We Ain't Hungry No More - Intermittent Fasting Teaches Us About Hunger Signals

One of the best things about Intermittent fasting has been its influence on my hunger pangs. I have learnt more about hunger in the past 3 years of doing Intermittent fasting than ever before. Fake hunger pangs and hunger signals begone.

Transcript

Hey guys,

I hope that you guys are doing amazing wherever you are in the world.

My name is Boomshakha and I welcome you to my channel.

I am so grateful as always that you guys are listening,

Subscribing,

Commenting.

I appreciate the support.

In this video,

I want to speak to you guys about intermittent fasting.

I'm sure you guys have been hearing this term because it's becoming extremely popular.

A lot of people are talking about it,

A lot of gurus,

Fitness gurus,

Gurus in general are speaking about the benefits of intermittent fasting and weight loss and in gaining,

In toning your body or becoming healthier.

And there's a lot of benefits to it.

I'm not specifically going to speak about intermittent fasting and its benefits in this video,

But something different.

I think a psychological effect of intermittent fasting that has been the case for me.

Just a brief spiel on what it is,

If you guys have no idea what I'm talking about.

Basically intermittent fasting means that you only eat for 8 hours of the day and then you fast for 16 hours every single day.

And that gives your body time to recuperate,

To recover,

To clean itself out,

To build up the immune system,

To detox.

There's a host of benefits.

There's a billion benefits to intermittent fasting.

Now of course a lot of people don't like intermittent fasting because they believe that it kind of puts your body into panic mode and into fight or flight mode and then you kind of store more calories and you're not able to lose weight etc.

Etc.

I'm not going to go into that debate.

I don't want to go into that debate with you guys.

For me,

Intermittent fasting works and I like it.

I like the way my body feels on it and more so I like the psychological effect of it which is what I'm going to speak about in this video.

So if you guys do intermittent fasting or if you hate the idea of it or if you hate the concept of it,

That's not the point of this video.

I want to speak specifically in this video about food and how I've noticed,

Well in the past as I was a kid or as I was in my 20s,

I noticed that food was obviously extremely important to me.

It still is extremely important to me.

I'm a major foodie.

I love food of all different kinds,

Shapes,

Sizes,

Colors,

Tastes and I love to eat.

I love and adore to eat.

I think it's one of the pleasures in life that is unsurpassed by anything else.

It's one of the best pleasures in the world.

And so I love to eat.

I still love to eat but my relationship to food has completely changed because of intermittent fasting.

In the past,

Food was a source of solace to me.

It was a source of…it's a companion to me.

If I was lonely,

Food would give me company.

If I was sad,

Food would give me company or make me feel better.

If I was feeling depressed,

Food would make me feel better.

Food would cheer me up.

And so in any situation,

Food was always there for me.

Any kind of food,

Mostly fatty,

Greasy,

Not good for your foods but that's fine.

So it was like a companion to me.

And if I was hungry at all,

Even a tiny smidgen little bit hungry,

I would go into panic mode in the past because I would imagine,

Oh my god,

There's no food in my body.

I'm going to starve to death.

And I started hoarding a lot of food.

And this is a tendency that I see with a lot of people as well is that we hoard food because we're afraid that we're going to go hungry because we have this mentality that has been placed into our heads that if you don't have food,

You're going to die.

Well,

Our bodies can survive for a long time without food obviously but we have this weird connection between food and famine.

We have this thing where we feel like if you don't get all the food necessary and a lot of it,

Then we're going to shrivel up and die or we're going to be really hungry.

And no one really wants to be hungry.

Of course not.

No one wants to be hungry.

But it is alright for you guys as a human being.

I feel like it's alright for us to be hungry for a little bit without feeling major after effects,

Major side effects.

You might get a little bit of a hunger headache but eventually with the fasting as well,

With intermittent fasting,

You get used to it.

You get used to not eating for 16 hours and your body adapts quite quickly actually.

My sister started doing it only a few months ago and she's noticing a massive difference in her body and the way that she treats food which is what I really love intermittent fasting for.

Now what I've noticed with intermittent fasting,

I've been intermittent fasting for I would say 4 years now,

3 or 4 years.

