13 Ways to Suppress Your Hunger

Are you always hungry, and does that make you snack or overeat? Constant hunger feels unpleasant and also increases your risk of being overweight. When you're constantly hungry, temptations are much harder to resist.

There are several reasons why you might constantly feel hungry. In this blog post, we explore the causes of hunger and explain how to suppress it.

It's normal to feel hungry when it's time to eat. It's your body's way of telling you more food is needed. If you don't eat on time, your stomach will growl and you may feel irritable.

Your body is designed to cope with not eating for several hours. But some people feel constantly hungry and struggle to bridge the gap between meals.

There are several reasons for this, ranging from a diet lacking protein, fat, or fiber to excessive stress, insufficient sleep, and eating too quickly. Below, you'll find all the 14 reasons why you're constantly hungry.

Fast carbohydrates, such as those found in white bread, cookies, and white pasta, can be the reason you're always hungry. They're digested very quickly by the body, meaning the food leaves the stomach quickly, leaving you hungry again in no time.

Furthermore, products with fast carbohydrates contain little fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Therefore, they don't make you feel full.

You might not be eating enough fat if you're constantly feeling hungry. Fats stay in your stomach for a relatively long time because they take longer to digest. In addition, fats may also trigger the production of certain hormones that signal you're full [1] .

Fiber is also an important factor in feeling hungry. Fiber plays a role in reducing appetite and providing a feeling of fullness.

Eating foods rich in fiber slows down the emptiness of your stomach, making it take longer for food to digest. Like fats, fiber also helps release hormones that signal fullness [2] .

Protein, such as that found in eggs, meat, or yogurt, is important for controlling appetite. Protein helps suppress hunger, making it easier to limit the number of calories you eat in a day [3] .

Proteins also stimulate the production of hormones that let your body know you are full and they inhibit the production of the hunger hormone ghrelin.

Stress causes the body to produce stress hormones, and one of those stress hormones is cortisol. It turns out that this hormone can trigger feelings of hunger. So, if you're experiencing a lot of stress, it can make you feel hungry all the time [4] .

Do you watch TV or play games while eating? If so, this could be a reason you're constantly feeling hungry. If you're distracted while eating, you won't notice how much you're eating and won't feel your body's fullness signals.

Research shows that people who are very distracted feel hungrier than people who eat mindfully [5] .

Eating too quickly can be a major reason you're always hungry. Several studies show that fast eaters have a larger appetite and also tend to overeat. People who eat more slowly are less likely to experience this problem.

By taking your time with your meal, including chewing well, you give your body and brain time to produce the hormones that signal that you are no longer hungry and are full.

Not drinking enough water can make you feel more hungry. Water makes you feel full and can help curb your appetite before a meal. It's also possible that in some cases you might confuse thirst with hunger.

So it's a good idea to drink a glass of water before eating. This prevents you from overeating and also ensures you drink enough.

How much you sleep can also play a role in managing your appetite. When you don't get enough sleep, your body produces more of the hunger hormone ghrelin. So it's no wonder that lack of sleep leaves you feeling constantly hungry [6] .

So, good sleep is important. When you get enough sleep, your body produces sufficient leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full.

If you exercise regularly, you likely have a faster metabolism. As a result, you burn more calories than people who don't exercise as intensively and, for example, sit a lot. This could be a reason you're hungrier than average.

Solid food makes you feel fuller than liquid food. Do you enjoy smoothies or shakes, or do you often eat soup (for example, when dieting)? If so, you'll feel hungry more quickly.

These meals pass through the stomach faster than when you eat bread or vegetables and meat.

Several types of medications can stimulate appetite. The most common are antipsychotics, such as clozapine and olanzapine. Antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anti-seizure medications, and corticosteroids can also increase your appetite, making you feel hungrier.

Furthermore, diabetes medications, such as insulin and thiazolidinediones, are also known to cause hunger.

Certain conditions or illnesses can also be a reason you're always hungry. Hunger is a common symptom of diabetes. It's caused by elevated blood sugar levels and can be accompanied by thirst and fatigue.

An overactive thyroid could also be the underlying cause of feeling constantly hungry. This is because too much thyroid hormone is produced, which causes your appetite to increase [7] .

Furthermore, low blood sugar can be the reason you feel hungry. Low blood sugar can occur if you don't eat for a while. It can also accompany illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, kidney failure, and an overactive thyroid.

Excessive hunger can also occur with several other conditions, such as PMS, anxiety, depression, and stress. If you're constantly hungry, it might be a good idea to see your doctor.

Many people know it: alcohol stimulates the appetite. Research shows that alcohol interferes with the production of hormones that suppress appetite, such as leptin. This happens especially when you drink it before or with food. That's why you can feel very hungry when you drink too much alcohol [8] .

Your body gives you signals that it's time to eat (hunger) or that you've eaten enough. However, you can also experience these hunger signals when you're trying to lose weight, for example, or when you're trying to snack less.

Even with intermittent fasting, your body has to get used to fewer meals a day and you may experience hunger.

Appetite is a rather complex process, influenced by both internal and external factors. Fortunately, you can help yourself suppress your hunger. Below are 13 ways to do so.

As mentioned earlier in the article, liquid food is digested much faster than solid food. Liquid and solid food also affect your appetite and the brain's reward system in different ways.

If you are always hungry, it is a good idea to choose solid, texture-rich foods as much as possible, so that you feel less hungry after a meal.

To avoid hunger, choose foods that are high in fiber. This helps slow digestion and positively influences the release of hormones that signal that you've eaten enough [9] .

Foods high in fiber include fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and beans. Beans and nuts also contain protein. Protein and fiber work well together and ensure optimal satiety when you get hungry quickly.

