Is it hunger or a habit?
I was in the middle of a Facebook Live post, talking about the day's number of new Listings to the real estate market. I paused for a moment between subjects, when out of nowhere my stomach rumbled so loudly, I knew the audience couldn't have missed it. I was red as a beet all over my face and chest! And what for? Everyone's tumbly gets rumbly when they're hungry, right?
Well, maybe yes and maybe no. Sometimes you actually feel hungry in your belly and just about any kind of food will fill the bill. Other times, you hear your body "sounding hungry", but you don't have any desire for food. You know, like when you're in a really quiet work meeting and your stomach growls for no reason because you just ate a breakfast burrito on the way into the office and there's no way you are truly hungry.
Well, maybe yes and maybe no. Sometimes you actually feel hungry in your belly and just about any kind of food will fill the bill. Other times, you hear your body "sounding hungry", but you don't have any desire for food. You know, like when you're in a really quiet work meeting and your stomach growls for no reason because you just ate a breakfast burrito on the way into the office and there's no way you are truly hungry.
Stomach growling noises are called "borborygmi" and actually have nothing to do with hunger or your stomach! The rumbles come from the action of peristalsis moving gas back and forth in your intestines, not your tummy. It makes sense that if your intestines have gas zipping around and you send some food down, it can take up space, quiet the rumbling and make it seem like eating was the remedy for the noisy belly. But in all fairness, science hasn't solved the mystery of borborygmi. It could be excess swallowed air, not chewing your food enough or even drinking too much water while exercising. But science is sure that a grumbly tummy has nothing to do with your level of hunger.
So then, it raises the question, are you eating out of hunger or is it actually a habit? Case in point, I have a friend, a very good friend and co-worker, whom I've known for a couple of decades. Every night, right around 10:30pm, a surprised look formed on her face as she announced, "Ohhhh, I'm SO hungry! Are you hungry? I don't know why I'm so hungry."...every....single....night. Without even looking at the clock, we could be sure it was very close to 10:30pm. Sometimes her belly would be grumbly, sometimes not, but rest assured, we always knew what time it was! So think about it next time your tumbly is rumbly....are you actually hungry or is your body used to eating at a certain time merely out of habit?
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