Why do we eat so much but not feel full?

There are times when we often eat defiantly and don't feel full even after eating a lot. This situation comes from many causes and this article will expose some of the main reasons for you to know and stay away.

The reason we eat so much is still not full

  1. 5. Serving size
  2. 4. The variety of dishes
  3. 3. Losing focus
  4. 2. Wine
  5. 1. Eat with others

We tend to think that we will stop eating when we feel full. But from a scientific perspective, things are completely different. Here are 5 reasons we can overeat without realizing that we're full.

5. Serving size

The sense of serving size has long been proven to affect the amount of food we eat. In a study by American scientists on satiety, participants sat at a table and were instructed to eat soup.

Picture 1 of Why do we eat so much but not feel full?
The size of the diet has a significant impact on the psychology and satiety of the eaters.

Half of the soup bowls were added slowly through a tube under the table and the diners knew nothing. As a result, people who ate the supplemented soup bowls ate up to 73% more than those who ate a full bowl of soup and were taken by themselves. However, it is worth mentioning that the group of people who ate the soup bowl slowly poured in to believe that they had eaten more than usual. They also do not feel fuller than people who eat regular soup bowls.

From the above study, it can be seen that the size of the diet has a significant impact on psychology and satiety of the eaters. If we have to eat the same amount of food but divide it into several times, we tend to eat more than eating a large amount of food in one go.

4. The variety of dishes

Usually when we eat we get used to the taste of the dish. That means we rarely feel happy when we feel that food and can stop eating as soon as the brain feels bored. This effect is called sensory-specific satiety. It means that we know all the flavors in that dish as soon as we smell it.

However, when we eat a plate of food with completely new and more diverse dishes, the change in taste and sensations will surely make you feel delicious and want to eat continuously.

When the researchers tested the effect, they found participants ate four times as much when they ate exotic foods. This effect tends to increase sharply when the dishes are more diverse and attractive.

Although nutrition experts recommend that users need a varied diet to ensure health. However, you should be wary of situations where you have to eat a variety of different foods at the same time, such as buffet parties. If that effect is not able to escape, the risk of weight gain will be very high.

3. Losing focus

Many people often eat while doing other things, such as watching TV, working or online. But eating while the mind is distracted hinders the mechanism of response to the state of fullness. When you are distracted, you are less likely to realize if your belly is full or not. So your body will still urge you to consume more food.

You may have heard that eating during distraction causes your body to increase its intake. But maybe you didn't know that this effect can last all day. Distractions can disrupt your perception of the feeling of fullness and taste of food. This makes you eat more at the end of the day without even knowing it.

2. Wine

Alcohol is also a cause that can make you eat a lot without knowing it. This is because alcohol reduces the body's ability to control and increase impulsivity. Alcohol can even make you feel more delicious. A recent study showed that alcohol interrupts the body's ability to exchange signals, such as heart rate or feeling full.

1. Eat with others

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The fact that you eat with another person can also stimulate you to eat more without knowing it.

It may sound strange, but eating with another person may also encourage you to eat more without knowing it. The foods you eat may also be influenced by the choices made by people around you.

The effect of feeling full is even more pronounced when eating with someone who is in a close relationship. This seems to be a social effect when we imitate the eating behavior of another person and create a guide for ourselves. When a friend is engrossed in enjoying a dish, it will signal that the dish is delicious. From there their expectations of the food to be eaten will increase and encourage them to eat more.

There are also a number of other causes that can affect your intake despite and not paying attention to your fullness. Specifically:

  1. You confuse hunger and thirst: If you find yourself still feeling hungry after a meal, try drinking a few glasses of water and waiting about 10 minutes to see if you're still hungry? Some of us may confuse feelings of thirst and hunger.
  2. You skip meals: Skipping meals throughout the day may cause you to eat more than usual without even knowing it.
  3. You eat in front of the screen: While watching TV or working with the computer and eating at the same time can distract you. Moreover the mind will not be able to determine when you have reached the state of fullness to signal the stop.

So what can we do to prevent overeating but not being aware of being full? Research shows that focusing on immediate meals and meals helps to reduce food intake significantly , while increasing awareness and memory for a person about that dish.

Another study found that using a mobile application related to eating, including photography activities, answering questions and receiving reminders about how to eat to lose weight will help. much in controlling food intake.

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