar. After a handful of sweets, pleasure substances will appear in our blood. Modern life is impossible without chronic stress. Endorphins cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities. In order not to lose their level, we resort to other sources of stimulating their production. We get used to some of them, become dependent on them," the nutritionist said.

Antoniuk emphasized that we eat when we are emotionally or psychologically hungry not because we are physically hungry. "To meet the physiological needs of the body, we could go another hour or two without eating, but a force kicks in that makes us eat. We become addicted to psychological hunger, and in order to break this infernal circle, we need to use willpower. but this should be done in combination with psychological correction, a rational nutrition program, and comfortable physical activity," the doctor said.

How to distinguish physical, proper hunger from so-called psychological hunger?

Physical hunger is a normal signal from the body that energy reserves have decreased and need to be replenished. It arises from certain sensations in the abdominal cavity. These sensations increase gradually, and at first, you can easily cope with them.

Psychological hunger comes on suddenly, with a charade of bad thoughts about certain, tasty foods. For example, candy, cakes, fried fatty foods – everyone has their own preferences. Normal physical hunger will require you to just eat, without any pronounced preferences.

Psychological hunger and negative emotions go hand in hand. According to the doctor, the more negative emotions you receive, the faster emotional hunger sets in, which, unfortunately, ends in overeating, despite the stomach pain from too much food.

Physical hunger will occur on average 4 to 5 hours after the last meal. But this is individual. With physical hunger, normal satisfaction comes after eating.

"After psychological overeating, there is a pain in the stomach from stretching and a feeling of shame. But hunger still does not disappear, because nothing has changed with emotions, we just dulled them a little with candy, for a while, and then continue in a vicious circle. Then we start to act automatically, uncontrollably, both day and night. The result is deplorable: obesity, tired psyche, irritability. If you have something like this, you shouldn't be under the illusion that everything will somehow get better. The sooner you start solving the problem, the better. The main thing is that such problems can be solved," the doctor emphasized.