Is there anything worse than incessant hunger? When you never feel satisfied after a meal, or find that no matter what you eat, you are hungry again an hour or two later?

Hunger can be distracting, and highly irritating and the truth is that inconstant hunger could be suggestive that there are some areas in your diet, or issues with your hormones that need investigating.

#1. Your meals are not balanced

The most common reason that clients experience frequent hunger is that their meals are not balanced, and do not offer the bulk and nutrient mix to keep them full and satisfied for 3-4 hours after eating. In more cases than not, meals are carb-heavy, with too little protein and vegetables. Or, the carbs are ditched completely - think tuna and salad, leaving you feeling unsatisfied and craving sweet food an hour or two later. Simply focusing on balanced meals will go a long way in ensuring a meal keeps you full for several hours.

#2. You are not getting enough protein

While nutrient balance is important, specifically protein plays a key role in the regulation of appetite. The Protein Leverage Hypothesis suggests that humans will be driven to seek out calories until they have consumed adequate amounts of protein. This means that if your diet is largely carbohydrate-based through the first half of the day with loads of toast, cereals, bread and snacks, the hypothesis suggests you will continue to eat until you tick the box on your protein requirements. On the other hand, if you make sure you include a serving of protein at each meal and snack or 20-30g you will notice you feel much fuller for longer after eating and no longer have a constant drive to eat.

#3. You are forgetting the fresh food

The simple act of making a concerted effort to always include fresh food with any meal or snack that you eat will help to boost the full factor of any meal. Often, we grab a bar or packet of something only to wonder why we are hungry an hour later. On the other hand, if you always add some fresh food to any snack and 2-3 cups of salad or veggies at each meal, you will find any meal or snack is much more filling.

#4. Your blood glucose needs checking

Certainly, abnormally high glucose levels or even high insulin will both drive hunger and appetite. When glucose levels are high, it suggests that energy is not getting to the body’s cells as efficiently as it should be post-meal, which can leave you with a craving for sweet foods, even immediately after eating. If you find that you carry weight around your tummy, have a family history of diabetes and are feeling like something is not right, it is time to have your glucose and insulin levels checked by your GP.

#5. You are in the habit of constantly eating

While meal balance and hormones can directly impact the body’s regulation of hunger, there may also be a behavioural component in which you have got into the habit of eating regularly, and trained the body to seek out food, sweet foods in particular, frequently. If you find yourself constantly looking for sweet coffee, snacks and extras within 1-2 hours of eating a balanced meal, it may be time to reflect and consider if you are really eating out of hunger, or habit.