Reasons you're always hungry?

                        

Feel as though you have non-stop hunger that never quits? If so, you may be finding it hard to stay on course with your fat loss diet plan.  For a number of well-intended dieters, the one thing that throws them off course entirely is not that they are unmotivated and give in to food cravings, rather, it’s that they are so hungry, they just can’t fight off eating any longer.

If this is what’s happening to you, it pays to think about how your food plan is structured. If you aren’t eating properly, this will definitely create hunger rather than blunt it.

Let’s look at some of the key reasons you may feel more hungry than you should be.

You’re Lacking Dietary Fat

Have a good look at your diet plan. Are you eating fewer than 20% of your calorie intake from dietary fat? If so, that’s likely why you are so hungry.

While you will likely need to reduce your dietary fat intake in order to keep your calorie intake in check, keep in mind that too little fat will just be detrimental to your progress.

Dietary fat helps keep you feeling fuller between meals and will make each meal you eat ‘stick to your ribs’, as it’s so often said.

Just 5-10 grams of dietary fat with each meal you make can make a significant difference on how hungry you are throughout the day.

My recommended choice of a fat supplement would be either flaxseed oil or super strength fish oil. With both of these fats, you have the added benefit of a high dosage of omega 3 fatty acids, which will assist in recovery, enhance brain function and reduce inflammation.

You Aren’t Eating Protein With Each Meal

Next, have a look at your protein intake. Are you eating protein with each meal? If not, that too could be your problem.  Protein is the nutrient that offers the most immediate satiety, meaning as soon as you eat it, you feel fuller.  In one study published in the American Society for Nutrition, it was illustrated that when both younger and older men were eating diets lacking in protein, their hunger level was higher and this promoted an increased food intake over the course of the day.

A carbohydrate only snack will actually make you hungrier – not less hungry; so add protein to each meal and snack you eat. 

When seeking fat loss, your protein at most meals of the day should be higher than your carbohydrates of that meal are (with the exception of post workout meals).

Your Calorie Deficit Is Too Great

Another reason you may be experiencing greater hunger than normal is if your calorie deficit is too great. While it is good to reduce your calories, always keep in mind that there is a limit to how low you should go.

Going too low will not only ramp up hunger uncontrollably, but it’ll also lead to a metabolic slow down.  This will then mean that you struggle to lose fat even eating so few calories overall, eventually hitting a plateau.

To avoid this, keep your calorie intake to a moderate level.  Your progress will be more constant as a result of it and you’ll feel far better while going about your plan.

You Haven’t Carbed Up

Finally, the last reason you may be more hungry than normal is if you haven’t “carbed up” in a while.  Every 2-3 weeks, on a lower carb food plan,  have a day of higher carb eating.  This will help to restore the hormone leptin, which can cause you to feel hungrier than you should be.

This hormone increases on low carb, lower calorie diets, so a day of higher carb, higher calorie eating will put it back to normal levels.

By “higher carb” this does not mean refined carbohydrates and other “junk food”.

Instead, look to include several different types of first-class grains and other starchy carbs. Examples of these can include: Buckwheat pasta, quinoa, brown rice, rolled oats and sweet potato. 

In saying this, this really needs to be monitored carefully. If overeating is an issue for someone, then giving the option to have “free-rein” for the day, could be catastrophic! Ensure meals are spaced evenly throughout the day, and ensure you don't eat like its your last meal for a week :-)

So if you’re hungry an hour after eating each meal, keep these tips and tricks in mind. A few adjustments to your diet should take care of that hunger problem and allow you to stay on track with your fat-burning goals. 

Lochs :-)

Reference:

Apolozan. J.W. et al. (2007). Inadequate Dietary Protein Increases Hunger And Desire To Eat In Younger and Older Men.  American Society for Nutrition. Vol. 137, No. 6.