Now of course I don't do it every single day.

Some days friends invite me out for dinner and I'm like alright cool,

Fine.

Mostly my last meal is at 6pm and my first meal is around 10,

11.

Usually 11.

And so usually that's how I run it.

I usually do a 14 hour fast,

Not a 16 hour fast because I find that for me I'm already way too skinny at least in my opinion.

I'm skinny enough for myself and also I don't want to lose further weight and also research has been done that it's better for women to do 14 10 hour fasts rather than 16 8 which is mostly better for men.

Whatever research you want to do,

You can do it on your own.

I'm not an expert on intermittent fasting.

I just do it for myself because again it makes me feel better.

But more so as I said,

It has changed my relationship with food.

In the past hunger used to be a sign of panic.

If I became hungry that means I had to start panicking and fighting with people and getting hangry and angry and depressed and running around trying to find something to put in my body.

It was panic mode.

It was just extreme panic.

And now because of intermittent fasting,

Because I've learned to have a relationship with my hunger,

Most people have a relationship with food which is great.

Which is fine,

Which is awesome.

But it creates this panic mode within us when we don't have food in our bodies or we don't have food around us.

That's why people hoard food.

That's why people have all these cupboards filled with random food that perhaps they're never even going to end up using.

Also fridges filled with food that just go to waste because we're just afraid that we're going to run out.

Or bags filled with snacks because we're afraid that we're going to get hungry on the way to somewhere or at work or something like that.

And so there's this panicky relationship with food.

This fear based relationship with food.

And that was how I was in the past.

But because I started developing a relationship with my hunger and realizing that it's okay to be hungry because you're not going to die.

When I first started doing intermittent fasting,

It was like my mind was just going insane with fear,

Panic,

Doubt,

Anxiety.

I would go into my fast.

So I'd finish my last meal and I'd eat a lot because I'm like,

Oh my God,

I'm going to eat a lot because I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to eat for the next 16 hours.

In the beginning I did 16-8.

And so I would go into it and instantaneously,

As soon as I started the fast,

I'd start the timer on my fasting app.

I just instantaneously start feeling hungry.

And I think to myself,

I just had a huge meal.

What am I feeling hungry for?

But it wasn't real hunger because it was panic based hunger.

It was psychological hunger.

Do you know what I'm saying?

It wasn't based on my body.

My body is full.

But my mind was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to eat for 16 hours and it would start panicking.

It would start feeling angry at me.

Why are you doing this to yourself?

You have enough food.

There are people starving in this world.

Why do you have to do this nonsense?

And all this stuff would come up in my head about food and how I need food right now.

I need it right now.

In other words,

I'm going to die.

My head is going to go crazy.

I'm not going to do any work.

I need it.

I need it.

I need this major panic crazy madhouse in my head.

And so as time went on,

I realized that food was actually this relationship that I had with food was extremely unhealthy because I use it as a crutch.

Any time anything happened,

I would just put food in my belly in order to make me feel better about life.

If I was feeling ungrounded,

Just stuff myself with a lot of food and I'll feel better.

If I was feeling like my relationship with my family or my partner was terrible,

Stuff myself with food and I'll feel better,

Mostly sugary carb high foods,

Which makes us feel great.

And so I realized that my relationship with food was one of those unhealthy relationships and I really had to do something about it.

And intermittent fasting is truly what taught me that.

Because being hungry really teaches you that a lot of hunger is actually not true hunger.

It's boredom hunger or it's fear hunger or it's panic hunger or it's just random hunger that you're afraid that if you don't get food,

You're going to die,

But you're not actually going to die.

All of this stuff happens in your head and you realize that most hunger is just nonsense.

It's just nonsensical signals from the brain that are just not really real.

And so I would do 16 eight fasts and in the beginning,

As I said,

It was crazy.

I was panicking every single day.

Usually I would end the fast early and just stuff myself with food because I was so fearful that I was not going to be able to get my food properly.

But as time went on,

As I said,

I realized that this hunger that comes up sometimes,

It's just basically a lot of times based on boredom,

Not real hunger,

But boredom.

