Are you constantly hungry? Well, you’re certainly not alone. Almost all of us go through stages where we feel like bottomless pits and there are multiple reasons for it. Below, we’ve listed the main culprits – how many do you relate to?
1 Crashing blood sugar levels
Our natural reaction when we’re tired is to reach for high-sugar items that will give us a “quick fix” of fake energy but in the not so long-term it actually makes you more hungry. Immediately after consuming a sugary snack, you’ll have a burst of energy but the comedown is extreme and fast, leaving that 4 pm slump even more unbearable and making you all the more hungry. Steer clear of not just the biscuits and chocolate bars but also refined carbs – these will also cause your insulin levels to shoot sky high and come crashing down shortly after.
Related: 10 Detox tips to make you feel brand new
2 Thirst
More often than not, people mistake being thirsty with hunger. Because it’s quicker to chomp on a biscuit than it is to get up, fill up a water bottle and drink from it, people immediately assume they’re hungry when they’re missing something. That something, though, is often plain old thirst. Keep hydrated throughout the day and just watch how much less you snack.
3 Exhaustion
Yes, missing those precious hours will undoubtedly have a large effect on your hunger levels. When you’re tired, you naturally turn to food to give you energy and opt for the most convenient options which tend to be processed snacks of the ready-made variety. Typically stuffed with sugar, this spells disaster and will only make you more hungry once your insulin levels drop. Opt for a healthy, slow-burning food – you’ll be fuller for longer and cravings will be curbed.
Related: Book Review – The Stress Cure by Patrick Holford and Susannah Lawson
4 Boredom
Yes, sometimes it really is as simple as this. Eating gives you something to do, something to look forward to and is comforting if you’re feeling a little helpless. Find a distraction when you feel like you want to eat unnecessarily. You’ll soon forget you were hungry in the first place.
5 Lack of routine
If you aren’t one of those three-meals-a-day kinds of people, it could actually mean you’re eating more overall. “Grazers” may eat just a little, every so often but they actually tend to consume more than they would if they just stuck to meal times. This is because regularly snacking leads you to believe you’re missing something if you’re not eating frequently. Try sticking to breakfast, lunch and dinner and watch those cravings drop.
6 Time of the month
It’s annoying but it’s true. Being more hungry during your period is inevitable. In fact, it’s been proven that woman’s appetites increase during the second half of their cycle. The way to deal with it? Be aware of it and know that you will feel hungrier during this week. This will help you to maintain focus on sticking to meal times and not just eating for the sake of it. Make sure you eat low sugar foods and avoid processed and refined carbohydrates to avoid the “crash” syndrome mentioned above.
7 Distraction
Many of us eat while we’re doing something else. Whether it’s wolfing down lunch at your desk or mindlessly shoving dinner in while the TV’s on, everyone’s guilty. Take time to concentrate on what you’re eating. It may sound boring but the slower you eat food, the more your brain registers how much you’re consuming and you will feel less hungry for it.
Related: 5 Tips for staying healthy at the office
8 Emotional dependency
For a lot of people, emotions such as stress, sadness and anxiety affect hunger. Some people’s appetite reduces and some people’s goes sky high. If it’s the latter, there are a range of ways to cope with it. Recognise your triggers and when you do feel like reaching for extra food, recognise that it’s not to satisfy hunger but to consume food as a comfort. Stick to three meals a day and healthy snacks if you need but listen to your body for when you’re actually hungry. More often than not, if you follow a healthy diet, the extras are unnecessary and lead you to be more hungry.
Turn your eating habits around by baking a batch of these healthy brownies to snack on or keeping these tips in mind while you’re at the office.
