Feeling constantly hungry even after eating can be annoying. There are several factors that cause you to feel constantly hungry, such as the wrong diet, health problems, and your inability to distinguish between mental and physical hunger. Knowing why you feel hungry can help you live a healthier life, and deal with those feelings.
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Method 1 of 3: Improving Your Diet
Step 1. Eat in a balanced way
You may feel hungry if you do not benefit from a balanced diet. Make sure you eat foods from each type of food group. Eat enough fruits and vegetables, protein and whole grains, and healthy oils and fats.
- You can have half a cup of whole oatmeal with honey, a cup of strawberries and half a cup of cottage cheese for a balanced breakfast.
- You can eat green leafy lettuce with dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and crushed feta or goat cheese for a balanced lunch. You can make your own lettuce seasoning, or choose a ready-to-use low-calorie lettuce seasoning. If you don't like lettuce, wrap all of the above in pita bread or whole-grain tortillas. You can also add lean meat, such as turkey, and add a little spice to the sandwich.
- You can eat about 115 grams of meat or fish, two cups of vegetables, and a cup of whole grains for a balanced dinner. For example, you can make grilled salmon, brown rice, roasted or poached broccoli, and grilled buttersnut squash.
Step 2. Eat foods with lots of air or water, as they have more volume so you'll feel like you're eating more, and in the end it's easier to feel full when you're hungry
Examples of foods with a lot of air or water include:
- Legumes
- Soup
- Vegetables
- Popcorn
- Fresh fruit
- Whole grains
Step 3. Eat vegetables before the main meal
Lettuce has a high water content, so eating lettuce with a low-calorie seasoning before a meal will help you feel full faster, as well as prevent hunger pangs from returning after a meal.
- Delicious lettuce doesn't always have a "heavy" seasoning. Try mixing lemon juice and olive oil on vegetables, then garnish with cherry lemon.
- If you like, you can also make lettuce from fresh berries and peppers or seasoned beets.
Step 4. Enjoy a healthy snack
Healthy snacks like fruit and nuts can help you stave off hunger between meals. With their healthy fats and slow-digesting protein content, nuts can be a great snack to eat because in the end, nuts can give you more energy than sugary snacks.
Step 5. Drink water with meals
Sometimes, increasing the amount of water you drink can help you eat less. Drinking enough water before and during meals can make you feel full without overeating.
- If you're tired of plain water, try replacing it with another calorie-free drink, such as sparkling water.
- Drinking green tea instead of plain water will relieve your boredom. In addition, green tea also acts as an antioxidant, which can help you lose weight.
Step 6. Avoid junk food
Junk foods, processed foods high in fat, salt, and sugar, will make you feel hungrier when you eat them. They are also designed to stimulate your tongue, leading to cravings and overeating.
- High-fat foods also trigger a chemical reaction in the brain to eat more, even if you're not very hungry.
- Excessive food processing will eliminate the nutritional content of food. The body needs nutritious food to work perfectly, so the body will continue to feel hungry if you eat junk food, even though the food contains 1000 calories.
- Eating salty foods will make you crave sweets, so you end up eating too many snacks.
Method 2 of 3: Avoiding Eating as an Emotional Escape
Step 1. Distinguish between psychic and physical hunger
Psychic hunger can appear as physical hunger so if you know the difference between the two, you can make better food choices. The following are some of the differences between physical and psychological hunger:
- Physical hunger is felt slowly, while psychological hunger is felt suddenly.
- Physical hunger does not look at the type of food, while psychic hunger arises as a desire to eat (types of) certain foods.
- Psychic hunger may be caused by boredom, something that is unlikely to cause physical hunger. Try distracting yourself with other activities if your hunger turns out to be just psychic hunger. If the hunger persists, it means it may be physical hunger.
Step 2. Tame the desire to eat certain foods
Sometimes, you really want to eat a certain food, and you can go along with it. However, remember that these desires are emotional desires, and are not related to physical hunger.
- Eat as little food as you want. For example, if you want french fries, buy small fries and eat them slowly. If you want chocolate, buy a small one and enjoy it with coffee or tea.
- Replace the desired food with a similar food. If you crave salty French fries, try salted peanuts. Apart from satisfying your cravings for salty foods, salted nuts also contain protein and healthy fats that will keep you full longer, so your cravings for snacks will decrease. You can also apply this step when you want other foods. Want fried chicken? Try coating the chicken in breadcrumbs and grilling the chicken for a texture that resembles fried chicken. If you crave sweets, eat seasonal fresh fruit.
Step 3. Postpone mealtime
If you feel like eating a snack, try delaying it for a while. You can try some of these tips to stave off hunger before it's time to eat:
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Smell the fruit.
Smelling an apple or a banana can temporarily relieve hunger.
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Look at the blue.
Blue can suppress hunger, while red, orange, and yellow increase it. As you adjust your mealtime, try to surround yourself with blue objects.
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Walk.
If you're really ready for a snack, try walking for at least 15 minutes, especially outdoors. Walking will tame your cravings for snacking. In addition, you will be healthier.
Step 4. Lower stress levels
Stress causes your body to produce more cortisol, so you feel hungry. Lowering stress levels also lowers the amount of cortisol in the body, which causes a decrease in hunger. Try these tips to reduce stress:
- Listen to music. Many people think music can be therapeutic. Create a stress-free playlist, then listen to music from that playlist on a regular basis.
- Laugh more. Laughter will lower stress levels and make you happier. When you're feeling hungry because of stress, try calling a funny person or watching a funny YouTube video that's currently popular.
- Meditate, or pray. Activating the spiritual side of yourself through prayer or meditation will help you reduce stress levels. Every day, set aside time to be alone.
- Exercise. Exercise can help you reduce stress and relieve stress-induced hunger. Walking for 30 minutes every day will improve your emotional and physical health.
Step 5. Get enough sleep
Sleep is good for your physical and mental health, as it can lower stress levels, help you deal with increased stress more effectively, and improve your general health. Most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep per day.
Method 3 of 3: Finding Health Conditions
Step 1. Avoid hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, can make you feel hungry, dizzy, or shaky. Test your blood sugar with a glucose monitor, or treat hypoglycemia with dietary changes.
- Eat more often with smaller portions.
- Avoid sweet foods. Although the condition of hypoglycemia makes you think about treating it with sugary foods, this condition cannot be cured with high-sugar foods. Choose foods that can be converted into energy longer.
Step 2. Check if you have diabetes
If you are always hungry, you may have type 2 diabetes, which is caused by the body's inability to use insulin to extract sugar from food and release it into the bloodstream.
Because the body does not get enough intake, the body will signal to the brain to eat more
Step 3. Test thyroid levels
Hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid, can also make you feel hungry all the time. The thyroid gland controls your metabolism, or the time your body processes food. Because of this, an overactive thyroid processes food too quickly, so the body always needs food.
Step 4. Be aware of dietary problems
If you always feel hungry because your body is not receiving the nutrients it needs, you may be experiencing eating problems such as anorexia or bulimia. Diets that are too extreme can be a derivative of bulimia. If you're underweight, you don't like your body, and you're having trouble eating, or if you're making yourself vomit after eating, seek help from a psychiatrist immediately.
