Strong appetite causes in women. Causes of increased appetite

The weight loss portal “We lose weight without problems” writes every day about how to follow a diet. And many women claim that a strict diet causes only feeling constant hunger. Today we will talk about the causes of increased appetite in women. Moreover, in some situations it can be a serious problem. You may have to reconsider your own diet or undergo an examination.

Thyroid hormones

increased appetite may indicate an overabundance of hormones thyroid gland. Let's figure it out. Thyroid important for human body, because it produces hormones that control the rate of all metabolic processes.

When the amount of thyroid hormones changes, a person’s mood worsens, weight changes, a woman feels bad, she literally wakes up.

Main danger in this case, suspicion of DTG, or diffuse toxic goiter. In this condition, hormones are produced in larger quantities than necessary. And because of this, there is an increased appetite. Plus to this:

• increased heart rate,
• constant sweating,
• feeling tired,
• temperature rise,
• trembling in the hands.

A characteristic feature is that although a person has an increased appetite, and a woman eats too much, her weight does not increase. Because an excess of thyroid hormones leads to an acceleration of metabolic processes and energy expenditure.

Someone proudly remarks: "I eat and do not get fat", "Yes, I am a witch." But you need to think about the reasons for the increased appetite in such a woman. This is nothing to be proud of.

The reason is constant stress.

Another reason that a woman experiences increased appetite is chronic stress. In order to understand these mechanisms, you need to dig not just into the processes occurring in the body, but a little further, into the mists of time. Now it will become clearer.

Living beings have a self-preservation system. And when danger threatens, this system is activated. With a surge of stress hormones, a woman, and even a man, seeks to more actively deal with threatening circumstances or run away from danger. For example, all this worked perfectly at the dawn of civilization, it helped to survive. Now, the activation of the self-preservation system occurs during stress, and due to high concentrations of stress hormones, the body is forced to store energy. Hence the increased appetite.

What other signs may indicate that the causes of increased appetite in a woman are precisely in chronic stress? Immunity is undermined. The woman gets sick more often. It is worth reconsidering life, eliminating all the experiences that provoke such an insatiable and constant ..

Another reason is sadness.

Eating helps to increase the concentration of serotonin in the body. And he is responsible for the mood. Therefore, some people involuntarily experience an increased appetite when they feel sad.

But food improves mood only by short term. If irritability has been occurring for several weeks, then it may be depression. Do not break the usual rhythm of nutrition, do not exceed portions, do not abuse "harmful" foods. All this will also lead to weight gain, and this will definitely not have a good effect on the mood. But with a high probability it will affect the health and relationships in the family.

Check the concentration of glucose in the body

Some diseases are fraught with the fact that despite increased amount glucose in the blood, the tissues of the body are not able to use it, so the woman constantly feels a lack of energy. Often this on its own at home is qualified as diabetes. But the reason for this condition is not one, there may be several. The mechanisms of development also differ, in accordance with them, and measures of therapy. We will not discuss this in detail now, because better than a doctor no one can make an accurate diagnosis.

The main conclusion from this can be drawn as follows. If, in addition to increased hunger, a person experiences constant thirst, frequent urination, then this may indicate diabetes, and you need to go to the doctor.

Now we have briefly analyzed what happens when the concentration of glucose is too high. But it also happens flip side» medals when blood sugar is low. Because of this, there is also an increased appetite, also due to the fact that the tissues do not receive enough sugar.

This state cannot be started. If you do not seek professional help in time medical care to increase the concentration of glucose, confusion will occur, sticky sweat, the person will suffer from dizziness and experience a constant feeling of fear.

Pregnancy

Another reason is pregnancy. And this is due not only to the fact that the child is developing, and he needs more energy. And also female body creates a store of energy that will be required for feeding after birth.

It is important here not to increase portions too much. That is, "eat for two" is not necessary. It is worth adding, on the advice of gynecologists, no more than 500 grams per week for 2-3 trimesters. But this is not counting the problems with weight that a woman could have before conception. Then - no more than 300 gr.

PMS

This is another reason. And one of the signs premenstrual syndrome- increased appetite. Plus to fatigue, irritability. Worth going to healthy eating and during the cycle dosed to do sports. This will significantly improve the quality of life. If this does not help, then you need to seek advice from a gynecologist.

What other reasons could there be?

