Hunger is completely normal and is extremely important for us athletes to know when to feed our bodies and keep them at optimal levels of performance.

Sometimes though when we are trying to slim down, it’s hard to cut back on our calories consumed when our stomachs are always rumbling.

Under normal circumstances while on a normal diet, a person should be able to go a few hours without any consumption of food, before the stomach starts acting up.

Being hungry is pretty much the worst for us and those around us. No one likes HANGRY people and it’s sometimes harder to work and perform at our best.

Here are 5 reasons you might feel hungry often:

1. Your not eating enough protein

   As we all know, we need to eat all 3 macronutrients (fat, protein and carbs) and they all have different functions throughout our body.

   Protein is the building blocks of our body as it helps make up our body’s lean mass.

   By consuming more protein you may consume fewer calories because protein helps reduce the production of the hormone ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and increases peptide YY, which tells our bodies that we are full.

2. You are not eating enough fiber

   Consuming foods that are high in fiber may help keep you satiated.

   Soluble fiber lines your digestive tract, making your food take longer to digest. Fiber also provides more volume making it take longer to digest, thus creating a full sensation on fewer calories.

3. You’re not eating enough

   Depending on your height, weight and activity, your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) could drastically very. When you cut your calories under a level that is sustainable to your body, you shock your body into starvation mode. This may have major ramifications to your metabolism and when your body is in starvation mode, it’s screaming that it needs more food... listen to your body. Make sure that you are cutting appropriately.

4. You’re not getting enough sleep

   As athletes, we know how important sleep is for body recovery, but studies have shown that a lack of sleep increases hunger signals. Sleep also helps regulate ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and lack of sleep leads to higher levels of ghrelin, thus making us crave more food! So get some sleep!

   QUICK TIP: drinking coffee may help you consume less throughout the day. Coffee beans contain chlorogenic acids. These acids may have the ability to curb hunger.

5. You don’t eat enough fat

   Fat plays a very important role in making you feel full. Some fat doesn’t have the best rep, but you can eat healthy fats, like in avocados, olive oil, salmon and nuts. By eating the correct amount of fat it may help keep you feeling full longer because of its slow digestion time. Fat also releases hormones that promote fullness.

   Fat is also essential for brain health and function, so by eating healthy fats, it can help your cognitive function and keep you sharp. Also it tastes great!

QUICK TIP: Eat your calories and limiting drink them. Drinking calories is linked to less satiation and may lead to consuming more food.

If you feel like you being hungry is more serious than the solutions we have outlined, you may want to go get checked out by a doctor. There are numerous more serious medical reasons you could be hungry all the time, and should not be taken lightly. You could be suffering from leptin resistance. Leptin is the hormone that controls whether you feel full after eating or not. There are also many other medical reasons why your hunger won't subside including hormonal reasons and a doctor should be seen.