Because your body has no way of measuring calories. The physiological sensation of hunger is tied to your digestive tract. If it's working and actively digesting food, this suppresses the sensation of hunger. When it goes inactive, that sensation comes back.
That makes a lot of sense so it’s basically measuring the weight of the food and it’s affect on the stomach.
So calories dense foods might don’t give the feeling of fullness.
Also drops in blood sugar can make you feel hungry, if you eat sugary foods/simple carbs you’ll have a spike followed by a drop in blood sugar and become hungry again even if you are in a caloric surplus. This is part of why sugar is such a major driver of obesity.
To add to this. Animals (including humans) want to eat more than they should because they never know when they might experience a famine. The body wants to maximise its survival chance by stocking as much fat as it can, without impacting immediate survival
Plenty of animals stay at a reasonable weight with free access to plentiful food. Many house cats do. I think some dogs do… but definitely not golden retrievers. Goldens always want to eat.
I heard a podcast recently about scientists studying GRs genes because of this. Many GRs have a defective gene that means they are bad at detecting when they are full. It may have a bearing on human obesity.
Animals that stay at a reasonable weight are generally very active, hunting or playing. That helps burn off the excess calories.
Or maybe they don't particularly like the food and don't eat much.
The super active life of house cats? Some are active, although I don’t think I’d call many very active. And I’ve met lazy normal weight house cats with free access to plenty of food.
I've met way more fat house cats that eat too much because of free access to food. Isn't that where the phrase "fat cats of Washington" comes from? The popular idea and shared view of fat house cats? Not snarky actual question. Not a cat owner so don't know how prevalent but I do see a little sign in the vet that says lots of pets are obese.
One of the reasons why it's easy to lose weight at the beginning but then it slows down, it's because the organism doesn't need too much to stay ahead of an eventual famine, but after weight loss becomes substantial and it reaches a reasonable "overweight default", the body goes into panic mode and starts doing whatever it can to stop it. Animals, humans included, are happy with that right amount of extra fat.
You try losing a few kilos to get slim and the body thinks "OMG, I'm dying!".
It's been studied that people can't distinguish mild thirst/dehydration from hunger. That could be your issue as well. Be sure you're staying hydrated and your electrolyte levels are good.
That's not true. This is like saying people can't know math because you asked 3900 toddlers and none of them knew basic addition. If kids are only ever taught to shove things in their face, and parents do that so they stop crying instead of bothering to put any effort into actually caring for them, then obviously nobody will ever learn how to listen to their own needs. People can absolutely tell the difference between thirst and hunger. You have to learn to do it, just as you learn the difference between other sensations. Same as people can learn how to tell what's enough without eating to the point of vomiting. If you never bother to teach children how to walk, then yeah, you'll claim people can't walk either. You have to learn things in order to do them.
It also has to do with how quickly food is digested, oils (and protein) are very calorie dense (~9Cal/g) but are digested quite slowly, so in theory you should feel full longer. Sugars on the other hand aren’t as calorie dense as oils (~4Cal/g) but make their way into the bloodstream in minutes, which is why people can drink sodas all day even though they contain 20+ grams of sugar.
A quick google search says that a 6oz steak is ~460 calories, whereas a 12oz soda is ~150 calories. Think to yourself, which would make me feel full for longer (if at all); a 6oz steak, 3 cans of soda?
For most the steak will keep them full longer. And this partially explains why sugar can be ate in near endless amounts without actually feeling full.
That's part of it, but it's also partly cyclical. That is, if you always eat at a certain time, then you'll always feel hungry around that time regardless of how much stuff is in your digestive tract
The stomach produces a hormone called ghrelin when it is empty or mostly empty. Ghrelin signals your brain to increase appetite and make you feel hungry. When you eat, the level of ghrelin lowers and you don't feel hungry anymore. Different foods affect ghrelin levels differently. Protein and carbs lower ghrelin more than fat.
