Can't Stop Being Hungry?

[GenesisNemesis]

Why is it sometimes when I eat lots and lots of food, I'm still really really hungry? Is my stomach not digesting properly or something? Am I wolfing?

[Caine]

A little more detail is really needed to explain why it might happen to you. What are you eating and how fast are you eating it? Do you stop feeling hungry after a while?

Eating speed is the most likely cause unless you are obese or diabetic. Digestion problems are pretty unlikely because it doesn't take that much eating to get your glycogen level high enough to stop being hungry. But if you don't give the digestive system and the hypothalamus time to work their magic you might remain hungry.

[Mizled]

When your body is thirsty it gives off the same signal that is interpreted as being hungry, you could quite very well just be dehydrated.

[The Path of Needles]

Uh . . . maybe it's because you're 15?

[GenesisNemesis]

Uh . . . maybe it's because you're 15?

Maybe.

[RareBird]

Got a tape worm?

[GenesisNemesis]

Got a tape worm?

I hope not.

[KeithJM]

High fructose corn syrup might be the culprit. It inhibits the signals to your brain telling you that you're full. If you drink a lot of soda, or eat or drink anything else with high fructose corn syrup, I'd advise cutting back.

[paradigm9]

stretches your stomach slightly so you feel emptier?

[aegis]

Why is it sometimes when I eat lots and lots of food, I'm still really really hungry? Is my stomach not digesting properly or something? Am I wolfing?

Are you on any medications?

[SophistiCat]

Ever killed your son, cooked him, and tried to feed him to the gods? If so, that might explain some things.

[premjan]

If you're not mentally occupied, that could make you hungrier than usual, maybe.

[langseax]

Maybe you're hyperthyroid?

[c davis]

Why is it sometimes when I eat lots and lots of food, I'm still really really hungry? Is my stomach not digesting properly or something? Am I wolfing?


It sounds like a normal 'still growing' young person. If you are very active person that will also make you very hungry.

[Idolator]

Congratulations! You're pregnant.

(Or maybe you're 15.)

[Febble]

Why is it sometimes when I eat lots and lots of food, I'm still really really hungry? Is my stomach not digesting properly or something? Am I wolfing?

You just might be eating too fast. The satiety signals take a while to get to the brain, so if you fill your stomach too rapidly, the brain still thinks it's empty even when it's full.

The rule of thumb used to be that your stomach is about the size of your fist (useful rule when feeding babies). If you have eaten a fist-sized amount of food, your stomach is probably full, but your brain may not know that yet. If you wait a bit, it will let you know. If you are still hungry again an hour or so later, it's probably because you are 15.

[Placid Liver]

Congratulations! You're pregnant.

(Or maybe you're 15.)


Or 15 and pregnant?

[bocajeff]

I'm 28 and I'm always hungry. I can eat a big meal, feel completely satiated almost to the point of being nauseous and then be hungry again within an hour or so.

[Morgana]

I was going to say pregnant too.

Right now, I can eat a huge meal to the point of being nauseous, but I am still hungry!

[RareBird]

Maybe you have a Quato.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=83PZt8s9PjI

[LukeS]

God's punishment for burning bibles, buddy.

[JaronK]

Seriously though, how old are you? When I was hitting my teenage growth spurt, I could put down a pumpkin pie and then eat a full dinner an hour later, no sweat.

Perfectly natural. Growing boys are notorious for their ability to pack away food.

JaronK

[Corona688]

High fructose corn syrup might be the culprit. Better known as "sugar", which we already knew was bad for people.

[javarush]

Physiologically, the hypothalamus has the central role in regulating hunger. The lateral ventromedial nuclei responds to various hormones such as glucagon, insulin, cholecystokinin, and leptin. The stress of physiologic maturation can cause transient and temporary hormonal imbalances which should pass; very generally, late-teens for females and early-twenties for males.

Hunger has both psychologic and physiologic components. Although well-publicized disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa both have psychologic components, organic causes cannot be excluded. For example, excesses of the neurotransmitter neuropeptide-Y -- which is also implicated in anxiety disorders and ADHD -- into the paraventricular nuleus of the hypothalamus can cause a marked increase in eating. Genetic disorders such as Prader-Willi syndrome involve the hypothalamus and can induce constant hunger. Trauma or lesions to the hypothalamic-pituitary axis can also have effects which mimic genetic/hormonal disorders; e.g. in the case of pituitary injury, induced Cushing's or Addison's syndromes may appear, perhaps many years after the event.

[modernPrimitive]

If none of the above, try a low glycaemic index diet (low GI). 2 slices of a whole-grain low-GI seed loaf will keep you alot fuller than a whole loaf of white bread.

Of course you could have prater-willi syndrome but you would have eaten yourself into a hospital bed by now.

[Gwen]

I heard that when you're hungry you should try drinking water and wait for about five minutes to see if you're still hungry.

Me, I have the opposite problem. I know I have a high metabolism because I can eat tons (not literally, of course!) of food at buffets or Thanksgiving or whatever and be just fine right after, no weight gain or anything. And yet whenever I try to just eat when I'm hungry--well, more like "when I forget to eat and I don't get hungry"--I can live with skipped meals just fine. Really, all I have to do is eat lunch (juice, soda, bare-bones sandwich, chips) and I don't have any need for breakfast or dinner.
I know it can't be healthy, but I hardly ever actually feel "hungry". Just in the mood for some kind of food sometimes.