Are you always hungry? Follow these suggestions:
1. Eat small regular meals – If you don’t eat regularly enough, your body is going to switch to ‘starvation mode’ which means that you won’t think about food……until you see/smell/taste it! Then you become ravenous and over-eat! It is essential to eat small, regular meals, aiming for a meal or snack every 4-5 hours.
2. Choose foods which are low GI – The Glycemic Index ranks foods that contain carbohydrates from 1 to 100 according to how they affect our blood glucose levels.
3. Ensure that you include some protein at each meal and snack – Foods high in protein include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds and dairy products. Protein has a high “satiety index” meaning that it helps you to fill fuller for longer.
For example:
Breakfast – cereal with milk
Morning tea – 30g of nuts
Lunch – sandwich with tuna and salad
Afternoon tea – tub of yoghurt
Dinner – Stir fry with kidney beans
Supper – Glass of low fat milk
4. Fill up on low kilojoule foods – The latest research shows that less than 10% of Aussies are meeting their vegetable requirements. Adults should be eating at least 5 serves of vegetables each day. Vegetables are high in nutrition and low in kilojoules. If you’re feeling hungry, it could be because you’re not eating enough vegetables.
5. Ensure you are meeting your nutritional requirements – Not meeting all of your nutritional requirements can cause your body to crave additional food. Sometimes people can be eating a lot of food, but still craving more because their body still isn’t getting the nutrition that it needs. Ask your dietitian for a report with a breakdown of whether or not you are meeting your nutrition requirements. She may recommend a blood test to check some key nutrients as well. Ensure that you are including each of the core food groups each day. They are:
Grains & cereals (bread, bread roll, rice, pasta, noodles, porridge, breakfast cereal flakes, muesli
Vegetables & legumes (cooked vegetables, legumes, salad)
Fruit (fresh fruit eg. apple, banana, orange, fruit juice, dried fruit)
Dairy (milk, evaporated milk, cheese, yoghurt, custard)
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes (meat, chicken, fish, legumes, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds.
6. Think about why you’re eating – Are you really physically hungry? Or are you craving something else? Sometimes people eat to fill an emotional hunger. If this sounds like you, you might like to ask your dietitian for a referral to see a psychologist who specializes in this area.
7. Speak to your dietitian about your medications – Some medications can increase your appetite. Your dietitian can review your list of medications to see if you are taking any that may cause this. Your doctor may be able to replace it with something similar which doesn’t affect your appetite.
8. Speak to your dietitian about trying an appetite suppressant medication – If you have done all of the above and are still struggling with your appetite, talk to your dietitian about the appetite suppressant medications which are available, to see if there is one which may be suitable for you.
Health Kick: Nutrition and Dietetics
Specialists in weight management and metabolic diseases
For a personally tailored meal plan, please contact us on
1300 438 550 or email reception@health-kick.com.au
www.health-kick.com.au
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