Hunger
 

I'm trying to understand hunger.

Isn't hunger proportional to the amount of activities and the caloric needs of a person? Say, for example, a person requiring 2000 Calories a day and is physically very active, would feel more hungry than someone needing just 1400 Calories a day and is a sedentary worker?

I am asking this question because I frequently feel very hungry although my Caloric requirements should be very less because I do not work or exercise vigorously...

There are a lot of different aspects to hunger. Not getting enough calories can trigger it, but so can a diet lacking proper nutrition. Say you're not getting any good fats, you may start really craving fatty foods. Additionally, eating sugar can cause cravings for other sugary foods (for some people, sometimes). If you've over eaten for a long time, then reducing portions to correct amounts may leave you hungry even though you've eaten enough calories/nutritional stuff for the day.

Thirst can sometimes present similarly to hunger. Hunger can be manipulated and trained too. So if you usually eat at a certain time of day, but suddenly change that you'll likely still be hungry when that time comes. Same for if you usually eat after certain events. I use to eat while bored, and when I first started tracking and monitoring my eating I'd get hungry when I was bored. A few months in and that isn't the case anymore.. but I suspect similar things could happen for emotional eating and all too.

Basically there's a lot of stuff, and it really depends on you and your habits.

I agree with Sunarie. Hunger could be from many different things. If you often feel hungry after a meal or when you know it's not time for you to eat, then you should focus on more high dense foods that will make you feel fuller for longer.

I agree that people are more hungry if they eat less and/or move more, but there's more to it than that. I was born with a large appetite. When I was born, my mother's doctor recommended feeding me four bottles of formula per day, but I apparently screamed bloody murder if I got less than 8 bottles.

At age 4, left unsupervised in my room while my parents were entertaining guests, I ate a large box of chocolates on my own and felt just fine. Throughout my life I've continued to feel hungrier than most and to have a much greater capacity to eat than most. I can maintain my weight on 2,000 cals per day, but would much prefer eating double that amount.

All of which is to say, I think there's a genetic aspect to hunger (or perceived hunger) that varies from person to person.

F.

If you exercise, you definitely get more hungry after the said act.

But different foods affect hunger in different ways.

I find the best foods to get rid of hunger and keep it at bay for the lowest caloric buck are lean protein (e.g. chicken, fish), dietary fiber (e.g. raw vegetables, dried fruits) and unprocessed carbs (e.g. oats, dried fruits) which survive long enough to get into your intestine to release those "I am full" hormones.

I am not a proponent of processed carbs (sugar, bread, cakes, sweets) or saturated fats (dairy, red meat) despite what others say on the latter.

Thanks everyone.

Sunarie, Ryan - I think my diet lacks protein & Vitamins. I don't know if the lack of these are causing my said appetite, but I will pack up on low-fat/low-carb protein shakes and take Vitamin supplements to make sure.

Freelancemomma - I can understand what you say, I think I too fit in with the group of those large eaters. Nobody in my family side or my hubby's side (or whom I noticed in general) has an appetite for food that tastes 'just ok' -- whereas I will in general eat anything that's on my plate, except particularly bad tasting food - and I will eat well at that! My hubby is generally amused by my eating pattern -- at our engagement for example, he was simply talking and talking and I got so pissed off I started eating all the food that was in my plate and finished it completely whereas he didn't even have a bite! :D I would agree there's some of us who are genetically tuned to eat big.

IanG - How thoughtful of you to give advice on those filling foods! Last year when I first started my dieting patterns, I did take a primer on them, but ignored them for most part of the year, amounting to partial regain of my weight. Will pack up on those good foods to control my appetite!