Have you ever sat down to enjoy a generous, healthy meal, only to find yourself still hungry shortly after finishing it? It’s a frustrating and relatable experience, and many individuals, particularly women, have encountered this issue as well.
But here’s the comforting truth for you: there’s absolutely no need to feel embarrassed or worried. When it comes to embracing healthy eating habits and understanding why you don’t feel full when you eat healthy, abundance is your ally, especially in your dietary choices!
Feasting on substantial meals that consist of nutrient-rich and fiber-packed foods is not a problem. In fact, it’s a crucial aspect of maintaining a healthy eating routine and managing weight loss effectively. By incorporating these nourishing options into your meals, you can genuinely satisfy your hunger and promote feelings of fullness for a longer duration. Let’s dive in together and explore the intriguing reasons why you might find yourself still hungry despite enjoying a substantial, wholesome meal!
Our bodies need nutrition to function, and when we don’t properly absorb the nutrients from our food, we will be triggered to eat more and more.
Imagine trying to fill a sponge with water, but it’s covered in grease and oil and the coating is preventing anything from happening. Your intestines might be reacting to the food you eat as the oily sponge reacts to the water. You keep eating healthy, but your villi, the tiny little fingers along the length of your intestines that soak up nutrients, can’t do their job.
Depending on your past eating and lifestyle habits, those villi may be coated with years of waste, preventing the absorption of vital nutrients — especially if you were regularly consuming things like sugar, dairy, excessive animal protein, and refined flour.
My Feel Good Detoxy is a natural cleansing formula that safely and effectively flushes away impurities from your digestive system and eliminates harmful waste.
Learn how to absorb more nutrients from your food!
Kale is one of the most densely nutritious foods that will help keep you full.
BPA has been associated with obesity in a study that looked at children and controlled for age, ethnicity, television watching, education of caregiver, gender, caloric intake, and urinary creatinine level. <2> The children with the most BPA in their urine were also most prone to obesity. BPA is the lining often found in cans that prevent corrosion. BPA is also found in some plastics, like water bottles and other food packaging materials.
Aside from BPA and the Standard American Diet’s high levels of sugar, another factor that can affect your blood sugar levels is refined carbohydrates. Refined carbs, such as white bread and pasta, can quickly raise your blood sugar level and cause a spike in insulin release. This spike is followed by a drop in blood sugar levels, leading to increased hunger and cravings. It’s important to incorporate more complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, into your diet as they have a lower impact on blood sugar levels and can help you with your satiety.
Did you know that your body can sometimes mistake thirst for hunger? It may sound silly, but the truth is that dehydration can play a significant role in how hungry you feel throughout the day. Understanding the science behind this phenomenon can help you better manage your food intake and prevent unnecessary snacking.
When we don’t drink enough water or become dehydrated, our bodies try to compensate for the lack of fluids. One way they do this is by increasing the production of a hormone called ghrelin, also known as the “hunger hormone.” Ghrelin signals our brain that it’s time to eat, creating feelings of hunger, and leaving you with quite the appetite!
So why does dehydration trigger an increase in ghrelin production? It goes back to your body’s survival mechanisms. When you’re dehydrated, your body’s primary concern is to obtain the fluids it needs to function properly. Unfortunately, thirst and hunger signals can be quite similar, leading you to interpret your body’s cry for water as a need for food!
The confusion between thirst and hunger is not uncommon, and many people find themselves reaching for a snack when all they really need is a glass of water.
To avoid this confusion, it’s important to prioritize hydration throughout the day. The Mayo Clinic recommends aiming for about 9 cups (2.2 liters) of fluids for women and 13 cups (3 liters) for men every day. While this includes fluids from beverages and food, water should be your go-to choice to quench your thirst.
In addition to preventing hunger signals triggered by dehydration, staying well-hydrated offers a range of other benefits (obvious, I know!). Adequate hydration supports digestion, assists in nutrient absorption, and helps regulate body temperature, among many other functions.
To ensure you’re well-hydrated throughout the day and reduce unnecessary feelings of hunger, consider the following tips:
By maintaining proper hydration, you can help ensure that your body’s signals for thirst and hunger aren’t easily confused. Remember, when you feel those hunger pangs, reach for a glass of water first and see if that satisfies your body’s true needs.
