How Do I Stop Overeating…and Live Longer?

Have you ever eaten a big meal and then felt really hungry an hour later? I know this feeling and it always comes during holidays when I am not eating my normal diet. I am chronically hungry and feel that no matter how much I eat, I could eat more. The food that I am normally craving is not fruit or nuts…it is generally heavy food like bread, biscuits or potatoes. Some people crave sugar.
What is happening in our bodies when we feel this way explains what research continually shows as the number one cause of aging? In Nigeria today, the average life span of men is 45years. This is as a result of certain types of food we eat, lack of exercise and sometimes overeating (the wrong food).
Food that Quickly Turns to SugarCarbohydrates are foods that turn to sugar inside the body. The carbohydrates that create the highest amount of sugar very quickly are called high glycemic and are sugar (obviously), and carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, potato, and rice. Other foods such as fruit, vegetables (apart from potatoes), nuts and lentils turn to sugar very slowly and are called low glycemic.
Each time we eat a big bowl of pasta, a couple of slices of toast or some sugary foods, there is a surge in the blood sugar level. The body panics “I’m not supposed to be dealing with this type of food. What is going on?” You see, our bodies are not built to consume high glycemic foods…they have only been around for a short period of time relative to our evolution.
A vital hormone called insulin is secreted by the pancreas and encourages the sugar in the blood to move into the cells so that it does not harm the body and so that it can be turned into energy. Because the pancreas is worried that there is this unnatural amount of sugar, it releases loads of insulin, so the blood sugar is now excessively low.
Now the body is worried because there is no sugar around, so it thinks that it is not going to have any energy. Other sugar raising hormones are called upon to compensate, and so are we. This is when our bodies begin to scream “give me some sugary food to get my blood sugar up again.” This is why I was dying for some carbohydrates after just finishing a huge meal an hour before. How do I stop overeating? Cut out high glycemic foods that make us addicted to the sugar rush. And this ridiculous amount of sugar eventually turns into fat.