So, you’re starting to live with No Food Rules, ditch diet culture, and it’s FAB… except for one thing that’s driving you BONKERS. Hunger. It’s non-stop! Well, I’ve got the answer. In this post I’m going to explain why you’re hungry ALL the time.
Well, girlfriend, let me first say this feeling of being hungry all the time is normal. And, to be honest, having to ask yourself why you’re hungry all the time is GOOD. So, let’s give into the answer of why you’re hungry all the time, shall we?
You’re hungry all the time because you’re regaining trust with your body.
When you start living a life of No Food Rules you’re regaining trust with your body. Before, with all of your food rules in place, your body actually thought food was scarce. Either food overall (under eating) or certain types of foods (restricting “bad” foods-even if you just MENTALLY put this label on food, your body still sees those foods as scarce, “off-limits”)
You’re hungry all the time because you were under eating.
Let’s dig into the under eating part. When you start living with No Food Rules and allow your body to actually EAT, sometimes it needs to play catch-up. It may need to re-nourish itself and with that comes and increased appetite and the question of “Why am I hungry ALL the time?!” It’s important to LET your body nourish itself and honor that hunger.
You’re hungry all the time because you were labeling food as “bad”.
Now, let’s chat about the second part- seeing foods as BAD. With No Food Rules you’re saying “Hey, body? These “bad” foods aren’t restricted anymore. You can eat the cookies! Enjoy the peanut butter!” And that’s GREAT! But… just because you say that to your body doesn’t mean it will believe you. It needs you to SHOW it. So, yes, you may be drawn to what seems like ALL of the foods you’ve previously restricted: cookies, peanut butter, bread, etc. etc. Whatever it may be!
While this can seem frustrating as heck to a culture of women who have been told that eating “clean” is the ONLY way to eat, it’s important to let yourself eat these previously deemed “bad” things. You need to prove to your body that it can have these foods. And, as you do that? The cravings will no longer be the strong “pulls” towards the foods that they are initially.
So, what should you DO when you find yourself asking “Why am I hungry ALL the time?!” when starting to live with No Food Rules? Eat, girlfriend, you should EAT. Now, I’m not telling you to hunker down in bed with 3 pints of Ben & Jerry’s and watch every Jennifer Aniston movie ever made. No, don’t do that. What I’m saying is to eat the ice cream you are craving and do it mindfully. ENJOY the experience. Need a little more direction with how to do that? I’m sharing loads of tips in my Ultimate 5 Step Guide To Food Freedom. Which you can snag HERE fo’ free!
So, if you’ve been asking yourself “Why am I hungry ALL the time?!” know that this is very normal and an important process to living with No Food Rules. Also know that you won’t be asking yourself that question forever. When you regain that trust with your body it starts to believe food isn’t scarce, it can eat whatever food it wants, so it can slow it’s roll with the hunger. But first you gotta SHOW it.
Don’t forget to grab your free e-book with loads more tips here!
XOXO
-Colleen
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Madeleine says
I’m craving cookies!!! I want them all the time, but i don’t want to be fat 😭
Colleen says
Super important to allow yourself to eat a cookie when you want! When we say we cant have them we WILL want them all the time! Our bodies want what they can’t have!
Julie says
Hi, I have an interesting question for you.
I’ve never had a problem with food restriction at all but I feel hungry all the time too. Now, I may not be good at feeding myself regularly so that might be part of it.
However, I’m wondering if things from my childhood might be affecting me? My friend says that when you have things happen to you at a young age that your body might never have a proper relationship with food so I wanted your opinion as a nutritionist. Is it true that things from your childhood can affect you your whole life?
For example (not trying to be a sob story, just explaining), I grew up in a dsyfuctional household. It’s frustrating trying to explain the problem but basically when there was food available it was in plentiful portions but there were also many times where we were neglected or denied food regularly throughout the day from elementary school up to high school when at home. Around 1st grade I developed bulimia in strictly the physical sense. Basically when we were served dinner we were served in adult sizes portions and we were supposed to eat everything on our plates and were not allowed to leave until we did. But the portions were just too much and often I would feel sick to my stomach and throw up after. I really didn’t like the feeling of being that full so I got good at making myself throw up when I felt that way. They eventually took me to a food therapist because it got to the point where I would take one bite of something and my stomach would feel too full and I would throw up (possibly it was normal portions but too much if it was our only meal that day?). When I look back I wonder if it was more stress related but my siblings who were one and two years older than me also struggled to finish their food. I was the only one who developed the eating disorder though.
I’m plus sized and in my 30’s. While I’m getting better at noticing and understanding my body’s hunger cues I still struggle with it. Especially portion control and feeling full. I try not to worry about what I eat and to make sure to include more veggies in my meals but sometimes I feel like my body wants me to eat everything. I’m still working through problems with portion sizes. Both remembering not to eat with my eyes when I am serving myself and remembering that I don’t have to eat everything on my plate.
Do you find that clients struggle with childhood issues like this? Is there any different approach to take in this situation? Basically just telling you this story to try to understand if my food issues come from just the portion control side of things or if not having regular access to food as a child really can affect your relationship with food for your whole life?
Colleen says
Yes! Totally common to have pieces of your history play a role in your food rules into adulthood!