Just Ate But Still Hungry? Here's Why

Dr. Constance Odom, MD

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Constance Odom, MD

Dr. Constance Odom, MD

About

Constance Tambakis Odom, MD graduated in 1987 with her Doctorate of Medicine from the New York Medical College, and was an Anesthesiologist Resident from 1988 to 1991 at the Brookdale Medical Center PGY II (CA-I)-PGY IV (CA-III). She is Board Certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology since 1998 and American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine since 2002. Constance Odom, MD is affiliated with the American Medical Association, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, American Society of Anesthesiology, Georgia Society of Anesthesiology, Hellenic Medical Society of New York, North Carolina Society of Anesthesiology, and Society of Ambulatory Anesthesia.

Credentials

Medical Director At:

• Nu Image Medical
• MetroMedispa P.A.

Staff Anesthesiologist at:

• Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital in Dunn, NC
• Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, NC
• Duplin General Hospital in Kenansville, NC

Director of Anesthesia Services at:

• Jacksonville Surgery Center in Jacksonville, NC

Written by our editorial team.

Last Edited 3 years ago · 4 min read

Do you always feel hungry? If so, you're not alone. It's common these days for people to continually feel hungry and to overeat due to hunger pangs. Overeating leads to weight gain and sparks questions about how to eat less and feel better. However, there can be many parts of your lifestyle that be causing this constant hunger without you even realizing it. The modern lifestyle primes many of us to feel hungry even when we shouldn't.

Not Enough Sleep

With everything we have to do today, it's common for people not to get enough sleep. However, a lack of sleep can have broad-reaching effects on your body. If you don't sleep enough, your hunger-controlling hormones are affected adversely. Sleep deprivation causes those hormones to increase your appetite, and you will not feel full as easily. And when you're tired, it's common to crave unhealthy foods that are high in fat and calories.

Weight gain is a major symptom of not getting enough sleep. Most people need at least seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Are you getting enough? Along with making you hungry high-fat foods, lack of sleep can also put a damper on your mood and make you less alert. If your regular physical state consists of being tired, groggy, and hungry, you may have already Googled "weight loss programs near me" to try to get a handle on your weight gain and overall wellbeing.

Stressed Out

Having stress is a part of the human condition. Today, it often feels like our stress levels are ramped up and pressing down on us more than ever. Many people go through their lives constantly stressed out, and this can be an underlying cause of weight gain. When you feel anxious and stressed, the hormone cortisol is released by your body. An unfortunate side effect of this hormone is that it makes you feel hungry and can lead to insatiable food cravings.

When people are stressed, they tend to get cravings for foods that are high in fat and sugar. Because your body and brain feel the effects of your stress, they will try to stifle that part of the brain that all the worry is coming from. This temporary stifling can be achieved by eating foods high in fat, sugar, or both of them at the same time. These foods can seem appealing and make you feel instantly satisfied in the short term, but in the long term, your health may suffer and you'll end up feeling worse over time.

When you're stressed and your mind is racing, you will also sleep poorly, and this leads to a lack of sleep and all the symptoms that come with it. It's a vicious cycle that feeds off if itself, feeling stressed, sleeping too little, feeling bad from a lack of sleep, and getting stressed about it. All of it leads to weight gain in many people.

Your Diet

The modern diet for many people involved foods that do not provide health benefits and end up making us feel worse. There are countless foods that we eat because they taste good or are quick and convenient, but they don't fill us up. Because of this, we eat too much and suddenly we find ourselves overeating. To eat better, it's important to eat foods that will actually curb our hunger instead of foods that keep making up hungrier for more.

If you eat a lot of refined carbs, this can become a big factor for your weight gain and hunger levels. These carbs, such as white flour, are stripped of their fiber, making you feel less full after you eat them. They also get digested quickly for this reason, and you soon feel hungry again after eating them.<p>
If your diet is high in protein, it can make you feel fuller so that you don't overeat. Foods that are high in protein include dairy foods, fish, and lean meats. Like protein, fiber can make us feel fuller. Foods that are high in fiber include beans, whole grains, vegetables, and fruit. Eating something with the right kind of fats can also help. Eating nuts helps you feel fuller due to the number of healthy fats they contain.

 It can also help to eat your food more slowly. It can take up to 20 minutes for you to feel full after eating, and during that time you may continue eating because you still feel hungry. Eating slowly can help the sensation of fullness to take hold before you eat too much.

Thirsty or Hungry?

When you're thirsty, it's easy to interpret those signals as being hungry. Some people eat when they're thirsty and wind up eating too much. Drinking enough water is an important part of staying healthy and curbing your hunger. Drinking water before a meal or with that meal can make you feel fuller without you eating too much during the meal.

Weight Loss

If you're tired of looking for "weight loss programs near me" and need real solutions, you need a real diet that will show you results. The WAYT-Less Diet is proven by science and uses your own body's processes to make a healthier you through the foods you eat.

Nu Image Medical® offers a new and futuristic approach to achieving optimal health and wellness. The company has been a weight loss, anti-aging and wellness provider since 2004 and offers medically supervised programs for medical weight loss, peptides, erectile dysfunction, scream cream, and hair loss (NuDew) 

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your physician about the risks and benefits of any treatment. Nu Image Medical may not offer the medications or services mentioned in this article.