7 Secret Reasons You're Still Hungry

What makes you hungry: Can high-fructose beverages be hypnotizing us into craving sweets? Robert H. Lustig, MD, an obesity expert and anti-sugar crusader, has done experiments to show that the insulin release from excess sugar consumption blocks hormone signals that tell us we’re full. So...we think we still need food, especially the sweet stuff. More recently, Yale University researchers used MRI scans to show that when adults drank high-fructose beverages, there was reduced activity in the areas of their brain associated with satiety. Like Lustig, the Yale researchers concluded that fructose might be more likely to stimulate rather than curb appetite.

What to do: With meals, drink seltzer with lime, and if you're craving dessert, go for it (it's less caloric and more satisfying than drinking soda and then eating dessert).