Why am I always hungry?
Sunday, May 26, 2024
Do you feel hungry ALL the time?
Could it be possible that it's actual, true hunger?
Here you are, doing your best to listen to your perfect gauge. To eat when you're hungry and stop when you've had enough. Problem is, you feel hungry ALL of the time.
You're pretty sure this can't be right and now you're really worried that there's something wrong with you.
It's time to put your mind at ease. Here's a list of 7 things that could be causing you to feel hungry. Have a read through and check to see if one or more could be what's ACTUALLY going on for you:
1. You're not drinking enough water.
Dehydration can make you feel both tired AND hungry. Aim to be drinking at least 1.5 litres of water each day. Add a bit extra if it's summer and you're outdoors a lot. And add an extra litre for every hour of exercise you do.
2. Your meals aren't balanced.
Eating the right balance of protein, carbs and vegies/salad along with some healthy fat at meal times will help you feel satisfied and better manage your hunger. Need help planning and preparing delicious, healthy meals? Check out my meal planning course which is perfectly designed to help you with this.
3. You're not eating enough.
Are you eating the amount you "should" be eating, or are you listening to your body and letting it tell you when you've had enough? Nobody else knows how much you need to eat, when you are eating. Nobody! Only YOU know. That's why it's so important to get rid of this idea of "portion control" and instead tune into what your body is telling you. It really does know.
4. You're not eating consciously.
So many of us rush through our meals these days while our minds are off thinking about the next task to do. If you're not present when you're eating, you won't notice what you ate, how much you ate and it's likely your brain won't realise THAT you did in fact, eat. The solution - the "fix" - become a more conscious eater.
Click here to join my 5 day E.A.T. consciously free challenge to help you do exactly that.
5. You have a long history of dieting and feeling hungry often.
Undereating, not eating enough at mealtimes so that you feel both physically and mentally satisfied or not being "allowed" to eat when you're hungry and doing so for many years, or even decades can mean you're totally out of touch with your hunger now. So that at the tiniest hint of something that may or may not be hunger, you panic, convince yourself it's hunger and want to eat.
6. You're not getting enough sleep.
Once of the biggest reasons humans have cravings is because they're tired. Tiredness causes your body to crave quick energy from food. But what you really need to do is get more or better quality sleep.
7. Your mind is tricking you.
There are two types of hunger. Real or body hunger that comes from your stomach being empty and producing ghrelin, the hormone that signals hunger. Then there's fake hunger. This comes from your mind. This type of hunger always comes on quickly and is for a specific food, not food in general.
To know which is which, notice what you are hungry for.
Could any - or all - of these be what is happening for you?
If you're not sure, it can be really helpful to write down when you get hungry and really pay attention and try to describe how you actually feel when you're wanting to eat.
And if you need any help with this, get in touch.
Hey! I'm Caroline
Dietitian & Eating Psychology Coach
Don't waste your time, destroy your energy levels or mess with your health by going on diets, restricting carbs or counting calories.
Life it to be enjoyed.
I believe you can live life AND manage your weight.
I share my thoughts on how you can do that on this blog...
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You've just read about the importance of eating well and the easiest way to eat well is to plan for it.
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