If you have ever lost weight you would remember that your hunger and fullness signals seem to change and it doesn’t seem as necessary to eat as much to feel satisfied.

But there are other times when no matter what you think you are doing right in regards to your food consumption, there seems to be a nagging voice telling you to eat more!

If you are one of the many who feel ‘constantly hungry’, here is what your body may be telling you:

1.  Your meals do not contain enough vegetables.

What To Do: Start adding an extra serve of veges or salad, or start your meal with soup to get the ‘full’ factor.

2.  You have been drinking too much diet soft drink or coffee – as both these caffeine-containing drinks are stimulants, they can disrupt your natural hunger signals.

What To Do: Try cutting back these types of drinks – slowly but surely.

3.  You are not eating the right balance of carbs and protein, especially in the morning – if you are hungry all morning your breakfast is either too small or does not contain enough protein.

What To Do: Have more to eat at breakfast time and/or add some protein such as eggs, yoghurt, and/or a protein powder smoothie.

4.  You are eating too many carbs – a constant stream of glucose to the body’s cells can cause a relatively high insulin release, which can drive up your appetite.

What To Do: Add more protein to all your meals. Breakfast – see above. Lunch – add chick peas, tuna, kidney beans, chicken etc to your salad or sandwich. Dinner – always include lean cuts of red meat, skinless chicken, fish and/or tofu.

5.  You are not eating enough in the day – if you have skipped breakfast and had only a small lunch you may find you experience a type of rebound hunger for the rest of the day.

What To Do: Eat something in the morning. As much as I hate to admit it, you are better off eating a bowl of cocoa pops then having nothing at all. Try and follow the plan in #3 & #4 above.

Have an active and nourishing weekend,

Heidi Dening

Original Source:
* Susie Burrell
* Plus Heidi’s 20yrs of experience and passion for Nutrition, Health, Wellbeing and Exercise.