Okay Weighthackers, here’s some more good news about exercise: Not only does it help you lose weight and tone up (i.e. look better), it can make you less hungry too. This new finding comes from a study done last year at the University of Wyoming, which showed that exercise actually changes the way your body reacts to food.
Here’s how it works. Normally a hormone called ghrelin is one of the things in your body that stimulates hunger. When you workout, your body actually makes more ghrelin, which should in turn make you hungrier.
But the researchers up in Wyoming found that exercise also stimulates the production of hormones that make you feel satiated. According to The New York Times:
These hormones, only recently discovered and still not well understood, tell the body that it has taken in enough fuel; it can stop eating. The augmented levels of the satiety hormones, the authors write, “muted” the message from ghrelin.
But wait, the news gets better. The Times said another study done in December confirms that moderate exercise helps regulate hunger. “It found that after 12 weeks, formerly sedentary, overweight men and women began recognizing, without consciously knowing it, that they should not overeat.”
This jibes (yes, I used the word jibes) with my own experience, where I found that after I started being more active each day, my hunger went down, as did the amount of food I ate when I was hungry. The only trick though is that it takes 3 months of steady effort for the effect to kick in. So, get started!
The word you’re looking for in that final ‘graf is “jives.”
A jibe is an insult. As a verb, it’s a turning maneuver in sailing.
To jive is to make music. “Jiving with” something is used as an analogy for making harmonious music with that thing. It means they are in agreement.
I recommend reading George Orwell’s 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language.” :-)
-one of your IndieGoGo supporters and regular reader
Jibe has several definitions, one of which is “Be in accord; agree.” (For more info: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jibe). That’s the version I was using, mostly as I just happen to like to use the word :)
And, thanks for the ongoing support. It’s much appreciated!
That’s interesting about the 3 months. I avoid exercise as I am sure it makes me more hungry, but I’ve only tried it for a month or so at a time. Maybe I need to give it more time.
I used to swim for about an hour, three or four times a week, and could probably have eaten a small planet after each swim. What I did learn was to be moderate and economical with my nutrient intake BEFORE swimming. Too much and I felt weighed down, too little protein and I had no power. I kept that up for about a year and a half or so and saw great weight-loss results even though I was eating much more than usual. Perhaps, though, my exercise was beyond “moderate”.
Finally, as both a linguist and former editor, I approve of this article’s use of “jibe”! :)