One of the biggest struggles faced by people who are trying to lose weight or to keep it off once they’ve actually achieved their goal, is in discovering ways to control hunger that would lead them to eat too much food every day. For decades, if not centuries, it was believed that the only way to deal with this issue was to bolster will power and live with the discomfort of being hungry every day. Either that or to submit to it and risk gaining weight or negating any efforts that have been made to lose.

However, times have changed and now, with science on our side, we know that there are ways to control hunger and its negative impact on healthy weight maintenance. Instead of suffering through the discomfort or giving in to the pangs, there is a third option: eating smarter.

Eating smarter means applying modern scientific discoveries in the world of nutrition and physiology to our dietary habits that are satisfying and provide us ways to control hunger. The scientific name for this level of food satisfaction is satiety.? The word satiety is derived from the Latin word satis, meaning enough. And indeed, the sensation of satiety is accomplished in the brain’s hypothalamus which helps regulate the body’s ability to decide if has consumed enough food and feel satisfied.

Doctors and physiologists are discovering that one of the most effective ways to control hunger is choosing the right foods or combinations of foods in order to satisfy hunger for sustainable periods of time. One important component of foods that signals satiety within the hypothalamus is macronutrients. Protein, carbohydrates, and fat, are among the most important macronutrients that help to achieve that full? feeling and to make it last.

To eat smarter and find a more effective way to control hunger, incorporate high-water, lower-glycemic foods like fruits and vegetables into your diet, instead of relying mainly upon pastas and breads for carbohydrates. Then balance those fruit- and vegetable-based carbohydrate foods with foods rich in healthy fats and proteins.

If you’ve ever felt that maintaining a healthy eating regimen and finding ways to control hunger are all a mind game, you weren’t all that far from the truth! The body’s satiety sensors in the brain need the right mix of micronutrients to stop sending hunger signals. To take advantage of this knowledge, start to pay attention to the protein and carb content in each of your meals. This will help you to get the very most out of everything that you eat.