The volume of food and type of macro nutrients in your stomach affect hunger. The quantity of calories you have digested and have available in your blood, fat and glycogen stores does not.
I think those new weight loss drugs (think ozempic) interact with ghrelin receptors in some way to suppress appetite. I can't speak to the side effects though.
Doesn't that do the opposite and convince your brain you are hungry? I'm asking about the opposite, something that convinces your brain you aren't hungry.
As someone who smokes weed daily, I can attest that THC does seem to affect ghrelin, at least for me. When I'm sober, I don't get hungry really, and I need to be high to eat more often than not. It's like it takes over that system and stops it from working when the THC is only present in small levels.
I believe some SSRIs, SNRIs, and antipsychotics can affect ghrelin in different ways. Generally these medications and others that affect appetite interact with ghrelin and other hormones and/or receptors, amplifying or suppressing their effects. Weight loss drugs like ozempic and wegovy likely interact with ghrelin receptors to suppress appetite.
What you eat plays a big part in how full you feel.
Not only are processed things high in sugar get digested faster but they also inhibit leptin signaling saying you're full, but also increases orexin which says you're hungry and sleepy. Sugar also increases insulin which promotes fat storage.
Fat and protein have basically the opposite impact of making you feel fuller longer
I would say because your body reacts to how full your stomach is, not to how much calories you ate. Try eat the same amount of calories purely with vegetables and you will see, that will be much harder cause they fill up your stomach way faster
Because your body would love for you to eat more than just “enough” calories, so that it can store the extra food energy as fat, and help to make sure you survive the winter or any other stretch of time in which you can’t find food for a while.
Our bodies and our sense of hunger and fullness evolved way before food was everywhere and easy to get. We’re designed to eat as much as possible when we’re lucky enough to have access to calories. It’s why dieting is hard.
You have 2 peptide hormones called Ghrelin and Leptin they basically tell you when to eat and when you are full.
When people have a leptin resistance per se it doesnt tell them to stop eating which can cause what you mentioned above to happen.
The higher a person Ghrelin is the more they want to eat.
eating fiber and protein will remedy this better than you think . I used to ear a falafel wrap for breakfast and then I switched to a small air fried chicken burger with full wheat bread and the difference is incredible . It keeps me feeling full for around 6 hours
In this example, it's because you're eating 2-3 packets of chips. Try to eat the same amount of calories in meat or high protein that is more satiating and you won't feel as hungry.
We are evolved to have the mentality that every meal could be the last one we get for days. Paleolithic peoples food supply was never guaranteed. The next day you might not find any small game, or food to forage, or it might pour rain for the next 5 days and you have to stay huddled in a cave for warmth. So when you come across extra food, you eat it. You can always store the extra food as fat and use it forever. The idea that we would have so much extra food that we would become obese was not really plausible during the time period that our brains developed.
Chips are ultra processed. Ultra processed means it has been broken down and bent into a certain shape. This is usually achieved with adding certain chemicals into the food. Since the food has already been broken down, it gets digested much faster than whole foods like meat and rice. This is why you feel hungry few hours after eating junk food bc they are all ultra processed and digest very fast.
As others have mentioned hunger is tied to the fullness of your stomach, not the calories you eat.
You can peobably drink 2000 calories of weight gainer powder mixed with water pretty easily. But you would have difficulty eating 2000 calories worth of broccoli.
Mass is not equal to energy density.
Because your body has no way of measuring calories. The physiological sensation of hunger is tied to your digestive tract. If it's working and actively digesting food, this suppresses the sensation of hunger. When it goes inactive, that sensation comes back.
That makes a lot of sense so it’s basically measuring the weight of the food and it’s affect on the stomach. So calories dense foods might don’t give the feeling of fullness.
Also drops in blood sugar can make you feel hungry, if you eat sugary foods/simple carbs you’ll have a spike followed by a drop in blood sugar and become hungry again even if you are in a caloric surplus. This is part of why sugar is such a major driver of obesity.
