What do you do when your stomach won't stop growling?
Mary_Anastasia
Posts: 267 Member
I'm ALWAYS hungry. I very rarely feel full, even if I've eaten over 3,000 calories (yes, it has been known to happen). My ex-bf even thought I might have some condition about it, but I always doubted it. Anyway, I finished my 500 calories lunch here at work and my stomach never stopped growling. It's 4 hours later and it's just getting louder 
What do you do when you have eaten what you should but your stomach won't quit complaining?
What do you do when you have eaten what you should but your stomach won't quit complaining? 2
Replies
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How is your protein, fat and fiber intake?
How much water do you drink?
How much cardio do you do?2 -
I eat foods that keep me full, particularly lean meats and vegetables that are high in fiber. If I eat too high glycemic carbs, I will be starving in no time but if I eat right, I stay satisfied.1
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I would lose the idea that a stomach growling must mean you are hungry, and related to that, it could be that your idea of what it means to "feel full" is screwed up.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-your-stomach-gro/
"Though stomach growling is commonly heard and associated with hunger and an absence of food in the stomach, it can occur at any time, on an empty or full stomach. Furthermore, growling doesn't only come from the stomach but, just as often, can be heard coming from the small intestines. Growling is more commonly associated with hunger because it is typically louder when the stomach and intestines are empty and so the organs' contents don't muffle the noise....
When the walls are activated and squeeze the tract's contents to mix and propel food, gas and fluids through the stomach and small intestines, it generates a rumbling noise. This squeezing of the muscular walls is termed peristalsis and involves a ring of contraction moving aborally (away from the oral cavity) towards the *kitten* a few inches at a time.
The generation of these waves of peristalsis results from a rhythmic fluctuation of electrical potential in the smooth muscle cells, which, all other conditions being appropriate, will cause the muscle to contract....
Though the rate and force of peristalsis typically increases in the presence of food, activity also increases after the stomach and small intestines have been empty for approximately two hours...."13 -
If you genuinely feel hungry all the time (as opposed to your guts just making noises, which happens) it might be worth consulting a doctor in case there's something going on there that can be fixed.
Otherwise I second the others, experiment with high fibre foods, high protein, high fat, to find out what keeps you full. But honestly, if you're feeling hungry after eating 3000cal then it does sound like you've got something unusual going on.3 -
To be honest, I think in the past this has been the biggest contributor to my failure to lose weight. The constant fight through hunger got too much after a while and I was bored of constantly fighting through the day. The only way I tend to manage it is I drink a lot of tea with milk (water on it's own doesn't really cut it for me) but the milk seems to make it more substantial. Of course you would have to factor this into your calorie counting (if you do that). On the flip side, there are definitely medical reasons for why this could happen or you could simply have a very fast metabolism and process food a lot quicker than most people, so no sooner you've eaten you're empty again! Speak to your Doctor if it continues for a while and have some bloods done. I'm no expert, this is just my two cents
Good luck. 1 -
Eat more often, less cals every 2-3 hours this may help 2
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I have noticed that, for me,t nothing sets off a growling concert faster than eating a breath mint of chewing gum. I think it just takes a lot of stomach acid and activity to work those items through. I once ate a breath mint in church, and boy was I sorry.
Hunger is something I just expect when I'm on a diet. I remind myself that typically the only people who are losing weight but not feeling hungry are people with terrible illnesses. There's usually a number where I lose weight and I am hungry but it's not unbearable. Five hundred calories for lunch gets me to an early dinner without running mad, but just barely. Try 600 and see how you do.0 -
Eat different food that fills you up more?1
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Try to adjust your macros to see if your cravings blunt down. If it doesn't work you can always change it back. I found lowering carbs and upping fats worked in my case. Research first before trying so you know what to expect.1
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lemurcat12 wrote: »I would lose the idea that a stomach growling must mean you are hungry, and related to that, it could be that your idea of what it means to "feel full" is screwed up.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-your-stomach-gro/
"Though stomach growling is commonly heard and associated with hunger and an absence of food in the stomach, it can occur at any time, on an empty or full stomach. Furthermore, growling doesn't only come from the stomach but, just as often, can be heard coming from the small intestines. Growling is more commonly associated with hunger because it is typically louder when the stomach and intestines are empty and so the organs' contents don't muffle the noise....
When the walls are activated and squeeze the tract's contents to mix and propel food, gas and fluids through the stomach and small intestines, it generates a rumbling noise. This squeezing of the muscular walls is termed peristalsis and involves a ring of contraction moving aborally (away from the oral cavity) towards the *kitten* a few inches at a time.
The generation of these waves of peristalsis results from a rhythmic fluctuation of electrical potential in the smooth muscle cells, which, all other conditions being appropriate, will cause the muscle to contract....