A good night's sleep can be an important tool for suppressing hunger and may even help prevent weight gain. When you suffer from sleep deprivation, this can lead to an increase in the hunger hormone ghrelin.

This hormone signals to your body that you are hungry and can encourage you to overeat. Research shows that lack of sleep can also give people the subjective feeling of being hungry, even when they are not actually hungry [10] .

So try to get an undisturbed night's sleep every night. Are you having trouble sleeping? Perhaps it's due to what you're eating, or perhaps you could make some adjustments in your bedroom that will help you sleep better.

Mindful eating is a good way to regulate your hunger. By eating mindfully, you're more aware of what you're consuming and your body has time to respond to hunger and satiety hormones.

You feel more satisfied after a meal, which can help prevent hunger pangs soon after eating. By eating mindfully, you become more aware of your own internal sense of hunger and satiety.

Research shows that mindful eating is particularly effective for people who eat in response to their emotional states and for impulsive eaters. Emotions and cravings for a specific type of food influence the feeling of hunger. Mindfulness helps you learn to manage this better.

By practicing mindfulness, you become more aware of food and your own body. Mindfulness is most effective when combined with regular exercise and a healthy diet.

Eating more protein helps you feel full for longer and suppresses your hunger. This makes it easier to hold out until your next meal and can even help you eat less throughout the day.

It's not just proteins from animal products, such as meat and eggs, that help reduce hunger. Proteins from plant sources, such as beans and peas, are just as effective in this regard.

Research shows that protein is a good way to curb hunger pangs. The study involved 20 healthy adults who ate eggs instead of cereal for breakfast [11] .

They reported feeling full after breakfast and having lower levels of hunger hormones in their blood than those who had eaten grains.

It's recommended to get at least 20 to 30% of your daily calories from protein. This equates to 45 to 55 grams per kilogram of body weight.

Are dishes important in managing hunger, you wonder? It might be. When you use a large plate and end up with more food on it, you unconsciously overeat.

Eating from a small plate allows you to eat less without feeling deprived. If you put a smaller amount of food on a large plate, you might think you're not eating enough and feel hungrier as a result.

So you could avoid feeling hungry by eating from a smaller plate.

When you're under a lot of stress, you produce more stress hormones, such as cortisol. People react to this differently, but in general, high levels of this hormone cause cravings and increased hunger [12] .

If you're constantly hungry and stressed, it's helpful to learn to manage stress differently. You can reduce stress by using some of the techniques below:

• Exercise regularly
• Relax with yoga or t'ai chi
• Limit alcohol and coffee consumption
• Healthy eating with products that can reduce stress
• Meditation or mindfulness

Drinking water can help suppress your hunger. Research shows that 500ml of water can help stretch your stomach, sending signals to your brain that you're full [13] .

Water is quickly eliminated from the stomach, so it's helpful to do this just before eating. By drinking water (or other low-calorie beverages) before your meal, you'll eat fewer calories throughout the day, while also preventing hunger pangs.

Eating a snack can help bridge the gap until your next meal. However, it's important to choose a snack that's rich in protein, fiber, healthy fats, or complex carbohydrates.

So, grab a healthy bowl of yogurt, rich in protein, or a handful of nuts, which are packed with protein, fiber, and fat. These will be more filling than an easily digestible cracker or a sugary cookie.

Eating a bowl of yogurt in the late afternoon will help you feel full and may even help you limit the number of calories you eat later that day.

Hunger, appetite, and cravings are complex processes that scientists don't yet fully understand. It's also not entirely clear what exactly happens when you deny yourself certain foods, such as sugar, carbohydrates, or refined fats.

They also don't yet know whether this is a good way to reduce cravings for these types of foods. Some people experience these cravings intensely, while others don't.

If you don't suffer from allergies, it's usually not necessary to eliminate your favorite foods from your diet forever. It's actually good to be able to indulge occasionally. However, try to do this in moderation.

P.S. If you know you can't eat certain foods in moderation, it might be wise to avoid them altogether.

See if you crave those foods less after eating them and if it helps suppress your hunger. Consciously managing cravings can help you manage them better and is likely more effective than cutting them out altogether.

When you eat and you are very hungry, you tend to eat quickly and therefore it is easy to overeat [14] . Despite a strong feeling of hunger, it is wise to eat calmly and mindfully.

You'll feel better when you're full, and it also helps you feel satisfied after a meal. This also appears to be a good way to limit your calorie intake.

Research shows that physical activity can reduce activation of the areas of the brain responsible for food cravings, making you less motivated to eat unhealthy snacks and more likely to crave healthy foods [15] .

Exercise also reduces the production of the hunger hormone ghrelin and increases feelings of satiety. Therefore, exercise appears to have a positive effect on appetite.

However, different studies in this area show different results. People respond differently to hunger, satiety, and even exercise. If you want to exercise more, you can do both cardio and strength training.

Ginger is known to have a positive effect on appetite. Pregnant women benefit from it when they're nauseous, and cancer patients use it when their appetite is reduced.

Recent research shows that ginger can also help with appetite: it can help suppress feelings of hunger. This was studied in rats. They were given a mixture of herbs, including ginger and peppermint, as well as whey protein.

The mixture seemed to promote a feeling of fullness and help regulate appetite. But of course, it's impossible to say for sure that ginger alone was responsible for this result. Try it and see what it does for you!

Broadly speaking, you can say that "always being hungry" stems from an unbalanced lifestyle: lack of exercise, stress, and hyper-processed foods. In this article, we've shared all sorts of tips and tricks on how to solve this. The fastest way to get back into balance is:

• Exercise vigorously every day – walking, cycling and occasional intensive training.
• A varied diet of unprocessed foods - vegetables, low-sugar fruits (berries) and good quality animal products.
• Learn to deal with stress - meditation, exercise and say "no" more often.
• Eat consciously and control yourself.