NUTRITION - APPETITE: FRIEND OR ENEMY?

Aaah -- appetite. It seems like such a complex idea. But actually, is it? Can we use our ability to tune into our appetite to our advantage rather than feeling like we’re fighting against something that is, in fact, a very natural body signal? I talk about appetite a lot with dancers. I aim to help them understand how to become more aware of, and responsive to, the signals that can help fuel their bodies well for training and performance; it’s a very important part of learning about nutrition, eating and looking after your body as a dancer. Sometimes it can get tricky though. Long classes, short breaks, intense activity. All of these can affect your appetite, and your ability to respond to it in a timely or appropriate way.

Essentially, from a physiological perspective appetite describes the signals that your body sends to your brain that tell you when you’re hungry (from “please start planning your next meal” to “OMG, you need to eat NOW!”) and when to stop eating (from “yep, feeling comfortable and satisfied” to “new pants please!”).

Humans have an unusual preoccupation with trying ways to over-ride these natural signals. These attempts are mostly unsuccessful because your body is pretty clever -- it knows when you’re trying to trick it and will try to fight back. An example of this might be if someone is imposing food or rules on themselves in an effort to change their body shape, and not paying attention to the body’s need for energy (through food). What then tends to happen is one of a few things. 1. They “break the rule” and end up over-eating. 2. Get way too hungry and end up eating really quickly, and miss the signal for “please stop eating now”. Or 3. Run out of energy. None of these are particularly helpful, especially in the long run.

On the flip side, I often hear how frustrated people feel about being “out of tune” with their appetite, leading to difficulties with eating behavior, such as judging portion sizes or eating regularly enough in the day.

How is your appetite?

Here is a short activity for you to find out if you are listening to your hunger and fullness signals:

Rate your levels of hunger and fullness from 1-10 before & after your meals and snacks for a few days. Please don’t record the food if this could be a problem for you but for some people, reflecting on how different food affect appetite can be useful for a short period of time.

Here is an example of how you can do it.

Make a note or chart of the time and food eaten at each meal. Then, from one to ten, note how hungry you felt before the meal and how full you felt after:

1. = really hungry
2-3. = peckish, ready to eat
5-6 = satisfied
7-8 = over-full
9-10 = way too full!

Then answer the following questions:

How often each day did you feel the following: Too hungry? A little hungry? Satisfied/”just right”? Over-full? Way too full? What else did you discover?

It’s important to point out that getting too hungry or too full is not a problem in itself, as long as it doesn’t happen too often. If you are feeling too hungry too often (more than once per day), it’s quite possible you are not eating enough food or not eating foods that are satisfying. If you are feeling too full, it’s likely you are over-eating or misjudging the volume you need. Being too hungry and too full both have consequences – being too hungry leaves you low in energy and perhaps irritable, tired and unable to fully focus. And as I mentioned before, many people also find that being too hungry directly leads to eating too fast and then getting too full which can be very uncomfortable.

Quite often people also become aware that emotions play a part in their eating habits. Emotions such as boredom, procrastination, sadness, anxiety and anger can commonly lead to ignoring appetite and either eating or restricting foods when these emotions are around. An example of this might be for someone who is putting off studying (or any other task you don’t enjoy) and finding themselves snacking instead of studying even if they’re not hungry. Sound familiar to anyone? This may then lead to over-eating because the body is not actually needing energy.

Both cases of being too hungry or too full too often are simply us “missing” the signals that we need to pay more attention to. If you’re finding it difficult to tune in to your appetite, here are my top tips.

1. Do one thing at a time

Aim to eat without too much distraction, such as TV, phone, driving. Sometimes talking to friends can be distracting, or it can be helpful. Which is it for you?

2. Slow down

Enjoy the pleasure of tasting your food by eating more slowly. Savour the flavours and textures of your meal, and take the time to enjoy it!

3. Tune in

Get curious, and learn about what your own unique body signals feel like. When you’re getting hungry, how do you know? What is it that you’re feeling in your body that tells you that you’re needing fuel?

Learning the skills to pay more attention to your appetite is an incredibly valuable skill that can last a lifetime. Being able to say “yes please” is just as important as saying “no thank you”, as long as you’re respecting your body, and the signals it is offering you.

Fiona Sutherland is an accredited dietitian and nutritionist and consultant to the Australian Ballet School.