July 11, 2005
Mistaking Thirst for Hunger
If you're not drinking enough water, you might find yourself eating when all your body really wants is water. I experienced this myself this past week.
We've been having problems with our air conditioner, so it's been quite hot in my home. One evening I kept eating things like yogurt, fruit juice popsicles and refrigerated fruit because I was so hot. The next evening when I had the same "cravings" I decided instead to have a glass or two of ice water, and you can guess what the outcome was... the cold water satisfied me and I didn't need to add any extra calories to my day.
That's just something to keep in mind... sometimes you might think you're hungry when in reality you're just thirsty.
Great point on eating vs. drinking to quench your thirst. I went to reach for a bowl of cereal last night, and realized that I was really thirsty. I drank a glass of water and was fine. Thanks for another great tip. Mike
Very true, the body is giving us a clue that it needs something but we may not recognize it as dehydration - thirst. This is also true with nutrients - if we are deficient in nutrients the body urges us to eat in order to gain those nutrients. Taking extra dosages of high grade, bioavailable supplements helps the body work better - after all, it is a highly sophisticated chemistry project. Since I've made a serious effort to improve my nutrition level, both by the foods I eat and the supplements I take, I find my body responding better to my weight loss efforts, my mind is much clearer, and I have considerably more energy. I take a palm full of supplements 3 times a day. The recommended daily dosages seen on the supplement bottles are only sufficient to prevent us from dying of a deficiency, they are in no way therapeutic dosages. A great newsletter to receive, (disregard the ads) is from HSI. http://www.hsiealert.com/freecopy.html/ I get one every day and they have tons of great information about nutrients, pro and con, and all sorts of health related alerts.
