I have noticed that the worst part of my day is between the 3 pm meal and the 6 pm meal. The most likely reason is that my first meal of the day is prepared using ice which I believe staved off the pangs until my noon meal. My noon and 3 pm meals are prepared at work using tepid water which I think digests a little faster. I recall something from my 6th grade science class with Mr. Felthouse that the digestive system processes cold foods slower than hot foods because the stomach has to bring cold substances up to body temperature first. (It’s amazing what kind of insignificant tidbits you can recall).
That would explain the effect of eating cold cereal in the morning versus something hot, like oatmeal. Although whole oats are naturally slower to digest, because they are generally warm when you consume them, the digestion starts immediately after consumption. With cold cereal the stomach has to churn the meal to get it to optimal temperature, and while doing so is being super-mixed with digestive enzymes. So after eating a cold meal, I feel extremely full and that satiated feeling lasts for a good while but when the stomach finally empties I’m left with a intense hunger pang and crash. The oatmeal on the other hand leads to an immediate but steady digestive process with a gradual hunger.
Just rambling. Obviously I’m bored if I can take the time to compare the effects of cold cereal versus hot cereal on my hunger.