Sometimes the reasons are as follows:

• reception medicines- sedatives, sleeping pills, antidepressants, they can increase the feeling of hunger;
• malignant tumors - with them, corticosteroids and glucose increase in the blood.

Do not be afraid and immediately self-diagnose yourself severe conditions. But you need to see a doctor if you don't get help. various ways decrease in appetite.

It seems to me that each of us has experienced increased appetite at some time in our lives. For someone it goes away in a couple of days and is forgotten for a long time, for someone this is a systematic phenomenon ...

Some girls are so immersed in the fight against increased appetite that they already perceive the usual need for food negatively. The result is anorexia. Not just a loud frightening word, but a real disease that leads to a complete failure of metabolism and the psyche, and sometimes to lethal outcome. Therefore ... everything is good in moderation!

And most importantly, before you fight with anything, you need to find out the cause. Without knowing it, you can pick up the wrong key to solve the problem and only aggravate the situation. So, let's try to understand the reasons that are most common.

1. Change hormonal balance

Hormones play a rather large role in our lives, and here we, women, have a hard time at all. Any change - a certain phase of the cycle or its failure, not to mention pregnancy or menopause, can backfire with increased appetite.

In PMS time it is very difficult to control oneself both in terms of food and in terms of increased irritability. Of course, if these symptoms have become overwhelming, you need to contact a gynecologist to adjust the hormonal balance.

In less severe cases, such intervention is not required. However ... you need to “turn on” your willpower, which is far from being possible for everyone and not always. There is no need to starve yourself at this time, you will only make it worse.

But letting the situation go by itself is also not an option. If, with a sudden desire to have a snack closer to the night, it is impossible to replace the chocolate bar with an orange or an apple, then you can afford your favorite sweetness, but in reasonable quantities.

2. Stress, emotional overload

During strong emotional upheavals, there can be two reactions - either you can’t eat anything at all, or you eat a lot and the most delicious (and often harmful). Both are equally bad. In the context of this topic, I consider the second option.

If increased appetite is caused precisely by this reason, then diets are completely useless. Efforts should be directed in a completely different direction - moderate physical exercise, massage, alternating active and passive rest, perhaps - a consultation with a psychologist or psychotherapist.

However, if strong stressful situations are a permanent factor, these measures will only have a temporary effect. And for serious shifts, cardinal changes in life will be required, which we cannot always organize. But… in any case, sooner or later we will have to learn to change our attitude to those situations in which we are powerless. Without this, no way...

3. Spikes in blood sugar

If there are no other explainable reasons, and increased appetite worries, you need to take tests for blood sugar levels. And even better, if possible, buy a glucometer and follow the readings for a couple of weeks - from the morning before meals and 1.5-2 hours after eating.

Sugar spikes are very dangerous. First, they threaten acquired diabetes (type II), if it is not yet. Secondly, they have an extremely negative impact on the entire vascular system with all the consequences...

The main thing is not to start your problems, but to solve them as they come, so as not to turn them into a huge tangle from which it will be impossible to get out...

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Metabolic Causes of Excessive Appetite

Low sensitivity (tolerance) to leptin

Leptin is a hormone evocative saturation, is synthesized by adipose tissue. However, if long time support high level leptin, it develops tolerance (insensitivity). Accordingly, the body "thinks" that there is not enough food, despite the fact that in fact it is in excess. It usually occurs in obese people. Many obese people are hungry all the time, no matter how much they just ate. Symptoms:

• Rapid weight gain, mostly fat.
• Bad mood, low energy.
• Restless sleep.
• Sweating.
• The feeling of hunger can be muffled, but not completely eliminated.
• You cannot go 5-6 hours without food.
• After waking up, you feel overwhelmed.

The goal is to reduce the level of leptin, then the sensitivity to it will gradually increase, and the appetite will return to normal. What to do for this?

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism - insufficient secretion thyroid hormones - thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which regulate the metabolic rate. With hypothyroidism, it slows down. This is one that also increases the amount of leptin in the blood. Diagnosis - analysis of thyroid hormones. Treatment - at the doctor-endocrinologist. It usually consists of taking thyroid hormones.

hypogonadism

Hypogonadism - underproduction androgens, especially testosterone. Androgens also normalize the secretion of leptin, and without them, its level rises. It also slows down the metabolism and increases the level of estrogen in the blood, which stimulates obesity and increases appetite even more, while especially drawn to sweets. As a result, the amount of muscle is rapidly reduced, and fat is growing. At the same time, appetite gradually increases more and more. Diagnosis - get tested for sex hormones. Treatment - only with an endocrinologist.