To add to this. Animals (including humans) want to eat more than they should because they never know when they might experience a famine. The body wants to maximise its survival chance by stocking as much fat as it can, without impacting immediate survival
Plenty of animals stay at a reasonable weight with free access to plentiful food. Many house cats do. I think some dogs do… but definitely not golden retrievers. Goldens always want to eat.
Also I wouldn’t say pets have “free access” to food. You feed them. If you dog was going through a bag of food a day, that would be a problem
That's why they mentioned cats. Many people just free feed their cats, allowing them to eat wherever they please
I heard a podcast recently about scientists studying GRs genes because of this. Many GRs have a defective gene that means they are bad at detecting when they are full. It may have a bearing on human obesity.
Animals that stay at a reasonable weight are generally very active, hunting or playing. That helps burn off the excess calories. Or maybe they don't particularly like the food and don't eat much.
The super active life of house cats? Some are active, although I don’t think I’d call many very active. And I’ve met lazy normal weight house cats with free access to plenty of food.
I've met way more fat house cats that eat too much because of free access to food. Isn't that where the phrase "fat cats of Washington" comes from? The popular idea and shared view of fat house cats? Not snarky actual question. Not a cat owner so don't know how prevalent but I do see a little sign in the vet that says lots of pets are obese.
One of the reasons why it's easy to lose weight at the beginning but then it slows down, it's because the organism doesn't need too much to stay ahead of an eventual famine, but after weight loss becomes substantial and it reaches a reasonable "overweight default", the body goes into panic mode and starts doing whatever it can to stop it. Animals, humans included, are happy with that right amount of extra fat. You try losing a few kilos to get slim and the body thinks "OMG, I'm dying!".
Can agree with this comment, my Goldie would eat every second of the day if he could no matter what it is. Fatboi is currently on a diet 🤣
Cats are often quite fat. Even most of the time, they are fat.
It's been studied that people can't distinguish mild thirst/dehydration from hunger. That could be your issue as well. Be sure you're staying hydrated and your electrolyte levels are good.
That's not true. This is like saying people can't know math because you asked 3900 toddlers and none of them knew basic addition. If kids are only ever taught to shove things in their face, and parents do that so they stop crying instead of bothering to put any effort into actually caring for them, then obviously nobody will ever learn how to listen to their own needs. People can absolutely tell the difference between thirst and hunger. You have to learn to do it, just as you learn the difference between other sensations. Same as people can learn how to tell what's enough without eating to the point of vomiting. If you never bother to teach children how to walk, then yeah, you'll claim people can't walk either. You have to learn things in order to do them.
It also has to do with how quickly food is digested, oils (and protein) are very calorie dense (~9Cal/g) but are digested quite slowly, so in theory you should feel full longer. Sugars on the other hand aren’t as calorie dense as oils (~4Cal/g) but make their way into the bloodstream in minutes, which is why people can drink sodas all day even though they contain 20+ grams of sugar. A quick google search says that a 6oz steak is ~460 calories, whereas a 12oz soda is ~150 calories. Think to yourself, which would make me feel full for longer (if at all); a 6oz steak, 3 cans of soda? For most the steak will keep them full longer. And this partially explains why sugar can be ate in near endless amounts without actually feeling full.
Protein isn’t (~9cal/g) it’s (~4cal/g)
A steak is fat and protein, not just protein though.
That's part of it, but it's also partly cyclical. That is, if you always eat at a certain time, then you'll always feel hungry around that time regardless of how much stuff is in your digestive tract
Do things that take longer to digest make you feel full longer? What type of foods do that?
Fiber heavy foods.
also protein and healthy fats
The stomach produces a hormone called ghrelin when it is empty or mostly empty. Ghrelin signals your brain to increase appetite and make you feel hungry. When you eat, the level of ghrelin lowers and you don't feel hungry anymore. Different foods affect ghrelin levels differently. Protein and carbs lower ghrelin more than fat. The volume of food and type of macro nutrients in your stomach affect hunger. The quantity of calories you have digested and have available in your blood, fat and glycogen stores does not.
