Can Your Memory Make You Hungry?
By Randi Morse
Did you know that it may be possible to use your mind to help you achieve your weight loss goals? Memory is a powerful thing, but it turns out that it might be so powerful it can actually help you to lose weight. People who are dieting often feel as though they are in a fight against their very body, and most don't realize that there are a lot of psychological factors that can sabotage weight loss goals. Recent studies have shown that our memory may play a much bigger part in our food consumption than we ever realized it did.
Amnesiac Study
One study followed two people, both suffering from anterograde amnesia. This means that they've lost the ability to form new memories. The two subjects, along with two healthy individuals, were given a plate of sandwiches and some cake. They were told to eat until they were full, and once they did that the food was taken away. Fifteen minutes later the two subjects and the healthy volunteers were given another helping of food. The healthy individuals declined to eat, saying they were too full. The amnesiac subjects, however, ate the entirety of the second meal. Because their brain had forgotten that they had the first meal, they were able to eat an entire second meal.
Soup Study
Another study came out of the University of Bristol. Subjects were asked to eat a bowl of soup. What they didn't realize is that there was a small pipe going into the bowl which allowed the researchers to slowly refill the bowls of some of the subjects.The researchers discovered that the amount of snacking the subjects did later on in the day depended more on the appearance of the bowl, whether it seemed like there was a lot of soup in the bowl or not, rather than being based on the amount of soup they had actually consumed.
Memory Recall
So how does this help when you are trying to diet? Researchers say that if you try to recall what your last meal was, and how long it has been since you had it, you are less likely to eat when you are not hungry. They also promote attentive eating, a process that asks you to truly involve yourself in your meal, taking note of the taste, the texture, the smells, and the visuals. Doing this helps your brain catalog that you've eaten, making you less likely to be hungry later on.
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