8 reasons why you're always hungry

1. Your body needs (more) fuel

The main purpose of hunger is to provide your body with nutrients and the necessary energy to function optimally. For example, if you exercise a lot but don't eat enough, you will feel more hungry because your body simply needs more energy.

If you want to lose weight, it's important not to eat too little or skip meals regularly. This will help you lose weight faster, but it will also make you feel hungrier and make it harder to stick to the diet.

2. You're not sleeping enough

Hunger is largely controlled by your brain, which uses various signals and hormones in your body to regulate your appetite. Ghrelin is a hormone secreted by our stomach lining that stimulates our appetite. It is often referred to as the hunger hormone. The more ghrelin your body produces, the higher your appetite.

Another important hunger hormone is leptin. Leptin is produced by your fat cells and signals your brain that you are full and have enough fuel. This will decrease your hunger.

When you get enough sleep, your body has time to regulate these hunger hormones and reduce your stress hormones, which can decrease your hunger or cravings during the day.

Research shows that people who sleep 5 hours per night instead of 8 hours produce more ghrelin and less leptin, which increases their risk of overeating and overweight.

3. You're not drinking enough

It's important to drink enough every day. Many people confuse thirst with hunger, which leads them to eat when they should actually drink more. If you feel hungry or have cravings, try drinking a few large glasses of water first and see if you're still hungry after half an hour.

4. You're not eating enough protein

A protein-rich meal reduces your hunger and makes you feel full for longer. If you feel hungry or have cravings shortly after a meal, make sure your meals contain a bit more protein.

Good plant-based sources of protein include beans, lentils, peas, tofu, tempeh, soy yogurt, mushrooms, or our plant-based protein shake.

5. You're not eating enough fiber

Fiber slows down the absorption of sugar in the blood. This leads to a stable blood sugar level and prevents you from getting hungry or having cravings for something sweet. Fiber also helps you feel full faster and stay satisfied longer after a meal.

Your body needs about 30 to 40 grams of fiber per day. To keep your hunger in check (and for your health), it's important to eat enough fiber daily.

The best sources of fiber are: vegetables, fruits, legumes, potatoes, nuts, oats, chia and flaxseeds.

6. You're eating too quickly

If you're still hungry after a meal, you may be eating too quickly. Satiation actually begins in your stomach and your body needs time to process a meal and send signals that you're full.

Take your time to eat slowly. Put down your utensils more often, eat mindfully, and avoid distractions (TV, tablet, phone) while eating to prevent overeating.

7. You're not eating the right foods

Food makes us feel good and activates the reward system in our brains. However, many products in our environment are capable of disrupting our hunger and satiety system and causing us to overeat.

These are often low-quality and processed foods (cookies, junk food, breakfast cereals, sodas, sugary snacks, etc.) that contain little protein, fiber and other nutrients our body needs, causing us to easily overeat and quickly become hungry again.

If you want to eat something that is easy, tasty and healthy, and satisfies you well, try a plant-based meal replacement shake like Orangefit Hero. This will keep you full for the next few hours and give your body everything it needs.

8. You're eating out of habit or emotion

People often have an emotional reason to eat. For example, we eat because we're bored, feeling sad, stressed, or even when we're happy or during social occasions like a birthday or a night out, we often feel like having something (delicious).

This has nothing to do with physical hunger but with an "emotional trigger" or an (unconscious) habit of eating in a particular situation.

It's important to become aware of your eating behavior and look for your personal triggers. In what situation do you feel the need to eat when you're not hungry? How hungry are you really? Are you hungry or are you eating out of habit?

At least don't resist your hunger. If you find that you're actually just looking for something instead of being hungry, distract yourself.

Take a walk, go for a bike ride, call a friend, pick up a book or do other fun things and you'll find that your hunger disappears on its own.

Conclusion

Everyone experiences hunger daily. However, this doesn't always mean that your body actually needs food.

There are various reasons why we get hungry and multiple factors that can make it difficult for us to lose weight or maintain our weight.

Therefore, make sure to drink enough water, get enough sleep, and eat enough protein, vegetables, and fruit every day. This will give you a solid foundation.

Not only will this help you achieve the best results, but it will also prevent you from experiencing cravings or always feeling hungry.