Okay. So please don't make fun of me..lol. But I'm curious...when you feel hungry, like maybe you ate a candy bar and 20 minutes later you're hungry again- is that because your stomach is empty or is it because your body is hungry for nutrients of some sort?

Sometimes I eat (what I'd consider) a really good meal, and it's decent sized. Like a stuffed pepper or something, and I'm hungry 20 minutes later. I just want to know how to fix it :]

This is seriously not a dumb question. I don't really know the answer myself so I'm curious to hear what others have to say. For me, I notice that if I don't have at least a little protein, I'm hungry sooner. Foods with high fiber content like veggies also seem to be more filling and satisfy longer. I'm guessing your body also seeks out the nutrients it needs and that would explain some of the hunger.

This is a really good question! I get hungry fast too. I never really feel full, if I do it is maybe for 15 minutes then i am hungry again. I think my full sensor is defective, I could eat eat eat until it feels like the food is in my throat. Even high protein foods don't keep me full for long.
If it is nutrients how do you figure out which ones? If it is an empty stomach, how do you keep it full for a while?

Oh thank goodness. I thought I was going to be the only person who wondered this, lol.

MovingForward~ I'm having a ridiculously hard time getting protein into my diet. I guess I naturally gravitate towards foods that don't have much. I'm not a huge fan of meat, so that might be part of my issue.

I have that issue too, Tubolard. I can eat until I feel full (which isn't a feeling I like- the sort of weird..stomach-stretching-overfull feeling) and then be hungry again maybe 30 mins later tops. It's annoying, I'd like to find a way around it.

Not a stupid question!

Different nutrients take a different amount of time to digest and be use by our bodies. Fats take the longest, then proteins, then carbs. That's why there's a focus on eating "balanced" meals, those that incorporate all the macronutrients. When it's all eaten together, it digests more slowly and the pancreas sends insulin to deal with the blood sugar at a steady rate.

If something more carby is eaten on it's own (like that candy bar, or just vegetables and rice), blood sugar will spike and then drop pretty quickly and can trigger feelings that tell us we're "hungry". Sometimes, even when we eat enough volume of veggie to make us feel pretty full initially, the body can process this pretty quickly and feel hungry soon afterward.

Every body is different, depending on how well their pancreas is working. For me, I'm a type 2 diabetic. In order to manage hunger, I have to eat way more fats and way less carbs than most people. I still eat a lot of vegetables because I discovered that when I'm low on micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) that I get from veggies, I experience more cravings. So I go heavy on the leafy greens, make sure I eat raw nuts, some avocado and other healthy fats, and I eat grass-fed or wild-caught protein sources. I can't eat a vegetarian diet because I am hungry all the time! It spikes my blood sugar a lot and my body suffers for it. I can get all the nutrients available in grains and legumes from other sources. I'm a bit low on suggested fiber some days, but much higher on other days, so it balances out. For me I haven't noticed a reduction in hunger when I eat higher fiber foods than lower fiber foods. I can control hunger most effectively with fats and proteins.

It's a common problem, I definitely have the same trouble sometimes.

I think Moving Forward's advice about making sure you get some protein is right on; personally I'd say that if your meal is both low fat and low protein, then really your body's just going to produce a lot of insulin and you're going to be hungry later... so make sure you get the protein and fat in the meal.

Also I've had some luck with reducing cravings by making sure to drink a glass of water before the meal (sometimes we feel hungry when we're thirsty,) adding in a couple of cups of green tea in the afternoon, and some people find that chewing gum seems to help reduce cravings.

Good luck!
-J

:'3 I love this forum.

Thanks everybody. Very helpful. I think I need to take a closer look at what I'm eating- instead of just counting calories..because being hungry really isn't fun.

Hot tea at the end of your meal can also help. Up your protein as well.

In addition to what the others said, I have a questions for you. When you feel hungry again soon after eating, is there something specifically you are hungry for? For example, sometimes I have cravings for peanut butter. I've learned that it is a signal from my body telling me I am not eating enough fat, so instead of snarfing a jar of peanut butter, I try to add some avocado or a few nuts into my meals for a few days. If I eat too little protein, I seam to crave meat and cheese. Like some of the others said, eating balanced seems to be a great way to go.

One time I read somewhere that a good way to tell if you are food hungry or mind hungry is whether you want a candy bar or are willing to eat veggies, LOL! If even veg sounds good, then you are probably truly hungry. If only cheetos or a snickers...prolly not so much. I often have 1/2 of a Hershey's dark candy bar and that seems to help with most of my junk food cravings; the chocolate is...well...chocolate and something is different with the satisfaction level of the dark kind, at least for me. Just that 1/2 keeps me from wanting a whole semi truck full.

Good luck figuring out what works for you!

Barb

Hi there~ I never really get cravings for anything specific when I'm hungry. It's just that hungry feeling in my stomach. lol! That's a good test. I'll remember that one.

I do occasionally crave sweets but it's pretty rare and it very rarely happens when I'm hungry or haven't eaten in awhile. It's usually triggered by TV

Thank you <3

I am not usually hungry for anything in particular, it is just all of a sudden "Growl , snarl , feed me more, anything, everything, pack it in!!!" Pretend that is in a deep, growly, emptyish voice
I wonder sometimes if it is just because I usually feel so empty inside that I try to fill it up with food, that even though it feels like my stomach is hungry if in reality it is that i am lonely and if I am super full then I am too focused on the pain of an overfull stomach to allow myself to acknowledge the true reason.

When you eat a candy bar, it raises your blood sugar quickly and give you instant energy, but then your blood sugar crashes and you are hungry again. It's that way with any simple carbs.

Even a stuffed pepper is high in carbs, depending on what you stuff it with. If there's a lot of rice, it will not stay with you long. As some others have said, you need some fat and protein.

And also, sometimes eating gets your appetite going. What you are feeling might not be actual hunger, but just appetite.

I was going to say this more or less! Having some protein, fats and complex carbs will keep you fuller longer, which is why simple calorie counting does not always work!

Hi all, this has been a fascinating topic and one that I have been curious about for a long time.

If you want to check out the scientific evidence on this topic, what you want to be looking up is the word 'satiety' (how full you feel) and the impacts of various food(s) on satiety ratings.

Typically the foods that will help keep you fullest for the longest are protein rich foods such as Chicken, Beef and or Fish.

As other members have noted above, high Glycemic Index foods such as sugar based candy bars aren't so good because the energy they supply is pushed into the bloodstream so quickly that the body has to clear it out to maintain a healthy range using insulin.

That's when you get the resulting insulin crash.

Geraldine
x

This is a really interesting thread!

I've realised recently that sometimes when I feel hungry (before the stomach growling stage), I'm really thirsty! I think I ignore my thirst too much, and so I'm made to feel hungry instead. I've started having a really big glass of water with my meals, and make myself finish it within a few minutes of eating, even if I don't feel like it. So far, I haven't felt hungry straight after meals- normally about 3 hours go by and I have to remind myself to have a healthy snack.