"40 Habits Making You Hungry" Review
Introduction
Instead of looking at why you’re not losing weight, you may want to look at what causes your endless hunger. Here are the top reasons why, from the Zerobelly article "40 Habits Making You Hungry”.
1. SKIPPING BREAKFAST
All that talk of breakfast being the most important meal of the day rings truer than you might think. In the morning, your body’s concentration of hunger hormone ghrelin tends to be higher than during the rest of the day. However, when you skip breakfast, you’re putting off the uptick in satiety hormone leptin, keeping you famished and more prone to grabbing something unhealthy when you finally do eat. In fact, research presented at the Endocrine Society’s 92nd Annual Meeting reveals that average weight individuals who skipped breakfast and then looked at photos of food chose high-calorie treats more often than those who had eaten a morning meal.
Personal Trainer Wisdom: I think the most essential point regarding skipping breakfast is the one that’s missing: You create a deficit in your body when you deprive it of the fuel it needs. The body hacker will argue that fasting will cause the body to activate its backup system to assist a person with weight loss. Let’s consider this for a moment as truth. Maybe you will lose weight because your metabolism has “lit up” (not just because of your calorie reduction). Is this a long-term result? Wouldn’t your body return to its set metabolism once your habits stabilize? Wouldn’t the risk of malnutrition, fatigue, and additional internal organ work be enough to encourage you to do what you’re simply avoiding: Eating a balanced diet when your body demands it? Your body is an efficient machine. Let it work the way it should.
2. GRAZING ALL DAY
Eating snacks to tide you over between meals can help prevent binges later on, but if you’re grazing all day long, you might be making yourself hungrier. Research published in the January 2016 edition of the Journal of Nutrition reveals that grazing didn’t actually curb the appetite of study participants. Grazing all day may also make you more likely to forget what you’ve eaten, contributing to a higher total caloric intake.
Personal Trainer Wisdom: If you’re eating with intent, grazing doesn’t exist…and your appetite will be satisfied. Again, this is another theory related to the speed of your metabolism. Ironically, this failed attempt can lead to a deficiency and mindless calorie consumption.
3. NEGLECTING SLEEP
Catching some Zs may not be the most calorie-burning activity you do all day, but it can make a major difference in terms of your hunger. Research published in the December 2004 edition of PLoS Medicine reveals that inadequate sleep triggers the body’s production of ghrelin, a hunger hormone, while suppressing the production of leptin, the hormone that signals satiety. Couple that with the increased stomach acid production — a feeling often mistaken for hunger — that many people experience after a sleepless night and you’ve got a recipe for some serious munchies.
Personal Trainer Wisdom: If you’re going to keep running the machine without rest, it will keep demanding fuel. Are you willing to wear down the parts without maintenance? If you sacrifice sleep, you’re sacrificing your body—time to ease off the coffee, relax a bit, and hit the hay.
4. CHOOSING CANNED FOODS
Canned foods may be convenient and economical, but turning to them on a regular basis might be the reason behind your persistent hunger. Not only can salty canned foods increase thirst, which is often mistaken for hunger, research conducted at Carleton University in Ottawa reveals that the BPA in certain food packaging can decrease the body’s leptin receptivity, making it harder to determine when you’re satisfied.
Personal Trainer Wisdom: Sodium is a hidden killer, and it's in many of your packaged goods. Be especially mindful of most pasta sauces (500-800 mg per serving) and canned fish (300 mg per serving) if you are trying to stay in the recommended range of 500 mg of sodium per meal.
5. ENDING THE DAY WITH A NIGHTCAP
If you think that end-of-the-day drink is helping you wind down, think again — it might just be making you hungrier. Not only does alcohol have an inhibition-lowering effect, making you eager to eat, even when you’re not particularly hungry, it can also disrupt your REM sleep, leaving you poorly rested and more prone to grabbing convenience snacks to tame your rumbling tummy.
Personal Trainer Wisdom: Most important, you achieve the most physical recovery during REM sleep...something you shouldn’t take lightly. Try to minimize anything that will affect this critical time of night.
6. WEANING OFF MEDICATION
Whether you’re tapering off your antidepressants or have finished a prescription for painkillers after surgery, finishing a medication can have a serious effect on your hunger level. Many medications, from those that treat chronic pain to those designed for individuals with ADHD, can have appetite-suppressing effects. Unfortunately, when you finish your course of treatment, your old appetite can come back in full force, so it’s important to pay particular attention to your food choices if you’re weaning off your meds.
Personal Trainer Wisdom: No matter the medication, always be mindful of your physical self while starting or weaning off a regimen. Essentially, you are changing your chemical balance—a shift that could lead to a range of effects, including fatigue and weight gain.
About the Author: Michael Moody, Wedding Officiant
Michael Moody—author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and host of the “The Elements of Being” podcast—is an ordained minister serving Denver and other towns across Colorado. He is a 2023 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award winner in both Denver and Chicago (his eighth consecutive year), was named “Best Business of 2024 and 2025” by Three Best Rated, and earned “The Best Wedding Officiant in Commerce City, Colorado for 2024” from Quality Business Awards USA. Since 2012, he has officiated more than 300 weddings.
Specifically, Michael officiates wedding ceremonies in the Denver neighborhoods of LoDo, River North, Washington Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Central Park, Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Highland, Platt Park, Lower Highlands, Sloan Lake as well as the zip codes 80215, 80214, 80204, 80203, 80205, 80207, 80218, 80219, 80222, 80223, 80224, 80246, 80238, 80221, 80022, 80230, 80231, 80202, 80209, 80247, and 80210. Michael also serves as an ordained minister in Golden, Boulder, Breckenridge, Frisco, Aspen, Vail, Estes Park, and more.
If your Denver neighborhood or Colorado town isn’t listed here, no worries! Please contact Michael to propose a wedding ceremony location in a different area!
