The big feed

I was explaining to someone over the weekend how eating a big meal can make you more hungry and I thought it was information worth sharing.

It's counter intuitive I know ... a big feed should surely keep you stoked up for hours but sadly not. I for one would find it tremendously convenient if I could just eat once a day. Alas this isn't great for your health, despite the fact that our wonderful stretchy stomachs are remarkably accomdating when it comes to over-eating.

So how does eating a big meal make you hungrier sooner than if you ate til you were full and then stopped?

The reason for this (here comes the science) is that your body has to keep your blood sugar levels within a strict range, too high or too low is dangerous for your health.

Therefore if you eat a big meal as it digests into it's constituent parts the carbohydrates will breakdown into sugars, causing a big rise in your blood sugar levels due to the large quantity of food. To keep your blood sugar at a safe level your pancreas will then have to produce a lot of insulin to carry the sugar out of your blood into your cells (to be used up or stored as fat). Unfortunately your pancreas doesn't know exactly how much you've eaten so can't produce the exact amount of insulin needed and therefore tends to over-compensate to be on the safe side. This means that after a big meal your blood sugar levels tend to fall quicker than after a smaller meal and it's when your blood sugar levels get low that your appetite kicks in.

Consequently if you want to lose weight, keep your energy levels stable or reduce your risk of developing type II diabetes then it's advisable to avoid regular gorging! Best save the elasticated waist band for something special like Christmas!
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