Emotional Hunger or Insulin Resistance?

Specialist Dietitian Melike Çetintaş gave important information about the subject. We all think that we experience emotional hunger from time to time. We reward ourselves with food when we are bored, under stress, feeling depressed, and sometimes even happy.

Eating is not only a behavior we do when we are physically hungry, but also a complicated behavior that is affected by social, cultural and emotional events. People who experience emotional hunger show eating behavior as a result of an emotion, even though they are not physically hungry. This feeling can be many things, such as arguing with a friend, stress at work, breaking up with your lover, problems in the family. Usually, when we experience emotional hunger, we consume carbohydrate foods because sugary and floury foods allow us to secrete the happiness hormone we call serotonin. Of course, this happiness leaves its place to regret after the meal is over, actually causing us to go from a depressed or sad state to a more sad state.

However, insulin resistance, which is very common in society, is a disorder that is often confused with emotional hunger. Because people with insulin resistance also suffer from constant hunger, sweet or carbohydrate crises, irritability and depression. Gaining weight causes an increase in the number of fat cells, and insulin, which cannot pass from the fat cells into the cells, begins to accumulate in the blood. As a result, insulin resistance develops, and as insulin resistance develops, we begin to gain weight faster. In other words, gaining weight causes insulin resistance and insulin resistance causes weight gain, creating a vicious circle.

Your Blood Tests Are Important!

If you are constantly hungry and want to eat, if you describe this situation as emotional hunger, you must first be sure whether the problem is physiological or psychological. You can find out if you have insulin resistance with the HOMA-IR test you will give while you are hungry. If your HOMA-IR value is in the normal range, you may be experiencing emotional hunger.

What Should I Do If I Have Insulin Resistance?

In insulin resistance, removing carbohydrates from the diet increases problems and sweet crises. Therefore, get 50% of your daily energy from carbohydrates. But instead of rice, pasta, potatoes, fruit juices and sweets, which we call a simple sugar diet, complex carbohydrates; brown bread, legumes can be used. Follow glycemic index diets and make sure to have snacks. Fasting for more than 3 hours will cause your blood sugar to rise and fall rapidly at the next meal, causing you to feel hungry again. The best snack for insulin resistance is to eat a handful of fruit and consume cinnamon milk or yogurt with it.

How Is Emotional Hunger Treated?

Expert Dietitian Melike Çetintaş said, “The solution to emotional hunger is to replace the eating behavior with another behavior. We can achieve this with some methods that we also use in psychodiet. Give your subconscious positive suggestions. The unconscious part of the iceberg; in fact, it controls our behavior and our lives without us even being aware of it. The positive messages we give to the subconscious are processed over time and reflected on the consciousness, that is, our behaviors. We can change eating behavior with these right messages. You can give suggestions to yourself during the day. For example, 'You can achieve this', 'You have the willpower not to eat this food', 'You are not hungry right now', You stand behind the decisions you make.' You can create suggestions that will increase your own motivation and instill self-confidence. By repeating these suggestions 2-3 times a day, you can see positive changes in your behavior by raising them to consciousness over time.”