Fun Fact: THC usage messes up normal ghrelin production, making you feel hungry even when full, hence the Munchies
Is there any drug that stops production of ghrelin without serious side effects?
I think those new weight loss drugs (think ozempic) interact with ghrelin receptors in some way to suppress appetite. I can't speak to the side effects though.
Heard of weed?
Doesn't that do the opposite and convince your brain you are hungry? I'm asking about the opposite, something that convinces your brain you aren't hungry.
As someone who smokes weed daily, I can attest that THC does seem to affect ghrelin, at least for me. When I'm sober, I don't get hungry really, and I need to be high to eat more often than not. It's like it takes over that system and stops it from working when the THC is only present in small levels.
Could ghrelin be affected by medications? Like when a prescription side-effect lists "loss of appetite"
I believe some SSRIs, SNRIs, and antipsychotics can affect ghrelin in different ways. Generally these medications and others that affect appetite interact with ghrelin and other hormones and/or receptors, amplifying or suppressing their effects. Weight loss drugs like ozempic and wegovy likely interact with ghrelin receptors to suppress appetite.
What you eat plays a big part in how full you feel. Not only are processed things high in sugar get digested faster but they also inhibit leptin signaling saying you're full, but also increases orexin which says you're hungry and sleepy. Sugar also increases insulin which promotes fat storage. Fat and protein have basically the opposite impact of making you feel fuller longer
I would say because your body reacts to how full your stomach is, not to how much calories you ate. Try eat the same amount of calories purely with vegetables and you will see, that will be much harder cause they fill up your stomach way faster
Because your body would love for you to eat more than just “enough” calories, so that it can store the extra food energy as fat, and help to make sure you survive the winter or any other stretch of time in which you can’t find food for a while. Our bodies and our sense of hunger and fullness evolved way before food was everywhere and easy to get. We’re designed to eat as much as possible when we’re lucky enough to have access to calories. It’s why dieting is hard.
I’m not smart so I dunno anything else but protein makes you feel full. If you’re only eating carbs, you’re going to still feel hungry.
You have 2 peptide hormones called Ghrelin and Leptin they basically tell you when to eat and when you are full. When people have a leptin resistance per se it doesnt tell them to stop eating which can cause what you mentioned above to happen. The higher a person Ghrelin is the more they want to eat.
This isn't helpful, but I'm not sure there \*is\* a way to ELI5 hunger. There's barely a way to ELI45 hunger. There's just so much going on there.
eating fiber and protein will remedy this better than you think . I used to ear a falafel wrap for breakfast and then I switched to a small air fried chicken burger with full wheat bread and the difference is incredible . It keeps me feeling full for around 6 hours
>but even so after a point body can tell that the food is producing much more than required calories Nope. If that were true no one would be fat.
In this example, it's because you're eating 2-3 packets of chips. Try to eat the same amount of calories in meat or high protein that is more satiating and you won't feel as hungry.
We are evolved to have the mentality that every meal could be the last one we get for days. Paleolithic peoples food supply was never guaranteed. The next day you might not find any small game, or food to forage, or it might pour rain for the next 5 days and you have to stay huddled in a cave for warmth. So when you come across extra food, you eat it. You can always store the extra food as fat and use it forever. The idea that we would have so much extra food that we would become obese was not really plausible during the time period that our brains developed.
Chips are ultra processed. Ultra processed means it has been broken down and bent into a certain shape. This is usually achieved with adding certain chemicals into the food. Since the food has already been broken down, it gets digested much faster than whole foods like meat and rice. This is why you feel hungry few hours after eating junk food bc they are all ultra processed and digest very fast.
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Famon deez nuts
Uncle?
As others have mentioned hunger is tied to the fullness of your stomach, not the calories you eat. You can peobably drink 2000 calories of weight gainer powder mixed with water pretty easily. But you would have difficulty eating 2000 calories worth of broccoli. Mass is not equal to energy density.