I often recommend starting your meals with Probiotic & Enzyme Salad and/or a green leafy salad filled with different veggies, colors, and flavors. There are several reasons for this. First, that pre-meal salad contributes an immense amount of fiber to the meal. Studies actually show that more fiber equals less hunger when the meal’s over. <5>
I recommend getting your fiber from your food rather than a supplement , because if you’re just popping a pill, you’re missing out on additional nutrients and health and beauty benefits you could be getting from all those vegetables. Plus, the more nutritious your food is, the longer you’ll feel full (and leafy greens are packed with vitamins and minerals!).
A plant-based lifestyle is an excellent way to overcome the issues we’ve discussed so far. Not only will your digestive tract revert to optimal absorption, but eating foods loaded with fiber, vitamins, proteins, and minerals from plants will keep you fuller longer. My 30 Day Roadmap for Healthy Weight Loss is the ultimate guide to help you transition into a plant-based Beauty Detox lifestyle.
Here are some suggestions that will help you in your Beauty Detox transition:
1) It takes some time before your stomach adjusts to eating all that fiber. Most of us grew up eating a lot less fiber and more “dense” foods, so initially you won’t be used to that much volume and so much less density. You may need to drink more GGS (not an itty bitty little cup but at least 16 and more like 24 or even more ounces).
2) Eating all those plant foods may seem like a ton, but there’s so much water and fiber, it’s not nearly as much as it seems. My dinners are often “huge” in volume, an enormous, heaping plate filled with salad, cooked veggies, and sometimes grains like quinoa or millet or soup, or other Beauty Detox recipes. Visually, it’s a lot of food but it’s less dense and richer in fiber, water and nutrients — which is a GOOD thing, especially if you are trying to lose weight!
3) Over time, as you practice mindful eating and focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods, you’ll experience a shift in your appetite. Your body will become more efficient at extracting nutrition from meals, allowing you to feel satisfied without the discomfort of fullness. This incredible sensation can be described as feeling “full yet light” after a meal, without experiencing the typical symptoms of a “food coma.” This improved digestion and reduced after-meal hunger are signs that your body is adapting to a healthier eating pattern, enabling you to enjoy meals without the heaviness often associated with overeating.
In order to nourish your body without feeling overly stuffed, it’s important to approach your meals with patience and mindfulness. Take the time to truly listen to your body’s signals, allowing yourself to discover the perfect balance of portions and meal sizes that align with your individual needs. This is called intuitive eating. Intuitive eating is a philosophy and approach to eating that emphasizes listening to and trusting your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues to guide your eating habits. It’s all about developing a healthy relationship with food and your body, free from strict diets, food rules, or emotional eating.
Remember, if you find yourself feeling hungry between meals, there’s no need to worry! Solluna has got you covered with a variety of delicious and nutritious options. Treat yourself to easily digestible smoothies, comforting vegetable soups, or crunchy veggie sticks paired with salsa or guacamole. These delightful choices will not only satisfy your appetite but also provide you with a lasting sense of nourishment and vitality.
This article gives you a glimpse into some of the reasons why it’s possible to eat a lot and still feel hungry. Unfortunately, there’s no set formula for how much to eat in order to feel full or satiated — that would be impossible. How much to eat is unique to you, your body, time of day, season, and dozens of other factors.
Beauty Detox is very much about trusting your body more and more, tuning in, and eating in harmony with your instincts and intuition. Do that, and everything will evolve and flower over time.
In particular, your appetite will start to stabilize, and you’ll find yourself feeling satiated after big, fiber-filled meals—the way you should be—once you’ve taken the necessary steps to detox your body for optimal nutrient absorption and begun feed it the most nutritious, fiber-rich meals you can.
You’ll be amazed by how much better and more deeply satisfied you feel once you’ve incorporated more Beauty Foods into your diet — and you’ve adjusted to the process of digesting so much plant food.
Trust me, it only gets better and better — and your health and beauty will thank you for it!
Research :
<1> https://www.factsaboutbpa.org/bpa-safety/products-bpa
<2> https://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1360865
<3> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17212793
