Hunger after eating is frustrating; people often do not understand why they still feel hungry. Perhaps, you only had food just a few minutes ago, yet that feeling of hunger persists. It is something that I rather frequently hear and provide here it is, along with the rationale behind it to enable one to improve the diet regime and consequent eating pattern to avoid such complaints after meals.
In addition, people also feel hungry after eating due to low fibre or protein intake, missing meals or not eating properly. The persons who are facing hormonal problems also stay hungry after eating due to hormonal imbalance. In this article, we will discuss the possible causes of why you still feel hungry after a meal.
1. Not Consuming Enough Protein
Protein will help you feel ever full and satisfied so it is always recommended to include it in your diet. Low protein diets will make you feel hungry even after eating your food and this will lead to overeating. Proteins are found in foods such as chicken, fish, beans, eggs and nuts which makes you feel full for most parts of the day. If you note that you are still hungry after a meal could be because you did not incorporate protein in your meals.
2. Not Taking Enough Fibres
The other function that fibre serves is that it helps one to control his/her appetite. Because fibre-rich foods are slow to be digested, there is no quick spike of hunger in between meals, also it stabilizes blood sugar levels. Fiber is found in whole grains, fruits vegetables and legumes hence they are important in the diet. If the consumed dish is not rich in fibre, then you are likely to feel hungry after a few hours of having the meal.
3. Chewing Fastly
Another reason is when you eat fast and chew the food fastly, your system is disturbed and your brain is mostly consumed in this process and fails to decide whether you are full or not. That’s why in a hurry people eat much than they need, which all is wasted.
It is said that our brain takes approximately 20 minutes to let our body recognize that it is full. Chewing meals slowly provides time for the body to sense when it is full so that it will not feel hungry after eating a particular meal.
4. Not Staying Hydrated
At other times, the body gives the signal that you are hungry when you are thirsty. Finally, if you don’t hydrate yourself all day then you can sense why am I still hungry after eating. It is also important to note that proper hydration can go a long way to eliminating hunger that is not of any real basis. If this causes difficulty try sipping some water before or during the meal to see if this assists.
5. Highly Processed Foods
The snacks including chips, cookies and sweet snacks on the other hand contain very little nutritional value but are highly calorific. None of these foods can sustain a man’s hunger because they contain little if any fiber as well as protein. If your diet involves a lot of refined foods you may experience hunger even after eating a lot of it.
6. Missing Meals
Eating meals at weird times or missing meals will disrupt your hunger signal. Constant hunger pangs are caused by your body’s confusion when you skip meals and end up developing constant excessive binge eating or ravenous hunger after eating. It is recommended to take meals frequently and have proper meals to enable the body to respond well to hunger signals.
7. Hormonal Changes
Fat-regulating hormones include ghrelin which is responsible for appetite and leptin which produces the feeling of satiation. This hormonal condition can easily result in hunger at all times even though one has had his meal. This can be attributed to stress, lack of sleep or other conditions such as thyroid problems.
8. No Healthy Fats
Fat, especially the healthy kinds, will help you stay full longer since it takes the body longer to digest it. In a diet lacking health conscious fats including avocados, olive oil, nuts and seeds, one feels hungry after some time of eating. Including fat in meals can also enhance satiety and loss of hunger signals as a result of which people don’t always feel hungry.
9. High Sugar Intake
Most high-sugar foods cause a quick rise and fall of blood sugar levels and you will be feeling hungry again in no time. These cause the release of insulin to metabolise the sugar and this leads to a quick depletion of insulin leading to a feeling of hunger after taking the food.
Conclusion
It is normal to feel hungry after eating and often there is a straightforward reason as to why this is the case. From the above-highlighted parts of the article, it is possible to say that by consuming more protein, fibre and healthy fat, drinking adequate water, and maintaining proper food intake, such feelings of hunger can be minimized.
In cases where hunger doesn’t change even when there is alteration was made in the diet then it may advisable to seek medical advice in other to check whether there is any health complication.