Are you a binge-eater, bingedrinker, do you suffer from post-binge guilt or frustration or frequently wake up with the dreaded “food coma”? Do we just need more willpower and self-control? Why is it so hard to break this cycle and just live “happily ever after” on a healthy eating plan? First of all, it’s important to understand the “physiology” of overeating. With more than 2/3 of the U.S. adult population overweight or obese, it’s clear that our present behavior of binging-dieting is not working. How does overeating even happen? Is it our appetite or our hunger that drives this overeating behavior? Appetite is considered more like the desire to eat while hunger is more like a need to eat. Hunger drives us to eat breakfast after 8 hours of fasting (while sleeping). Appetite is more like the desire to eat a piece of cake after a full dinner. Regardless, both of these behaviors are driven by the neuroendocrine system. Simply put, this involves your gut (which is the largest endocrine organ in the body), several hormones and your brain.
Just Stop Overeating… But It’s Complicated!
