• How many times has your brain told you that you shouldn't eat something... but you cannot say no and eat it anyway?

• Have you ever continued eating a meal because you think you're still hungry... and then feel uncomfortably full - even sick - after you're through?

• Have you ever felt cravings for more food and gone rummaging through the pantry... less than an hour after a big meal?

These feelings of "hunger" are not natural. They are not the result of a lack of willpower either. Constant cravings and an appetite that is difficult to control are usually caused by eating the wrong foods.

When you eat the foods your body is designed to enjoy, your brain will STOP signaling to eat too much. You won't have to "diet" or practice extreme self-discipline.

And reaching your ideal weight will become effortless, because your cravings will disappear and you will only feel hungry when your body truly has a need for fuel.

Today, I will show you how to lose weight permanently and without sacrifice or denial.

Where Does Your Hunger Come From?

The first thing to know is that the concepts we've been taught about hunger since childhood are too simple:

• If there is food in your belly, you feel full.
• When your stomach is empty you get hungry.

This understanding was all our ancestors needed. But our ancestors' food didn't contain more than 20 ingredients with names that would knock out a spelling bee champion.

In today's food culture, WHAT you eat can have a much greater impact on your hunger than HOW MUCH you eat.

If you are ever going to gain control over your appetite and stop your cravings, you have to know where they come from. The most important thing to understand is that there are really three types of hunger:

• Physical Hunger: This feeling of hunger builds slowly and occurs several hours after a meal. This is how you feel after exercise or a long period of work, when you have depleted your energy stores. First your stomach begins to growl. If you don't eat soon you might become tired and irritable, have a headache or notice that your brain won't focus as it should. This is your physiological need for nutrients and energy. When you eat, these hunger symptoms disappear almost instantly.

• Nutritional Hunger: This is your body's cry for more nutrients. In today's world, it is too easy to eat foods that are processed and refined until they are nutritionally bankrupt. These processed foods contain more than enough caloric energy, but they do nothing to satisfy your body's need for vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and enzymes. While your body is getting plenty of energy, it is still starving for nutrients. If you're stomach feels full an hour or so after you've eaten, but you still can't focus or you feel tired, this could be a sign of nutritional hunger.

• Hormonal Hunger: This feeling of hunger comes on suddenly. It often has nothing to do with mealtime. In fact, hormonal hunger can strike right after a big meal. This is also where that "extra room" for dessert comes from. Hormonal hunger can cause strong emotional cravings for specific foods - especially carbohydrates. It can often overpower even the strongest willpower. It can cause mood swings and low energy. And it creates a near continual desire to eat.

When is it a Good Thing to be Hungry?

Physical hunger is a sign that your body is functioning well and responding to the right signals. It is your body telling you that it needs nutrients and fuel.

Some "weight loss programs" advise you to strengthen your resolve and fight through the feelings of physical hunger. They say that "feeling hungry" is a natural part of losing weight and that you should even learn to enjoy the feeling.

This is a big mistake and it will actually get you the opposite results you are looking for. In fact, consistently resisting physical hunger will train your body to store fat!

Your body can adapt to almost any situation - including periods of starvation.

Denying food when your body is calling for nutrients and fuel sends the signal that food is scarce. In response to scarcity, your natural survival mechanism is to store fat. Your metabolism slows down and your body burns fat only for critical functions.

Physical hunger is natural. To fight it is unnatural.

Don't deny physical hunger, feed it.

What to Eat When You're Hungry

When you feel the pangs of true hunger, nourish your body with the nutrients and energy that come from whole, natural foods, including grass-fed beef, pastured pork and poultry, and whole eggs... wild salmon and sardines... nuts, berries and seeds... raw cheese and dairy... coconut, avocado and olive oils... whole fruit in moderation, and as many above ground vegetables and leafy greens as you wish.

When you eat your fill of foods rich in healthy fats and protein and stick to low-glycemic carbohydrates, you send the signal that food is plentiful. It tells your body that "the hunting is good" and that it is safe to burn the energy you consume and to shed excess fat.

And not only are these foods nutritionally complete, they are also digested more slowly than the fake, refined foods that most people eat. They stay in your stomach longer and release energy over a longer period of time. This keeps you feeling full and satisfied for hours.

If you're trying to lose fat and you're constantly hungry, you are doing something wrong. Deprivation is unnecessary and counterproductive.

The solution to hunger and weight loss is to eat MORE of the foods that enhance your metabolism and nourish your body. Say "no" to fake foods... and say "yes" to more whole, natural foods.

To Your Health,

Kelley Herring
Healing Gourmet