Why Am I Hungry All The Time?
Written by Piper Barboza Menini, RD
It can be extremely frustrating to feel constantly hungry especially if you think you are eating “enough.” Body signals can be confusing and leave us constantly doubting ourselves. This blog aims to explore different reasons why you might always feel hungry and increase your understanding of and trust in your body.
So what does hunger actually mean?
Hunger is your body’s way of signalling that it’s time to eat. There are a series of hormonal cascades that create both physical and mental cues that more food is needed!
Some hunger signals include:
stomach grumbling
stomach “gnawing”
headache
thinking about food
food seeking behaviour
dizziness
feeling “shaky”
empty stomach feeling
irritability (think “hangry”)
drop in energy
trouble focusing
brain fog
And more!
All of these symptoms can present on a spectrum, and can range from one person to the next. For example, a mild headache could be a sign of early hunger for one person, but extreme hunger for another. Some folks don’t get those “classic” hunger signs in their stomach.
Diet culture has eroded trust in our bodies’ signals. Many humans we work with don’t trust that they are actually hungry, and might try to push it off because they just ate. For many, they have been told that they “shouldn’t be hungry” or that somehow hunger cues are a body signal that should be ignored. These messages rightfully impact our relationship with food and our bodies and create additional skepticism of our internal cues. It is normal to experience hunger at various times in the day, however, the feeling of persistent hunger can be very dysregulating and give us important information that something may be going on.
Let's break it down into two types of hunger- physical and mental/emotional hunger. However, know that there is definitely an interplay between physical and emotional hunger.
Physical Hunger:
Meal timing
Regular eating is an essential way to meet your body’s energy needs. This helps maintain more stable blood sugars and support digestive processes. Most bodies feel best when they are eating something at least every 3-4 hours. We also know that restriction earlier in the day can create situations of extreme hunger later in the day. This can understandably feel distressing, and physiologically, it makes sense that your body wants to get in the fuel that it missed during the earlier parts of the day.
Whether or not you are intentionally reducing meal frequency, or if you struggle to eat regularly for other reasons, this is definitely one reason which can explain constant feelings of hunger.
Meal composition
Incorporating a variety of foods at meals is essential for meeting your body’s energy requirements and also leading to enhanced fullness/satisfaction at meals. Try to include a source of each macronutrient- protein, fat, and carbohydrate- at each meal. Macronutrients provide your body with energy. Fibre (the indigestible part of plant foods) also helps maintain blood sugar levels and contributes to feelings of fullness.
Remember- not every meal or snack needs to be perfect, but aiming to have several food groups together will support feelings of fullness that last longer!
Dieting and Food Restriction
Dieting (or any attempt to eat less in order to change body shape or size) tends to lead to eating less overall, restriction of one or more food groups and/or less food variety.
Know that your body is smart, and will respond to food restriction by increasing hunger signals!
Other reasons: medications, exercise, sleep
Several medications can stimulate appetite- whether prescribed for this or as an unintentional side effect.
Physical activity- If you’ve had higher activity levels and not increased your food intake, then your body is telling you to eat more to support this added movement!
Sleep- poor sleep can alter hormone signaling which could increase hunger signals and decrease satiety signals
Mental/Emotional Hunger
Satisfaction
Satisfaction includes the emotional and mental aspects of food. Think food enjoyment! What sensory properties of food sound good to you? Consider the taste, texture, temperature, and aroma of foods. Diet and wellness culture have stolen the joy from food. But if you leave your meal unsatiated, there is a higher chance youare going to feel hungry again sooner. Satisfaction also does include the filling properties of foods- so you may notice that when you include a variety of food components, you leave the meal feeling more satiated.
Mindfulness
Do you pay attention to or savour the foods you eat, or do you find that you are constantly rushing through the day and eating on the go? Slowing down and giving some attention to your eating can also help with signalling to your brain that you have eaten and are satisfied. Of course, it’s not reasonable to be 100% mindful at all meals, but perhaps experimenting with this can give some additional information on the impact that certain foods or ways of eating have on your hunger and fullness cues.
Mental restriction
Even if you don’t think you are overtly reducing your food intake, even mentally restricting food (ie labelling good vs bad foods, having off limit foods, etc) can contribute to less meal satisfaction/enjoyment and play into why we might feel continuously hungry.
Emotions / Dysregulation
If you experience intense emotions frequently, or have difficulty regulating your nervous system, this can also have an impact on your hunger signals. A heightened nervous system can actually increase hunger signalling and/or contribute to emotional eating. Emotional eating is not inherently “bad” nor need to be demonized, however, it can give youimportant information about yourbody’s needs if youlearn to tune into this.
Dysregulation can also impact theability to honour hunger signals. If youare stressed out or numb, cooking or planning for meals is going to be a lot harder! Dysregulation can also interfere with interoceptive awareness (the ability to sense our internal bodily signals) so youmay have trouble figuring out what your body is trying to tell us.
How to start exploring your hunger cues:
We encourage our clients to cultivate gentle awareness into their eating habits and body cues.
Notice what type of hunger signals might present and how intense they are.
Do you have different types of signals when you are just starting to be hungry vs extremely hungry?
How quickly do you respond to hunger?
Do you constantly question your hunger?
What does comfortable fullness feel like and how long does it last?
Do different types of foods leave you feeling hungry much sooner?
What types of thoughts do you have about food and eating?
Maybe you have food rules you didn’t realize were there?
Know that you are not alone in feeling frustrated or confused with persistent hunger. If you think exploring this further would be helpful, our team of dietitians at The Nourish Collective support humans with exploring their body cues, rebuilding trust with hunger, and nourishing their bodies in a non-restrictive way.
