Do you often go through the dilemma of having had a sumptuous meal without feeling satiated?  Do you feel that you could have had more food, had there been a little more place in your stomach? These are dangerous signs as it means that your brain is still sending signals to eat more food. These can happen in the following cases:

• You are relishing a dish that you love- since your brain may ‘crave’ for it, you get signals to have more of it.
• You are depressed- fast food and sweets can release the same hormones that are released when someone is excited and after making love called as endorphins. Since you love the release of these happy hormones, after a good meal, you want to have more food. Due to this, at the first note of depression, you start craving for more food.
• You eat fast- when we are in a hurry, we do not eat food…we ‘gobble’ them up. Our brain is attuned to having food for a fixed period of time so when the deed is done in half the time, it still feels hungry. Due to this, you tend to feel hungry within an hour of having good food.

So now that we do know about the brain playing a major role in our diet, how do we trick it into believing that we are not hungry anymore? Try these:

• Smell your food- the smell gives the brain signals to start secreting the saliva and gastric juices. Post this, your taste bud take over, but the process of digestion starts the moment you smell your food, so by the time you dig in, your brain is already of the belief that you are consuming food. So, the signals that you are done with your meal are released much before you are done with the food on your plate.
• Chew slowly- this not only helps in digestion but also fools your brain into believing that you are done with your food. In the process, you eat a lot less than what you would have done otherwise. It also helps you to digest food better as slow chewing allows your food to mix well with the saliva. It marks the very first step of digestion.
• Drink a lot of water- it has been proven that having water before food dilutes the enzymes. Due to this, the harsh digestive juices do not hurt your linings, causing burn and pain. They also decrease your appetite. One can also have some water in between meals. Though it may not be the healthiest thing to do, it helps to decrease you appetite and fills your stomach. So you end up eating a lot less that what you usually do.
• Add some greens- since your brain expects you to keep chewing, replace grains with salads. The salads that you chew will send signals to your brain that you have been chewing for a long time and you will feel satisfied a lot faster. They will also add fiber to your diet and give you a slimmer waist.

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