Though the rate and force of peristalsis typically increases in the presence of food, activity also increases after the stomach and small intestines have been empty for approximately two hours...."
Interesting, thank you. And I didn't mean for it to sound like "stomach growling = hungry" just that my stomach is often growling, and that coincidentally I am also always hungry. I wake up so hungry that I'm nauseous, and being hungry is just a normal way of life these days. Once I let myself eat every day until I felt like it was enough and I gained 20lbs in 4 weeks (and not water weight, it legitimately had to be worked off
) It's hard to describe knowing you're full without feeling full. Anyway, my stomach is also always growling, and people look at me funny, it's any time of day; my ex used to joke that it was my "tummy wanting a baby in it" because he knew I wanted kids, that always made me annoyed. 1 -
cerise_noir wrote: »How is your protein, fat and fiber intake?
How much water do you drink?
How much cardio do you do?
All are generally good, I don't always hit my protein and fat macros, but I do for fiber; my cardio has dropped recently as I went from being outside all the time to just 2 weeks ago starting a 10hr/day desk job. It's been a problem for years, maybe 10 years or so, I'm just wondering if anyone else has any experience with feeling fuller longer or if there are like, stomach calming techniques or something, because it's one thing to quietly ignore that you're hungry, it's another when your friends or coworkers all look right at your stomach because it's squealing and groaning.0 -
I've started eating 3 egg whites, scrambled, loaded with 2oz bell peppers ( all colors), .5oz mushrooms, 1oz onions and 3 lil smokies for breakfast. In addition to that, I mix together some fruit and yogurt - 2oz blackberries, 2oz raspberries, 1.5 oz banana, 2.5 oz Yoplait smooth style low fat vanilla yogurt and top it with 1oz dry roasted peanuts. This ties me over till lunch time and it's not too high in calories and I don't feel stuffed. It's amazing how content I feel after breakfast. Give it a try and see if it doesn't help some.0
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Mary_Anastasia wrote: »cerise_noir wrote: »How is your protein, fat and fiber intake?
How much water do you drink?
How much cardio do you do?
All are generally good, I don't always hit my protein and fat macros, but I do for fiber; my cardio has dropped recently as I went from being outside all the time to just 2 weeks ago starting a 10hr/day desk job. It's been a problem for years, maybe 10 years or so, I'm just wondering if anyone else has any experience with feeling fuller longer or if there are like, stomach calming techniques or something, because it's one thing to quietly ignore that you're hungry, it's another when your friends or coworkers all look right at your stomach because it's squealing and groaning.
Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
How much weight do you want to lose and what is your weekly weight loss goal set to?1 -
A higher protein lower carb diet may help you feel fuller longer. When I did Atkins, I was rarely hungry, and when I was, a piece of cheese would stop the hunger.1
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Mary_Anastasia wrote: »I'm ALWAYS hungry. I very rarely feel full, even if I've eaten over 3,000 calories (yes, it has been known to happen). My ex-bf even thought I might have some condition about it, but I always doubted it. Anyway, I finished my 500 calories lunch here at work and my stomach never stopped growling. It's 4 hours later and it's just getting louder What do you do when you have eaten what you should but your stomach won't quit complaining?
That could just be digestion taking place. I might also suggest a visit to your Dr to ensure that you haven't got an ulcer or GERD or something.
But presuming you've done that and everything is OK, when I have moments like that, I chew a TUMS or have a cup of lemon-ginger tea. Both TUMS and ginger settle my stomach.1 -
You're on the wrong diet. You should never be hungry on a diet. Eat more protein and fat and less carbs. See how you go0
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Sounds more like indigestion or IBS. Uts quite common to mistake stomach sensation for hunger- and eating something may quieten it for a bit but its not hunger and will return.
I get like this with ibs- and eating more actually makes it worse in the long run. I found the best thing was to ignore it - drink hot tea and try to relax.2 -
When I eat refined flour I get a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach. It also triggers cravings which feels like "fake" hunger even though I just ate. I'm not sure if it is gluten sensitivity or not in my instance? I just know that it goes away when I cut down on wHite flour products.
But when I eat LCHF the hungries disappear. It is a wonderful relief. I did have some mild unpleasant side effects until my body adapted. But they only lasted a couple weeks and then freedom! So worth it, in my opinion. YMMV.0 -
Firstly 500 calories isn't a meal, it's a snack. Secondly I would drink more water to keep you feeling full.0
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trigden1991 wrote: »Firstly 500 calories isn't a meal, it's a snack. Secondly I would drink more water to keep you feeling full.
