Erste Hilfe bei Heißhunger: So bekommen Sie Hungerattacken in den Griff

Up until now, everything has been going so well: you've been eating healthy food for days (or weeks), doing a little more exercise than usual, and even managing to ignore all the culinary temptations around you. But then, as if out of nowhere, these ravenous appetite attacks appear. Chips, chocolate, chips - you can't think of anything else... What you can do in case of such attacks, we will tell you here.

Just ignore ravenous appetite?

Even if the suddenly burgeoning, strong craving for sweets, fried foods and salty foods seems unhealthy at first: it is worthwhile not to simply ignore your cravings, but to listen carefully to what your body actually wants to tell you. Often there is a good reason for your body to blow the whistle on your cravings: Stress, nutritional deficiencies, emotional problems or even illness.

Why do I have ravenous appetite?

The blood sugar level drops, the body sounds the alarm: there is a deficit that needs to be satisfied. Suddenly the brain receives the message: "Eat as much as you can." This state of emergency often only lasts for about a quarter of an hour, but during this time there is hardly anything else to think about. All thoughts revolve around the (forbidden) food. Peace only returns when you have consumed the desired food (or a comparable nutrient). To prevent ravenous appetite, you can change your eating habits or fight the physical and mental causes.

Hunger attacks are a cry for help

Sudden, severe hunger can have various causes: Stress, mood swings, deficiency symptoms, a learned (eating) habit, the wrong diet or an illness.

When stress makes you hungry

The day was exhausting: appointments over appointments, a lot of stress and, on top of that, the food was once again too short. Now you want to treat yourself to something delicious in the evening. This is only too understandable. But beware! Such "exceptions" will quickly destroy your sales success and you'll soon have a few extra pounds on your ribs. Don't let food become a comforter - it's not easy to get rid of this habit later.

It's much healthier (and more figure-friendly) to think about how you can deal with stressful situations. What can you do to experience less stress? How can you deal with it more calmly? If you are mentally well equipped, you will not fall for hunger attacks so easily.

If an illness is the cause

If the metabolism or hormone balance changes, this can lead to ravenous hunger attacks. Radical diets can also be a trigger, as the body is usually supplied with far too little energy or lacks certain nutrients. Diseases such as hyperthyroidism, diabetes or fat metabolism disorders can also trigger ravenous appetite.

When minerals and co. are missing

Sometimes our diet is too one-sided, or we need more minerals, proteins or vitamins than usual due to changed living conditions (stress, lack of sleep, lots of sport, etc.). Here you are acting quite correctly if you trust your "gut feeling". Your body will show you exactly what it is lacking - now all you have to do is support it and supply it with the nutrients it hopes for.

It is important that you interpret the signals correctly: For every jieper - whether on sweets, fatty or chocolate - there are healthy alternatives that bring more vitality and well-being.

Satisfy ravenous appetite (without a guilty conscience)

Craving for: / What your body lacks: / Healthy alternatives:

Salty (chips, salted peanuts...) / Salt / Olives, fish
chocolate / magnesium, glucose / banana, nuts
Sweets / blood sugar level drops / nuts, fruit
Meat / iron, vitamin B1 / lentils, broccoli, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, beetroot, chia seeds, linseed
Fatty and fried / salt, energy / hummus, lentils, egg, nuts, avocado, fish

5 quick tips against ravenous appetite

1. Drinking

Thirst is often misinterpreted as hunger. If you drink too little, it can feel like appetite. But it's not. Therefore, drink enough water throughout the day.

2. Eat well-balanced and regularly

Anyone who eats too little or irregularly throughout the day quickly runs the risk of experiencing ravenous appetite attacks. The blood sugar level sinks into the basement, as does the feeling of well-being. Therefore: Eat healthy, balanced meals and snacks more often throughout the day. Performance lows, mood swings and ravenous appetite don't stand a chance.

3. Healthy fats

Make sure you use the right fat to curb your appetite. The valuable fats or omega-3 fatty acids contained in almonds, avocados, salmon, herring and trout help you lose weight. They are very satisfying and very healthy.

+++ Read our magazine article "Omega-3 fatty acids: How important are they for humans" +++

4. Dessert

With some eating habits we do not really know where they come from. For example, are you allowed to have dessert after a (rich) lunch? This is most likely a learned habit from childhood and dessert is the coveted reward for good eating. Here it helps to become aware of these time-honoured patterns and to rethink mentally. Perhaps on closer inspection you will notice other eating habits that you would like to change?

5. Voluminous food

Salads, apples, cucumbers, etc., with their high content of water and fibre, fill you up quickly and for a long time, without any annoying calories. Always try to integrate such voluminous foods into your diet, for example as a salad before lunch - then you automatically eat less of the main course.