Feeling Constantly Hungry - Why?

Do you know the feeling when you’re eating and eating, but the hunger won’t go away? If you've ever wondered why, here are some reasons why you may be feeling that way:

Are you tired?

If you’re having sleep debt, or just didn’t slept well, it’s most likely that you’ll feel more hungry, and consequently eat more than usually. Logically, once you spend more hours awake, you’ll eat more times than during a short day, but that’s not the only thing affecting your eating. Hormones play a huge role in all the functions of the body. If your sleep isn’t adequate, the hormonal balance goes out of place and hunger starts to kick in.

How are your macros?

Even if you’d like to eat low-fat foods, it’s nearly never a good idea to try to eliminate fats from your diet. Fatty food will keep you satiated longer than fat-free food, since the chyme moves slower from the stomach to the small intestine when your food has fat in it. Nevertheless, I don’t mean that you should have more oil in your salad than the actual salad, but instead that a reasonable amount of fats in each meal keeps the hunger away better than food without any fats. Remember the happy medium, very fatty food may also weaken the control over eating affecting via leptin and insulin.

Can you tell the difference between hunger and craving?

If a plate full of freshly baked, delicious-smelling cinnamon rolls are brought in front of your eyes, in most cases, you’ll reach for one because you’re craving it, not because you’re hungry. However, also the amount of food available has an impact on the amount you’re eating. In buffets, people are always eating more than usually, as there are plenty of different kinds of foods. That’s actually your body reacting, trying to eat diversely. Once you have plenty of choices, you won't feel full as easily as you would eating just one kind of food. Therefore, you’ll consume more, and the energy intake increases. Moreover, oftentimes, forbidding certain foods from your diet will make you crave them even more. If you’re determinate not to eat that certain food, you’ll eat other foods, trying to satiate that craving, even if you weren’t hungry in the first place.

What kind of food are you consuming?

From early on we’ve been taught that sugary foods spike blood sugar, but only for a short period of time. Once the blood sugar starts to decrease, a little hunger comes along. Therefore, it’s logic that if we eat nothing but candy, we’re in a constant roller coaster of blood sugar. Another matter worth mentioning is the consistency of food. If we compare orange juice and the fruit orange, which one you think will make you feel fuller? If the food you’re consuming is already in a liquid form, it’ll move through your system quicker, break down and absorb faster. So, the same amount of solid food will keep you fuller longer than liquid.

Have you been drinking enough?

An adult should drink (preferably water) 1-1.5 liters a day along with the liquids gotten from foods (Finnish recommendation). It’s also good to keep in mind that exercising can increase the need of liquid. As well, if you eat or drink a lot of diuretic foods/drinks, it’s important to drink more water to stay hydrated. Mild dehydration is often interpreted as hunger, which increases food intake.

Are you eating enough fiber?

Fiber is generally associated with successful weight loss diet, but why? There barely is energy in fiber, but it provides positive effects for the digestion of foods. Fibers slow down the absorption of food components, resulting in feeling satiated longer. Moreover, most fiber-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, contain little energy when compared to their volume. As a result, you’ll feel full without eating a ton of calories. (Here you can find more about fiber.)

Where are you?

After a long day, you sit on the couch and open the TV. Then it hits you, hunger. It can be about you subconsciously teaching yourself to be hungry in that situation. Once you get used to eating in a certain place at a certain time, you’ll condition yourself to the hunger and eating. As mentioned, this happens subconsciously, which makes it more effective.

So here were a few circumstances in which you might feel constant hunger. Always use common sense, for most people, having a regular eating schedule will keep the hunger away. Though, there are medical conditions, such as damage in the hypothalamus which controls hunger, and leptin gene mutation which disables one from feeling full and satiated. Therefore, if you're suffering from constant huger for a longer period of time, despite eating adequately, you might want to go see a physician or a nutritionist.

If you have any questions or thoughts about the subject, feel free share them! 😊

-Jasmin ❤