Many of my patients in critical metabolic condition tell me they no longer feel normal hunger cues. No matter how often (or infrequently) they eat, they struggle to know when or how much they should consume.
If you’re reading this and are in the same boat, I want you to know you’re not alone. Your current physician may not offer much advice, but take heart — it is possible to correct this with metabolically healthy practices.
But first: a few reasons you might not feel normal hunger cues
Maybe you felt normal hunger cues as a child, but now struggle to put the fork down during mealtimes (or pick one up).
This all boils back to metabolic health.
Here are three reasons why you can’t seem to break the cycle.
Your hormones are out of balance
There are two basic types of hunger hormones: leptin, which indicates fullness, and ghrelin, which indicates hunger.
Ordinarily, your gut releases ghrelin hormones when there’s nothing left in your stomach. This encourages you to eat more food. As you eat, your stomach and fat tissue release leptin hormones to tell the brain you’ve eaten enough food.
Unfortunately, there are several foods, medicines, and health conditions that can affect the production of hunger hormones. For example:
- Inflammation, typically caused by sugar and carbohydrates, decreases leptin sensitivity and prevents you from feeling full.
- Following the Standard American Diet can increase ghrelin levels above baseline, which makes you hungry more often (and more intensely).
- People who are obese often release higher amounts of ghrelin and feel hungrier as a result. On the flip side, those with small amounts of lean muscle mass may have lower ghrelin levels, which means they rarely feel the need to eat.
- Appetite suppressants such as Wegovy and Ozempic block the ghrelin receptors in your brain. However, other medications such as antidepressants, beta blockers, insulin injections, and hormonal birth control can have a significant effect on your hunger hormones.
You’re eating processed food
I talk a lot about processed food, so I won’t belabor the point.
But suffice it to say that processed foods can have a dramatic effect on your ability to feel hungry.
The research is stark:
- Hunger increases when you don’t eat enough protein. Trying to substitute protein for processed carbs and snacks will make you more hungry and more likely to become obese.
- Lower muscle mass is associated with decreased appetite. Interestingly, the consumption of processed food is also associated with lower muscle mass.
- Eating a diet of processed food increases hunger hormones. It can also alter your PYY hormones — which means even if your leptin goes up, you tend to eat more.
You’re eating a low-carb, high-protein diet
This is the best reason not to feel ‘normal’ hunger cues. However, it’s only applicable if you’re eating a whole, real foods diet.
Studies show that people who eat low-carb or keto typically feel less hungry than those on the Standard American Diet. They also raise the sensitivity of their hunger and fullness hormones, which makes them very unlikely to eat without reason.
As someone who follows the carnivore diet, I end up eating maybe once or twice per day. It’s not that I’m avoiding food — I just don’t need it as often as I used to.
How to solve dysfunctional hunger hormones
Repairing your body’s natural hunger cues will take time, effort, and energy.
But if you’re willing to commit to your lifestyle changes, you should start seeing results in a matter of months.
Start by following these general recommendations:
- Eat whole, real food. This includes anything that comes from the ground or eats the things that grow on the ground. It also means giving up processed foods like cookies, bread, and frozen dinners.
- Create an exercise routine. Exercise can help to moderate hunger by building lean muscle tissue, increasing ghrelin hormones, and guiding your body into a healthy weight bracket.
- Manage stress effectively. Too much stress could suppress your appetite or encourage you to stress eat for emotional relief. To combat this, find new practices that help you better manage stress, such as exercise, new hobbies, and more.
- Start eating whole, real food. If you cut sugar, cook at home, and focus on eating animal protein, I’m willing to bet you won’t feel insatiable urges to eat. And if you do need to snack, keep it to whole, real food. It’s hard to overdo boiled eggs, for example.
- Schedule lab work to check for imbalances. High blood sugar could trigger a loss of appetite, for example. You may be struggling with prediabetes, even if you aren’t aware of it.
Now, let’s take a closer look at some symptom-specific recommendations:
What to do if you never feel hungry
- Stop snacking. Eating small amounts throughout the day could alter your body’s hunger cues. To fix this, put yourself on a predictable meal plan at times that work for you.
- Have your doctor check for underlying illnesses such as SIBO or gastroparesis. If you don’t currently have a physician you trust, check out my guide to vetting a doctor who gets it.
- Reevaluate your medications. Most of our medications these days are designed to fix symptoms, not the root cause. And as we know, medications aren’t always the best way to treat chronic disease.
What to do if you never feel full
- Drink more water. Studies show that one in three people tend to mistake thirst for hunger. Make sure you’re getting plenty of electrolytes and consuming enough salt to stay hydrated.
- Start fasting, if you’re not already. Intermittent fasting can help to normalize your rollercoaster appetite, then gradually increase your metabolic flexibility.
- Spend some time outside. Regular exposure to sunlight can regulate hunger and reduce your risks for metabolic dysfunction. Just be sure not to overdo your sunscreen, which could minimize the effects of regular exposure.
Making sustainable changes for the long haul
Normalizing your hunger hormones will take you one step closer to long-term health. It may also be a ‘gateway transformation that ultimately leads you down the research rabbit hole.
Could your unbalanced appetite point to bigger issues with your metabolic health? You’re welcome to take my metabolic health quiz. This free questionnaire will walk you through the warning signs and provide personalized feedback in 15 minutes or less.