Elevated prolactin

Prolactin is a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland. Prolactin is most commonly elevated due to contraceptives, pregnancy (this will be considered the norm), as a result of taking AAS (androgenic-anabolic steroids). Among other effects, it gives water retention in the body, stimulates the accumulation of fat, increases appetite, especially cravings for carbohydrates. Increases the secretion of leptin. Symptoms:

• whiny mood
• want sweets;
• reduced libido;
• irritability;
• edema.

Lack of water

Extremely common cause insatiable hunger. Areas of the brain responsible for eating behavior often confuse thirst and hunger. Drink 30-40 grams of pure water per 1 kg of weight per day.

electrolyte deficiency

In this case, your body is struggling to make up for them, and for this it tries to consume as much food as possible. The solution to this problem is very simple - drink a lot mineral water several days or weeks. It is very simple to choose the one that is right for you in terms of composition - it will seem tastier than others. Try different varieties and find the one that suits you.

vitamin deficiency

Similar to the previous case. The body needs vitamins, and it tries to get them from where it can. The solution is to take a vitamin-mineral complex, preferably in double - triple dosages, in order to remove the deficiency quickly.

Psychological causes of excessive appetite

For many people, the response is a feeling of hunger. There is only one way out - get rid of stress, relax more. Sleep at least 8 hours a day. Limit your internet and TV viewing. It is also useful to receive nootropic drugs. Address to the psychologist or the neuropathologist.

Lack of control over diet

Simply put, the habit is to eat a lot. Extremely widespread. The way out of this situation is to calculate in advance what, how much and when you will eat. At the same time, it is very useful to prepare all the food for the day in advance and pack it in portions. Effectiveness for weight loss subject to the regimen and proper diet- absolute.

FROM overweight ladies fight by any means: respect strict diet, sweat in the gym, run in the morning, take miraculous pills to burn fat. Many women also believe that their increased appetite is to blame, and they try to deceive it by any means that are not always effective and safe. Meanwhile, before being offended by your appetite, you should think about where it comes from and what appetite is in general.

What is appetite

We need appetite: without it, normal regulation of the body's intake of nutrients contained in a particular food would not be possible. In addition, it is the appetite that contributes to the normal digestion and assimilation of food, stimulating the production of saliva and gastric juice.

A good appetite, as psychologists have noticed, suggests that everything is fine and safe in a person’s life. Conversely, appetite disorders may indicate that a person is sick, his nervous or endocrine system, gastrointestinal tract weakened immune system. So for starters, it’s better to figure out what are the reasons for the increased, and sometimes just brutal appetite, and only then draw conclusions and look for ways to deal with it.

Causes of increased appetite

One of the main reasons for increased appetite are violations carbohydrate metabolism. They are often the reason excess weight and obesity. In such cases, we are drawn to those foods that have a lot of carbohydrates, and not “good”, but “bad”.

it White bread, pies, pizza, pasta made from white flour, potatoes, white rice, sweets and soft drinks with high content Sahara. Blood glucose levels rise quickly when we eat these foods.

Insulin is released into the blood - after all, the body somehow needs to bring this level back to normal, and it releases insulin in excess, so that the glucose level drops greatly. Due to a strong decrease in glucose levels, the brain again receives a signal that it is necessary to eat. Here you have a vicious circle, and violations of carbohydrate metabolism, and in general a disturbed metabolism ...

What happens in the body with such disorders? First, an excess of calories accumulates; Secondly, insulin promotes the production more fat, and the breakdown of this fat is blocked. This is where the increase in body weight, and persistent.

What to do with it, and how to break out of the circle? Probably, you need to make an effort in order to bring the level of glucose in the body back to normal.

Carbohydrate metabolism is not disturbed immediately, but after we have been torturing our body for years with improper and irrational nutrition, overwork, stress, we move little and generally do not give a damn about ourselves.

Therefore, the body, and hence the appetite, should be brought back to normal in all these areas of life and life.

By the way, British scientists believe that foods with a low glycemic index - vegetables, fruits and milk, reduce appetite, and foods with a high index increase it - sweets, white bread, cereals. Glycemic index decides how carbohydrates will affect blood glucose levels, and which hormones will be produced - reducing appetite or increasing.

