13 reasons why you are constantly hungry

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Even after lunch and a snack, I am tempted to make a sausage sandwich and take another candy. The constant hunger has unexpected reasons.

1. Stress

Hormones are to blame. Adrenaline, which is released into the bloodstream during severe stress, dulls hunger. But cortisol, which also always accompanies stress, especially long-term, blocks the "anti-hunger" effect of adrenaline, and we are ready to chew whatever we come across. When cortisol levels drop, you don't feel like eating again.

2. Thirst

We hardly distinguish between what we want: eat or drink. And since food also contains moisture, it seems to us that our needs are partially satisfied. Try drinking first and eating after a few minutes. Maybe you won't want to eat. And if you want, then you will not overeat.

3. Spike in blood sugar

If you are snacking on candy or donuts, the hormone insulin is released into the blood to process glucose. It breaks down carbohydrates in order to obtain energy from them or send them to reserves. But if you eat a diet high in carbohydrates, too much insulin will be released. So much that your blood sugar drops dramatically and you feel hungry.

4. Diabetes

This is an insulin-related disease. You may be eating enough, but the body does not convert food into energy, because with diabetes, insulin is not enough or it cannot cope with work. Additional symptoms: thirst, weakness, frequent urge to go to the toilet.

5. Low blood sugar

Hypoglycemia is a condition where the body is short of fuel. It can appear due to improper medication for diabetes or improper diet, when you eat irregularly, or if you have high loads and a lack of carbohydrates in your diet. If everything is okay with food, see a doctor. You may have to measure your blood sugar and look for a disease that provokes hunger.

6. Pregnancy

Sometimes it happens that in the early stages of pregnancy, when there are still no other signs, appetite increases in women. If you have reason to think about pregnancy, just take a test.

7. Food for speed

Eat and even snack at a slower pace, so that the body has time to realize when you are full. The sugar level should change, the stomach should be full. This takes time, plus the brain needs to be aware of all the changes. Chew more slowly - there will be less hunger.

8. Smells and pictures

The feeling of hunger is not always caused by the needs of the body. Sometimes we succumb to trickery: we see something tasty or smell something, so it is tempting to get a dose of pleasure from food as soon as possible. If you are hungry all the time, maybe you should go to the kitchen less often and sit on culinary sites?

9. Wrong food

Even meals made from the same product have different effects on satiety. For example, after a portion of boiled potatoes, you don't feel like eating for a long time, but after a portion of fries, hunger picks up faster.

10. Emotions

It's not just stress that makes your feet go to the fridge on their own. Sometimes we eat boredom, sadness, depression. Maybe it's all in a constantly bad mood? Try to do another pleasant thing instead of eating, or rather figure out why you can't be happy. The psychologist will help.

11. Overactive thyroid

Let's say you are nervous, upset, and hungry all the time. And there seems to be no reason. Then go to the endocrinologist: perhaps thyroid hormones are to blame for everything. Then you need to be treated or have an operation.

12. Medicines

Some medications change your appetite. Often these side effects come from antidepressants, but sometimes hunger is affected by antihistamines, antipsychotics, and corticosteroid-based drugs. If you feel hungry after taking medication, tell your doctor about it, but do not quit being treated yourself.

13. Lack of sleep

Lack of sleep alters the balance of leptin and ghrelin, hormones responsible for hunger. Therefore, you are hungry, and something fatter and sweeter.