Why Am I Always Hungry?

Did You Know?
If you have a habit of filling yourself to bursting, your brain starts thinking that it has to be that way, always.

A low-fat diet, followed over an extended period of time can lead to constant hunger and exhaustion.

The condition wherein you always feel hungry is called polyphagia or hyperphagia. It can be the symptom of an underlying physical and mental disorder.

Poor appetite, under-eating, overeating, excessive hunger, and cravings are some of the common problems, today. Modern but sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise and lack of healthy food in diet often lead to hormonal imbalance and digestive system disorders.

Overeating and excessive weight gain can eventually result in obesity and weight related diseases like heart diseases. It is therefore necessary to check the symptoms and control such disorders in early stages.

Children and adults of all ages can suffer from eating disorders. Many times, the cause is minor, and can be eliminated with simple measures like change in diet and lifestyle.

What you can do: Try to spend some time with family, friends and children. Pursuing hobbies, watching / keeping yourself engaged in sports activities, yoga, meditation, joining laughter clubs, watching movies, etc. can help lower stress.

What you can do: Try to keep yourself engaged in exciting and entertaining activities like reading, dancing, learning a foreign language or playing a musical instrument. Spending free time with your friends and family, senior citizens, children in orphanages, can offer you a lot of satisfaction. Those who are thinking about early / regular retirement should plan in advance as to what they want to do after retirement.

What you can do: Stay in the company of happy, contented people. Consult your psychiatrist, take the prescribed medicines. 'Be positive' is the mantra of healthy and active life.

What you can do: Although quitting alcohol or drugs is good, you may experience hunger pangs as a withdrawal symptom. Divert your attention from alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and food. Tapering of drugs helps minimize the withdrawal symptoms. You should consult your physician for that. Certain medicines can also help lower the symptoms.

What you can do: Consult your physician and inform him about your lifestyle and your routine medicines. The physician may change the medicine which is responsible for excessive hunger.

What you can do: Check whether it is really the hunger that is causing problem or is it the sensation of thirst. Try drinking plenty of water or fluids like milk, soups, milkshakes, it can help you avoid cravings.

Water acts as an appetite suppressant. Instead of snacks or lunch, you may incorporate low calorie healthy liquids in your diet. This can help curb your appetite and lower your daily calorie intake too.

What you can do: You should consult a physician for proper treatment. Knowing the exact cause of the underlying disorder helps design the treatment. Early diagnosis promotes fast recovery.

What you can do: As a responsible parent, if you want your children to follow a healthy diet, then you should also follow it. You should inform your children about the benefits of healthy diet and how fast / junk food can eventually destroy their health. Parents should not fall prey to advertisements. Adults and children should enjoy outdoor activities instead of watching television. Try to make attractive dishes at home and encourage children to become little chefs.

What you can do: You should consult a physician or a psychiatrist to find out the cause of eating disorder. You should follow his / her instructions religiously. You should opt for a healthy weight loss diet. You may consult a dietitian before determining the daily calorie intake.

What you can do: Emotional eating may help relieve the stress, but you need to change the habit. You should learn to control your anger. Divert your attention from the things / incidents that made you angry and try to keep yourself engaged in activities that you find interesting. You may learn deep breathing exercises, yoga and meditation techniques which can help manage both anger and stress.

What you can do: If you are pregnant, you should consume about 300 extra calories per day. You should check out your diet for additional daily needs for protein, calories, key vitamins and minerals. You should follow the instructions of your doctor religiously.

Eating habits of an individual are influenced by serotonin, a naturally occurring chemical in the brain. Hormones like leptin and ghrelin regulate your food intake. Excessive fat in the body can affect the balance of hormones.

What you can do: Instead of 2-3 large meals, you may enjoy 5-6 small (frequent) meals. You should exercise regularly as it helps maintain hormonal balance and helps lose fat. Consumption of appetite suppressants can help suppress your appetite.

Those who have a faster rate of metabolism may experience excessive hunger. Thyroid gland controls the rate of metabolism. If your thyroid is overactive, you may always feel hungry.

What you can do: A simple blood test helps check thyroid hormone levels, so, consult your physician. If you naturally have a faster rate of metabolism, your body may often demand calories. Make sure that you are eating healthy food to curb the want of calorie.

Any cardiovascular exercise will help burn calories. The body demands calories after such exercises. To avoid weight gain, you can drink plenty of water or juices to offer your body the feeling of satiation after exercise.

Following a fad diet, constantly eating low-fat foods or zero calorie foods can leave you hungry, always asking for more.

What you can do: Instead of achieving the desired weight loss, your diet may end up in weight gain. Carbohydrates without fat have a very high glycemic index.

Consumption of such food can instantly raise your blood sugar levels. Incorporating such carbs in diet leads to quick conversion of sugar into fat and hence, your brain, and your body may suffer from lack of energy. You should always choose a healthy weight loss diet. Not only diet, but exercise also plays an important role in weight loss.

Lack of essential nutrients or poor absorption of nutrients can leave you hungry even after meals. This can be the simple answer to the questions 'why do I feel like eating late at night?' or 'why am I hungry lately?'.

What you can do: Consumption of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, pulses, nuts, seeds, soy products ensures that you won't feel hungry all the time. Whole grain foods, high fiber foods can make you feel satiated.

After an early dinner, you may enjoy low-fat desserts or fresh fruits. Eating more whole grains can help you avoid hunger all the time. If nothing works, then consult your doctor as excessive hunger can be a symptom of some gastrointestinal disorder leading to poor absorption of nutrients.

I hope this Story provided a satisfactory answer to your question about the causes of excessive hunger. It is natural for growing children to feel hungry all the time. But if you want to control your diet, you may try eating BEFORE you get hungry, then you won't want to binge.