Power correction. How to reduce appetite

Let's start with the correction of nutrition. Stop starting your meal with fatty, refined, fried and boiled foods. Such products are digested slowly, and heaviness is felt for a long time in the stomach. Do not eat incompatible foods and a variety of dishes at one meal, as they also make digestion very difficult, and food can lie in the stomach for hours.

Do not drink immediately after a meal. undigested food leaves the stomach with water or tea, and does not have time to be absorbed by the body. There is no saturation, the person feels hungry, and again starts eating.

The next thing to do is to stop overworking your body. If we overwork, then all the vitamins, minerals, trace elements literally leave the body like an avalanche, the cells begin to starve, it becomes difficult to digest food, and we are more hungry.

Cleansing of toxins, at least at the level of the intestines, also helps to reduce appetite. If the intestines are slagged, then its villi are clogged and cannot work normally, digesting food and absorbing nutrients. More than 70% of the food in this case goes to the toilet - rude, but true. And of course, if the food is again not digested, we tend to eat more often and more.

Psychological reasons also play a role in increasing appetite. When we are only at work and at home, we move and communicate a little, we do not experience bright positive emotions, then we start replacing them delicious food. Food can distract from sad thoughts, drown out stress, and temporarily lift your spirits. If we think about other things while eating, and even more so if we eat near a computer or TV, the chances of overeating increase greatly.

Problems in personal life also provoke increased appetite. If a person lacks love and attention, then the use of sweets may involuntarily increase: the fact is that sweets affect a certain center in the brain, and it seems to us that we experience satisfaction.

Haste while eating is also not in last place: after all, when we eat quickly, we swallow in large pieces, the food is poorly digested, poorly digested and absorbed. As a result, the brain does not receive a timely signal that we are full, which means that we eat more than we need.

There are others causes of increased appetite which can be called psychological. From childhood, a child is intimidated with threats and punishments if he refuses to finish eating everything that is offered to him. If parents watched their children more carefully, they could learn a lot of interesting things.

It turns out that children up to a certain age have an almost unerring intuition about food, and will not overeat, or eat what they do not need, unless they are forced to.

A simple example: many parents notice that children often eat one of the traditional dishes - dumplings, as they say, in their own way - first the dough, and then the meat balls. The child cannot know that the dough is digested in the lower sections digestive tract, and meat is in the top, but intuitively separates them according to the principle of product compatibility.

The psychological reason can also be considered the reluctance to offend the hosts when you are invited to a richly laid table, on which there are a lot of various and delicious meals. Fans of visiting should immediately decide why they are doing it: out of a desire to chat or in order to treat themselves to delicious food. Both are possible, but still plentiful feasts do not contribute to decreased appetite and healthy weight.

Foods that reduce appetite

What foods can reduce appetite? Of course, sweets, but you should be more careful with them: just eat a couple of slices of chocolate, a small candy or mint candy without sugar, and the feeling of hunger will recede. Do not try to snack on a bun or a cookie: if this becomes a habit, then excess weight cannot be avoided. It is better to eat carrots or a couple of tomatoes - without salt.

A sip of low-fat milk, half an apple, a handful of dried fruits will also help reduce appetite, and if you eat a piece of low-fat chicken with vegetables and herbs for lunch, and yogurt without sugar for dessert, then you will get fewer calories and hunger will not torment you until the next meal food.

Add to list appetite suppressant products, also includes lean fish, kefir, cocoa and freshly squeezed citrus juice. Between meals, drink a glass of low-fat milk, and during lunch or dinner you will not be in danger of overeating.

What to do if you overeat

If, nevertheless, you overate, for example, at a party, then do not punish yourself for this. Better go for a walk in the air, do some leisurely, slow exercises, stretch and breathe. Movement will help the digestion of food, and it will quickly leave the stomach in lower divisions digestive tract. lie with full stomach should not be: food can stagnate, and this will be the beginning of a chronic disease.

In the evening try to make an enema and drink herbal tea or unsweetened juice. Accept cold and hot shower and dry off with a rough towel.

In the morning, after waking up, immediately drink a glass of water with honey, and do a warm-up, gently stretching the abdominal muscles. For breakfast, eat semi-liquid porridge, and walk for half an hour so that the porridge can move down and help bowel movements.

All day you will have to eat light food - fruits and vegetables, and it is best to drink ordinary clean water- then the walls of the intestines will be well cleansed of the remnants of yesterday's intemperance.

