It’s certainly not okay when you always feel like a bottomless pit for no obvious reason. Hunger is the physiological need for calories, water and salt, and it’s driven by a mix of factors, including your diet, appetite hormones and emotional factors. Figuring out why you can’t stop shovelling it down is important, because excess hunger can tip you off to a physical or mental health issue — and giving in to that need to feed can send your BMI into dangerously unhealthy territory. These 5 things will help explain why your belly’s been growling.
You’re dehydrated
Mild dehydration is often masked as feelings of hunger, when really your body just needs fluids. The confusion happens in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates both appetite and thirst. When dehydration sets in, wires get crossed in the hypothalamus, leading you to grab a bag of chips when you really need a bottle of water. Prevent it by staying on top of your fluid intake, starting with a glass of water first thing in the morning. If you feel hungry, and you haven’t drunk much that day, try drinking a glass of water and waiting 15 to 20 minutes to see if your hunger subsides.
You’re a restless sleeper
By the time you wake after a night of poor sleep, two hormones linked to appetite have already begun conspiring against you. Too little sleep can lead to surging levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, as well as decreased levels of leptin, a hormone that causes feelings of fullness. Lack of shuteye on a regular basis makes you ravenous for another reason. After poor sleep, you’re more likely to have serious fatigue and brain fog. Your system, desperate for a shot of energy, triggers cravings for sugar carbs, even if you’re not actually hungry. Aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, and you’ll get your energy level and hunger hormones back on track.
You’re a stress case
Who hasn’t dealt with a high-pressure school/workday or relationship rough spot? But stress has a sneakier way of making you voracious. When you’re tense, your system ramps up production of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Elevated levels of these hormones trick your system into thinking it’s under attack and needs energy, so your appetite starts raging.
You need to eat more protein
It sounds counterintuitive, but piling your plate with more food — lean protein and healthy fat, specifically — keeps hunger pangs at bay. “Not only does protein stay in your stomach and promote feelings of fullness, it’s been shown to have an appetite-suppressing effect.
You skip meals
Yet another reason why ghosting on breakfast or forgoing other meals throughout the day backfires on you. When you skip a meal and your stomach is empty for too long, it produces an uptick in the hunger hormone ghrelin, which ramps your appetite. “Ghrelin also prompts the GI tract to expect food to come. Your ghrelin levels are in overdrive, and so is your lust for food. When you finally give in, you’re prone to a binge. As a general rule, try not to let more than 4 to 5 hours go by between meals. And even if you hate breakfast, eat something in the a.m. within an hour of waking, like yogurt, peanut butter and apple slices, or a soymilk smoothie.
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