Are You Truly Hungry, Or Do You Just Want to Eat?

Back when I used to work in one of the largest supplement retailers in the world, I used to get all kinds of people who would come in for appetite suppressants. Usually, it was the ladies who would come in for them, but there were plenty of men who would wish to take them as well.

"I don't know what it is, I just get so hungry at night," was about the most common reason I would here from the customers. I thought nothing of it, checked them out, and they were on their merry way. And then something strange happened... a return! Apparently, the appetite suppressant didn't work...or so I thought.

I noticed more and more returns on products like these, and assumed at first that they were all just scam products. I asked one of the customers one day, "So the product didn't work?" I'll never forget the reply that I got, "Nah, it worked, but I still wanted to eat."

Ah ha! And there was the answer. The products were intended to keep a person full, and they did, but the customers who returned them were expecting the product to make them not want to eat. The vast difference between the two became very clear to me very quickly.

Being full is obviously the feeling of fullness in which pangs of hunger cease to exist. But wanting to eat however stems from two different reasons for doing so:

1. Eating for taste
2. Eating for emotional comfort

If you are eating for either or both of the two reasons above, then no matter how full you get, you will continue to eat, therefore defeating the purpose of the appetite suppressant!

If you are however truly hungry and are not eating for taste or for emotional comfort, and you are taking in enough calories, then I would in that case tell you that a natural appetite suppressant may not be a bad idea. The two best natural appetite suppressants available are:

1. Fiber:
Whether you eat it in its whole food form or take it in the form of pills or powder (typically known as "Psyllium Husk," the idea behind fiber as an appetite suppressant is this: when you consume fiber and it passes into the stomach, drink water immediately following. The water will cause the fiber to expand in your stomach, creating a sense of fullness, causing the hunger pangs to disappear.

2. Hoodia:
Hoodia is a plant that is native to South Africa. Supposedly, African bushmen discovered Hoodia's appetite suppressing benefits by chewing on its bark during journeys when they would go for long periods without being able to eat. The only form that I have ever seen the Hoodia plant in is pill form. Hoodia works by sending a "signal" to your brain which tells it that you are full.

So remember, if you are considering taking an appetite suppressant because you just can't seem to give up that midnight snack, ask yourself, "Am I truly hungry, or do I just want to eat?"

Yours in health,
James Hallmark