Because I'm sure you guys have heard this,

If you're bored hungry,

Try eating an apple or eating like an orange or a fruit.

And if you're not hungry anymore,

Then it was boredom hunger.

If you're still hungry,

Then it's real hunger.

And so a lot of times I would just be like,

All right,

Cool,

Sit with this hunger,

Sit with this hunger.

And I would drink a bunch of water and the hunger would go away.

A lot of hunger is also actually dehydration,

Which I noticed for myself.

So I drink a lot of water and I'd realize,

Oh,

I'm not hungry anymore.

So it was dehydration.

And again,

This relationship with my body and my hunger was powerful because all of a sudden I realized that food was not controlling me.

My hunger wasn't controlling me anymore.

So I didn't get hangry anymore.

I mean,

Of course,

If I spent 24 hours not eating,

I would have after effects or side effects.

But mostly after a 14 hour fast,

I could still go a couple hours after without feeling like I'm going to kill someone.

Even now,

I think the last meal I had yesterday was around five or six p.

M.

And it is right now in Thailand,

It is 10 a.

M.

But still,

My body is not like,

Oh my God,

I'm hungry.

Give me some food right now.

I feel like I'm getting to a point right now in this moment in time where eventually,

Like maybe an hour or so,

I'll start feeling really hungry and I'll need food.

But it's not the panic kind of hunger where I'm like,

Oh my God,

If I don't get food,

I'm going to kill someone.

That kind of panic hunger has disappeared for my life and for my psyche because of intermittent fasting,

Because I've kind of noticed myself while I've been fasting,

Noticed my hunger,

Noticed my mood swings,

Noticed how my brain behaves without food.

And all of that has taught me a lot about my relationship with my hunger and specifically my relationship with food.

And so I wouldn't recommend intermittent fasting obviously to everyone because it isn't for everyone.

Medically,

Why?

Obviously medical wise,

I don't know.

I'm not a doctor,

So I don't know if your body is going to be able to handle it.

Also,

It's very difficult psychologically.

It's difficult on your body.

So I'm not saying that I recommend intermittent fasting to everyone.

If you do try it though,

After medical supervision or whatever,

If you're able to try it,

I do recommend that you start noticing your mind when it's hungry.

And that kind of relationship with hunger is something that I really recommend that you guys notice because that's going to change your life more so than the physical benefits.

The physical benefits are great.

Benefits are awesome.

They're great.

You will lose weight.

You will get more toned,

Etc,

Etc.

And your body,

Your blood work will improve,

Etc.

But more so than that,

You'll notice that you won't use food as a crutch anymore.

Your relationship with food is going to change from more of a master-slave thing rather than you're,

You know,

You're not the slave of food anymore.

You're the master now because you realize it's not going to control you anymore.

It's not going to because you have been able to master it through these days of fasting,

Through these few hours of fasting.

Okay,

So it's a very powerful habit.

And if you guys do try it,

Let me know.

Again,

It's not for everyone.

And you might notice that you feel terrible after doing it.

Don't do it then.

You know,

It's not obviously for everyone.

Not everybody,

Every body,

Physical body is going to be fine with doing intermittent fasting.

But for some people,

It works really well.

And I'd love to hear from you guys.

What do you guys think about your own relationship with food or with hunger specifically?

Is it like a panic thing where you're like,

If I get hungry,

I want to kill someone?

Or are you able to maintain your calm facade?

Are you able to be calm through your hunger?

Let me know.

And again,

I shall see you guys in the next video.

Bye for now.

Reviews

I really liked the distinction between hunger and boredom. I also think that slowed eating allows space to really enjoy our food. Thanks

Excellent perspective! I loved how you highlighted having a relationship with the hunger first, as the trigger for the food. Thank you ❤️

I noticed i was constantly getting the hunger feeling at work. My job can go from bored to stressful. Mainly i was reaching for chocolate. I have noticed that i have started to gain weight around my waist. This video hit home to me about how powerful our minds can be

I've added the occasional 24hr fast to my usual 16/8 IF. This was perfect to get through the rough time close to the end.