And of course, the consequences of overeating will serve as a lesson to you: now you will eat no more than necessary, and forever maintain your health and beautiful figure!

Constant overeating leads to only one thing - distended stomach and overweight. If the stomach is stretched, then getting rid of the habit of eating a lot will be quite difficult, because the body requires enough food to satiate. Cause of increased appetite not at all in the absence of will power or intemperance or in the bad habit of eating at night. All this, of course, plays a role, but the real causes are more serious and they require treatment, not overeating. What diseases make women eat more than they need at breakfast, lunch and dinner?

sleep deprivation

According to the latest medical data, one of reasons for increased appetite lies in lack of sleep. It's not just the number of hours you get to sleep that matters, but the quality of your sleep as well. Sleep should not be restless, jerky, superficial. Two hormones are responsible for the feeling of hunger in the body: leptin and ghrelin. Leptin suppresses the feeling of hunger, the second causes brutal appetite. With lack of sleep, the production of the “bad” hormone increases and the “good” one decreases. A sleepless person does not need a light snack before lunch with yogurt or fruit, he needs fatty, carbohydrate, heavy food.

How to fight

need to be eliminated reason for increased appetite by teaching the body. You need to sleep 8-9 hours a day, while about 6-7 hours should fall on night sleep. For those young ladies who do not get enough sleep out of habit, it will not be difficult to rebuild their body:

2. You need to go to bed early.

3. Don't eat a lot before bed.

At serious disorders sleep will come to the rescue modern drugs from insomnia. But you can try to use natural remedies, for example, chamomile tea for the night. During the recovery period of your "sleep" mode, it is important to reduce the amount of food consumed. Help the following tricks decreased appetite:

1. At each meal, you need to put on a plate only half of your usual norm. If after half an hour the feeling of hunger does not go away, then you can put an additive.

2. In the morning and at lunch, you need to eat lean meat, which helps reduce appetite.

3. Food should be chewed thoroughly and not swallowed. This helps to stop in time, feeling full.

4. Physical activity will help reduce appetite. Burning calories also contributes to the normalization of sleep. It is best to resort to the help of not intense, but long-term activities: running, walking, swimming, cycling.

Stress

Nutritionists have come to the conclusion that women who are often exposed to stress are 2 times more prone to increased appetite and excess weight. Depression, howreason for increased appetite may be related to being overweight. Gaining excess weight leads to a decrease physical activity. For the next eaten piece of cake, the woman begins to reproach herself. Guilt leads to stress, and stress leads to prolonged depression. fat people often subject to public criticism, which reduces self-esteem. In order not to feel constantly depressed, plump women start eating more sweets. As you know, sweet foods produce the hormone of happiness.

How to fight

You can get rid of extra pounds if you overcome depression. You can resort to the help of a professional psychotherapist, pills, or a combination of several methods. You just need to prepare that the treatment can take about six months. After the normalization of appetite, you can start to lose weight: sit down and do fitness. Dietary recommendations for women with increased appetite:

1. To overcome the addiction to sweets, you need to set aside a certain amount of sweets for yourself. It is advisable to eat one type of sweet product, for example, a spoonful of sugar per day, sweet cheese or cottage cheese.

2. You can completely give up sweets in one day. But the effect will be only if you hold out for about 1 month. During this time, a restructuring of the body will occur.

3. The level of carbohydrate food can be left in the same amount, but only spend the received calories completely. To do this, you have to practice.

Polycystic ovaries

In particular, polycystic ovary syndrome is one of the causes of increased appetite. Due to a number of factors, including heredity, ovarian cells do not respond as well to insulin. As a result, the cells do not receive the main nutrient- glucose. The brain receives a signal from the organs that they are hungry. As a result, the woman feels a strong sense of hunger.

How to fight

Only an examination will help get rid of increased appetite. Once diagnosed with insulin insensitivity, the doctor prescribes treatment. The correct reaction of cells is produced by taking special drugs. The course of treatment normalizes appetite. Taking dietary supplements and vitamins will also help solve the problem. It is possible to combine the course of treatment with regular exercise. With polycystic, a special diet is recommended, which involves limiting sweets, fatty foods, including more vegetables and fruits in the diet. The last dinner should be no later than 3-4 hours before bedtime, otherwise hormonal disorders only intensify.