What??? That's incorrect. 500 calories could very well be a meal. If a person is on 1600 calories a day, for example, that can be split into three 500 calorie meals and one 100 calorie snack. Not everyone has a 3000+ calorie budget to work with in order to be able to define 500 calories as a mere snack.15 -
Oddly enough, my stomach doesn't grumble when I'm hungry, it just grumbles (and squeaks and burbles) at random throughout the day.0
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trigden1991 wrote: »Firstly 500 calories isn't a meal, it's a snack. Secondly I would drink more water to keep you feeling full.
What??? That's incorrect. 500 calories could very well be a meal. If a person is on 1600 calories a day, for example, that can be split into three 500 calorie meals and one 100 calorie snack. Not everyone has a 3000+ calorie budget to work with in order to be able to define 500 calories as a mere snack.
It was a bit of a tongue in cheek comment.0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »Firstly 500 calories isn't a meal, it's a snack. Secondly I would drink more water to keep you feeling full.
What??? That's incorrect. 500 calories could very well be a meal. If a person is on 1600 calories a day, for example, that can be split into three 500 calorie meals and one 100 calorie snack. Not everyone has a 3000+ calorie budget to work with in order to be able to define 500 calories as a mere snack.
It was a bit of a tongue in cheek comment.
Oh! XD Okay. My mistake!1 -
My advice would be to significantly increase the amount of volume in your diet. Because our hunger levels are dependent on the amount our stomach is stretched NOT the calorie density of our food.
Here's a good guide:
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Thanks everyone! I'll drink more tea, have more ginger (I love ginger anyway), and focus on less dense more voluminous foods and protein sources. It's always always been a problem, I can't explain just how much I could eat and never feel full growing up-- once in high school I ate 3 full entrees and an appetizer at Planet Hollywood, (so probably like 5k cals) then ate again just a few hours later, my friends couldn't even believe it; and it's so much harder as an adult when I'm not running around outside all the time. I'm smarter now so I KNOW when enough is enough, but it sucks feeling hungry, and even worse when people make nicknames or recurring jokes about how loud your stomach always is. BTW I'm aiming to lose about 60 more pounds and I'm on a 1400 calorie (vegetarian) diet, I eat about 2 heads of lettuce per week, usually topped with a veggie proitein, but need to incorporate more colorful veggies into my diet.0
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I'm having a lot of the same struggles. I also frequently feel hungry. What's been helping me is not waiting until I'm starving before I eat. If I feel hunger coming on then I eat. But with that said I usually wait ~20mins to make sure that I am actually hungry and not just wanting food because I love it. I eat ~200 calories every couple hours. This way I feel like I'm always eating and satisfying my hunger but keeping it at 1,500calories per day. If I don't eat when I am hungry I quickly feel dizzy and get a head ache. But that is only when I really push myself to go several hours without my little snacks. Also, I plan yummy suppers so that way I have something to look forward to. Such as if I don't eat this now then I can have this later mentality. When I'm really in a bind and trying to hold out on eating I chug water. One this helps fill up your stomach, two neutralizes some of the burning from the stomach acid when it is empty, and three it ups your water intake. Wow this is getting to be a lot longer than intended! Haha. Anyways yea I eat small amount of food regularly and allow myself ~600cal supper to look forward to. I think since I've ate super large amounts for soooo many years now my stomach is stretched. With time I am hoping that smaller portions will allow it to adjust back to a normal level and my cravings won't be as intense. Oh and I agree what the previous people have said about volume. I just ate a salad that was ~200calories and that will last me a solid hour then I might have a 1/2cup of cottage cheese in a bit to get me some protein since it takes longer for your body to break it down. okay I'll end this now 1
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Get your thyroid treated properly, for starters.1
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »Get your thyroid treated properly, for starters.
This!! Plus stop spouting bad advise in other threads when you don't have a clue what you're doing.4 -
You're on the wrong diet. You should never be hungry on a diet. Eat more protein and fat and less carbs. See how you go
Eh, I may be reading this wrong, but it's okay to be hungry sometimes. As a severely obese individual I can't honestly remember the last time I was truly hungry. Easy access to food and low will power make it so that I never went multiple hours without eating. Being hungry is okay, starving is not.0 -
Mary_Anastasia wrote: »I'm ALWAYS hungry. I very rarely feel full, even if I've eaten over 3,000 calories (yes, it has been known to happen). My ex-bf even thought I might have some condition about it, but I always doubted it. Anyway, I finished my 500 calories lunch here at work and my stomach never stopped growling. It's 4 hours later and it's just getting louder What do you do when you have eaten what you should but your stomach won't quit complaining?
I used to have that problem as well. Eat more protein, more fiber. It will help. Those types of foods will keep you full and prevent your stomach from growling!0
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