Binge Eating at Home? How to Stop Being Hungry All The Time
Binge Eating
I think by this point we all know that being overweight and obesity are amongst the biggest health problems of the 21st century. Stress, processed meals and temptation all encourage us to eat more than we should – and they keep us hungry.
But what if you do eat properly and you’re still hungry?
It’s hard to determine the cause of hunger when you seem to be eating more than enough every day. However, our body is a complex mechanism and sometimes feeling hungry is a clue that it needs something that’s not necessarily food.
Let me introduce you to the top 4 reasons why you might be hungry all the time:
1. You need more water
I said ‘hungry,’ not ‘thirsty,’ I know. Hunger and thirst are so inextricably linked that your brain may sometimes mistake them for one another and interpret needs the wrong way. If you already know you’re not getting your daily dose of water, it might be the first thing to try in order to reduce hunger.
Isabel K. Smith, MS RD CDN adds that ‘If you drink a lot of caffeine, you’ll want to increase how much water you’re drinking regularly, for sure. Caffeine is a diuretic, which means that it helps your body get rid of extra salt and water by causing you to urinate more.’
2. You need more sleep
Another fundamental need might be to blame when it comes to excessive hunger. RD Lori Zanini explains that ‘When we don’t sleep enough, it increases our hunger hormone, ghrelin, that can increase our appetite and make us think we’re more hungry than usual.’
Lack of sleep can also impact our choice in foods negatively. A study taken at the University of Chicago showed that sleep-deprived subjects just can’t resist ‘rewarding snacks’ like candy or chips although they had just eaten a healthy meal two hours prior.
3. You’re not eating the right meals
You could start a keto diet, go for intermittent fasting, become vegan or count every calorie – sometimes it could simply not be what your body needs.
For example, let’s assume your body needs more protein (as it is the building block of muscles). You could eat plenty of salads or fruits and you’ll still be feeling hungry simply because you don’t provide the organism with what it actually needs.
In order to see if that’s the case, you could take a closer look at which types of nutrients you consume daily. As Mayo Clinic states, your body needs a certain macronutrient ratio to function at full capacity, and that ratio depends on your age, gender and routines.
Does protein powder really make women bulky? We break down the facts and found the answer here.
