There are several reasons why you may be hungry even after eating.
eat ultra processed foods
Research shows that hunger is not the same for all foods. If you are hungry, you will crave foods that are high in calories, such as foods high in sugar, carbohydrates, and fat. Maybe that’s why people rarely say they want to eat apples. Instead, we tend to want tortilla chips, cookies, or pizza.
It may sound counterintuitive, but eating certain foods can also make you feel more hungry. Carbohydrates do not suppress hunger hormones as long as fats and proteins. Ultra-processed foods appear to stimulate appetite, but scientists have yet to figure out why. Liquid calorie sources such as smoothies are also less filling than solids.
High-calorie foods, at least in rodents, cause inflammation in the weight-regulating areas of the brain, increasing consumption of these foods. It makes sense. However, the same inflammation in the human brain can cause a cycle of feeling hungry and choosing high-energy foods over and over again.
Your hunger is also a question of how your life priorities affect your energy needs. Consider your eating patterns: When do you get hungry? After strenuous exercise? At night? You may feel less hungry immediately after exercise, but you may feel more hungry hours or days later.
Due to busy schedules and weight management efforts, you may be limiting your food intake during the day, but experience cravings and lack of satiety in the evening.
An often overlooked appetite factor is whether you’ve lost weight recently.
Body weight is a tightly regulated biological system. After weight loss, hormones in the blood tell the brain that stored energy in the form of fat is being depleted. It works and increases our appetite.
This happens regardless of your starting weight, even if you had any weight-related health problems.
Experts agree that the brain has a powerful defense against body fat levels, which can facilitate weight regain after weight loss. This is why we believe that, and why treatment recommendations often include medication and lifestyle changes, especially for those with serious weight-related health concerns.
In general, your brain will go hungry if it doesn’t meet the total amount of energy your body needs in a day to maintain your weight. Skipping meals or not eating for long periods of time stimulates appetite through hormonal changes and the brain. You may experience this as a growling stomach, but you may also experience it as a craving or urge.
It’s also worth checking the list of medications with your doctor. Several drugs for diabetes (glyburide, glipizide), neuropathy (gabapentin), and depression (mirtazapine) have been associated with increased appetite and weight gain.
If your appetite changes significantly, especially if you are gaining or losing weight, it is important to see your doctor. Anorexia can accompany serious illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, and depression. Increased appetite and weight gain are symptoms of hypothyroidism, polycystic ovary syndrome, and sleep disturbances.
If hunger problems start in childhood (under the age of 5), they may be due to a rare genetic condition. Genes also have a strong influence. Studies have shown that the brains of identical twins also have similar baseline appetite levels and therefore respond to food in the same way. Hormonal changes during puberty, pregnancy, and premenstrual syndrome commonly affect appetite.
If you experience a sense of loss of control or numbness, consume uncomfortably large amounts of food, or vomit after eating, you should be evaluated for an eating disorder.
stress, emotions, sleep
Stress levels, boredom, food cues, emotions and lack of sleep can trigger appetite. In such cases, conscious or intuitive eating may be a good strategy to investigate.
Please be patient as it may take some time to resolve these issues. Emotions about food, weight, and body shape are intense. Many people, including medical professionals, experience stigma and discrimination because of their weight prejudice. Please ask for help. Everyone deserves to feel safe and supported when discussing weight and appetite issues.
Remember, the urge to eat is so strong for a reason. Our food systems and diets have changed in modern times, but our brains are still wired to survive. shaping.
