Why Are You Always Hungry?

It's six in the morning, and you wake up. Your first thought? Food. Mid-afternoon rolls around. Your eye alights on the refrigerator. What runs though your mind? Food. Your fingers itch at the thought of a holding a cookie, your lips tingle as you imagine the sweet sugar. You're so hungry, you could gnaw your own hand off and eat it.

Why?

You only ate an hour ago.

Why do we get hungry?

Hunger is regulated by hormones. Leptin, produced by fat-cells, tells us we're full.

Ghrelin, on the other hand, is made in the stomach and makes us hungrier. Ghrelin sends signals to be brain that we're hungry and peaks right before we eat. When we've eaten, it drops again.

Traditionally, thin people produce more Ghrelin while people with more fat-cells produce more Leptin. However, some research suggests that in some overweight or obese people, this mechanism is disrupted, and overweight people keep producing Ghrelin. This creates a vicious cycle in which the person is always hungry.

However, that's not the only reason we get hungry.

Here, we look at nine of the most common reasons why you're always hungry.

1. You're not eating enough fat

Fat is not our enemy. We need some healthy fats for brain function, to absorb certain essential nutrients (such as Vitamin D), and some fats (like Omega 3 fatty acids) can keep your heart healthy. But there's another reason to eat healthy fats. Fats tell out brain that we're satiated (full). Because they take longer to break down, they stay in our stomach longer, meaning we need less food.

Eat healthy fats, such as olive oil, oily fish (like salmon), avocado, and cheddar cheese.

2. You're not getting enough protein

Protein remains in the stomach for longer, helping us to feel full. You should eat a palm-size portion of protein with every meal.

Good sources of lean protein are: chicken, turkey, eggs, oily fish (like salmon and tuna), beans and pulses, and edamame beans.

3. You're eating too many sweet carbs

Not all carbs are created equally. Certain carbs (such as cookies, doughnuts and pastries) are packed with sugar and white, refined flour. These send your blood glucose levels spiralling high and then crashing down really quickly. That's why, an hour after one cookie, you're desperate for another.

Carbs are not bad. In fact, they're an important part of your diet. Carbohydrates provide the glucose that your body needs for energy. But, you need stabilising carbs that will help keep your blood glucose levels on an even keel.

READ Five Things You Can Do to Curb Food Cravings

Wholegrains are really important. They protect against heart disease and may reduce your risk of some types of cancer. They also help you feel fuller for longer. When you eat carbs, you should aim to eat: wholegrain bread, wholegrain cereals, wholegrain pasta (or brown rice pasta, if you can't eat wheat), and brown rice. Vegetables such as sweet potatoes and butternut squash are also great sources of slow-burning carbs.

4. You're dehydrated

Dehydration is often mistaken for hunger. When we're thirsty, our hypothalamus gets confused, leading us to feel hungry when all we really want is a tall glass of cool water.

If you feel hungry, try getting a low-sugar drink first: water, unsweetened tea or coffee, or even low-cal hot chocolate. If you're still hungry 20 minutes later, you know it's not just your thirsty brain playing a trick on you and you can try a healthy snack.

5 More Reasons for Your Hunger

5. You lack fibre

Fibre isn't just essential for a healthy digestive system; it's a natural bulking agent.

Let's get technical for a moment: There are two types of fibre. Insoluble fibre makes your bowel motions easier, and soluble fibre makes you feel fuller for longer.

The good news is that vegetables are full of fibre of both kinds. That's why half of every mealtime plate should be covered with vegetables, up to seven portions a day.

That doesn't mean it has to be dull. Contrast some red kidney beans with some green cabbage for a bright, interesting and tasty meal. Serve up a big salad filled with lots of different roasted peppers and tomatoes and sprinkled with a healthy vinaigrette dressing.

6. You're stressed

When we're stressed our levels of stress-hormone cortisol and fight-or-flight hormone adrenalin go through the roof. This tricks our body into thinking we're under attack and need energy to escape.

Result: we're suddenly ravenous.

It doesn't matter how much we eat. Our cortisol and adrenalin burns through the glucose so quickly, we start craving another food-fix almost immediately.

If you're stressed, no food will fix you. You need to solve the cause of your stress. Or, if that's not possible, find a more healthy outlet for your emotions: meditation, painting, taking a walk, T'ai Chi, writing poetry, or even keeping a diary are all good ways to handle stress.

READ Food Cravings May Originate In Your Belly, Not Your Brain

7. Your diet is too calorie-restrictive

You've just started a new strict diet and you're raring to go. Well, you were. It's three or four days in and the hunger pangs are becoming unbearable.

While willpower will carry you for the first few days, eventually a severely limited eating regime (whether you're skipping meals or cutting calories to below the minimum recommended range) will catch up to you.

It's recommended that women eat at least between 1200 and 1500 calories per day when trying to lose weight and men consume a minimum of 1800 calories. However, the number of calories may be higher for someone with medical problems, older people, children, and will definitely be higher for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

As well as being a leading cause for constant hunger, extreme low-cal diets  are associated with the following side-effects: gallstones (a very painful condition where solid material forms in the gallbladder; it may require surgery);  fatigue; constipation; nausea; diarrhoea.

8. You're sleep-deprived

The less sleep you have, the more food you want.

Lack of sleep interferes with leptin-production (that hormone that tells your brain "I'm full"). Not only that, but the more tired you'll feel, the more you'll want to eat, just to have energy to get through your day.

Practise good sleep hygiene with a good bedtime routine.

• Turn off the phone, tablet and laptop at least an hour before bed (and banish all gadgets from the bedroom)
• Enjoy a soothing soak in a warm tub
• Drink an herbal tea
• Nibble a low-calorie, tryptophan-friendly snack, such as a banana, or an oatcake (tryptophan is the amino acid that helps produce sleep-hormone Serotonin) 
• Read a book

Also, be aware that the more caffeine and sugar you consume throughout the day, the worse your sleep at night.

READ Best Ways to Fall Asleep Faster and Easier

9. You're obsessed with food

You know what I mean. You have Pinterest boards marked: "Great Food", and "Recipes I'll Make Someday". You pore over cookbooks filled with elaborate cakes. Your Facebook photos feature the best restaurant meals you ever ate. Every night, you sit down with your dinner and watch the TV chefs lovingly caressing artichokes.

The more food is on your mind, the more your brain will tell you that you're hungry.

A study in the 2012 journal Obesity found that just looking at pictures of food increases the hunger-hormone Ghrelin. Smelling food has the same effect (that's why we suddenly crave cake when we pass a bakery). When we smell food, we salivate, causing our stomach to contract. This mimics the sensation of hunger.

The best thing to do is to distract your mind with something else: a new (non-food related) project, a new book, a new exercise regime. And maybe skip the TV chefs for a while.