Appetite & Eating

I've been wondering about appetite. No, not in the sense of 'where
did my appetite go?' Sometimes I wish I didn't have such appetite.
My eyes are definitely larger than my stomach. A bad translation?
you get the idea...

I've been wondering about what factors affect our appetite. I began
thinking about this after a friend told me he doesn't need to eat much
when he is writing papers. We've all been there. Skipping lunch on
busy, chaotic day, coming home at 11pm, realizing "wait, I haven't had
anything solid all day!"

Also we've been there, where we are constantly munching on ANYthing
chewable, not because we are starving, but rather because we feel
stressed, and eating is comforting. Both scenarios seem familiar and
catholic, yet it is a bit of oxymoron. Our appetite, like a balloon swinging
back & forth, waxes and wanes depending on the stress level!?

Perhaps, stress does cause us to eat more. I have read that one way
to avoid emotional eating is to manage the underlying stress through
relaxation, exercising, etc. Being able to dissociate eating due to
physiological state of hunger vs. due to emotional needs may be helpful
in avoiding the latter. Wait like 10 min. and work, go for a walk etc.
and see if still hungry. Also for runners, it is important to eat even when
you are NOT hungry. Often right after a run more than 45 min. or so,
I'm not hungry at all. So it becomes like a ritual to immediately replenish
water and carbohydrates within 1 hour of running.

Ok, stress, we got that down. What else affects our appetite?

1. visual images, colors

Why some just cannot resist food..

Those miniature plastic food in front of restaurants in Japan is an industry
in of itself for a good reason..

2. delicacies driving appetite away, far far away..

Btw, is reindeer penis really good for skin? I can see a new brand,
'Reindeer Penis' natural beauty from the wild wild Northpole.
Mrs. Santa's favorite casserole!

3. smell, our olfactory nerve is one of the oldest nerves, and directly
linked to the cortical area. Yummy sniff, and you are powerless..

4. weight of food supposedly also affects whether we stay full or not.
more on this topic later another day!