Always hungry? - Ten top nutrition tips for curbing those hunger pangs

Have you ever had a huge meal but afterwards you feel the need to go for seconds or that you can’t seem to quench that hunger? Perhaps you feel the need to constantly eat throughout the day but with no satisfaction?

Here, nutritionist Laurann O’Reilly and owner of Nutrition By Laurann, brings us through her top tips to improve satiety and avoid those dreaded hunger pangs.

1. Include Fibre:
Fibre holds many benefits such as optimising our gut health, improving our fullness feeling (leaving us more satisfied after our meals) and regulating our blood sugar levels as it helps to slow the release of sugar into the bloodstream.

Tip: Opt for brown/wholemeal/ wholegrain versions of bread, pasta and rice as well as oats, flaxseed and chia seeds.

2. Up Your Protein:
Protein is not only important for repair, making new cells, hormone balance and making enzymes (which help us break down our food), but it also helps to improve our satiety (fullness feeling).

Tip: Try to include nutritious protein sources at each meal, including your snacks. My favourite protein snacks include yogurts (topped with fruit and seeds), cheese (remember portion sizes here, so a portion of cheese is your two thumbs), mixed nuts (also remember portion sizes here with a portion of nuts being ¼ of a measuring cup) and hard-boiled eggs. It can really help to have these prepared in advance too.

3. Hydration:
Many of us go through the whole day without taking a sip of water (aside from coffee and tea). Did you know that if you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated! Also, sometimes we may mistake thirst for hunger, if you’ve had your meal and you’re still feeling moreish, why not have some water, it helps to improve the digestion of your foods too!

Tip: I recommend purchasing a ‘BPA free’ water bottle (I like the Sistema brand but there are plenty of other brands out there) and keep this topped up all day. Your bottle should also come everywhere with you, whether you’re at your desk, in the car, going for a walk, in the gym, relaxing after a hard day and beside your bed. Let your water bottle be your new best friend. So, when you’re doing your check: phone, keys, wallet/handbag and water bottle.

4. Avoid Added Sugars/ High Sugar Foods:
Many of us are aware of the obvious sugar sources such as sweets, cakes and chocolate but what about those not so obvious high sugar products. It’s important to watch out for the hidden sugars in our drinks, we can refer to this as ‘liquid sugar’ which is often underestimated. These include full sugar fizzy drinks, alcohol and even smoothies (as the fibre has been removed). These cause our blood sugar levels to spike and crash, resulting in sugar cravings.

Tip: As smoothies can be a great way to squeeze in the valuable vitamins, minerals and antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables, a great way to prevent that dreaded sugar spike is to add the fibre back in. This can be done by adding in oats, flaxseed or chia seeds after blending.

5. Avoid Distraction:
As eating is a sensory experience including our smell, taste, touch and texture, it’s important to avoid distractions such as your phone, computer, iPad and the TV during your meals to allow your body to register that you are full.

Tip: To train yourself to ‘mindfully eat’ it can be helpful to try new recipes with a mix of different flavours, herbs and spices. You can try and distinguish the different ingredients whilst enjoying your meal.

6. Take Your Time:
Our lives can be extremely busy which can leave us speedily eating our meals. Not alone does this take away from the sensory eating experience mentioned above, but we often don’t end up chewing our foods properly, which in turn can have an effect on our digestion as well as our body’s ability to register that we’re full.

Tip: Try to give yourself a minimum of 20 minutes to enjoy your food (where possible) and remember to chew your food well (between 20-30 times before swallowing), your tummy will thank you.

7. Healthy Snacks:
When we’re on the run and the sugar crash or mid-day slump kicks in, we can often be tempted to reach for high sugar convenience foods. For this reason, it’s so important to have our healthy snacks prepared in advance.

Tip: Remember to include foods which are a source of fibre and protein for example a wholegrain crackers, rice or corn cakes topped with cottage cheese.

8. Food Cravings:
This can be defined as “an intense desire for a specific food. This desire can seem uncontrollable, and a person may feel as though they cannot satisfy their hunger until they get that particular food”. There are many reasons we can get food cravings, for example during periods of stress our stress hormone cortisol increases, which can cause us to crave foods high in fat and sugar (a fight or flight response). Whilst nutritional deficiency may also cause us to crave certain foods, for instance a Vitamin B12 deficiency may lead to cravings such as marmite, milk/dairy, salmon, egg yolks, tuna, chicken and other meats.

9. Avoid Bulk Evening Eating:
It’s important that we meet our energy requirement throughout the day when we need the energy and can burn it off, rather than coming home starving and bulk eating in the evening. Not only is this not good for our body but we often end up bingeing on sugar and processed convenience foods to quickly get the energy we need and crave, resulting in unwanted weight gain.

Tip: If time is an issue for you, then meal planning ahead of your week is key. Feel free to download my Free Meal Planning Guide here: https://nutritionbylaurann.ie/ your-meal-planning-guide/

10. Avoid Eating Before Bedtime:
Did you know that we’re not meant to eat before going to bed? This is because we are meant to go into a state of starvation whilst we sleep. This allows our bodies to renew, repair and rebalance.

Tip: Avoid having complex meals approximately 3-4 hours before bedtime, if hungry opt for an easy to suggest snack such as a yogurt.