I’m a weight loss guru – here’s how common diet mistakes can STOP you losing weight
ARE you plagued by persistent hunger pangs?
A lot of the time, this is your body telling you it needs more food and you should listen to it.
But if your growling stomach is constant and uncomfortable - and making you 'hangry' to boot - chances are there's something more going on.
Diet guru Dr Michael Mosley - TV presenter, trained doctor and creator of rapid weight loss programme The Fast 800 - said there were a you might be feeling ravenous shortly after eating.
1. You're not getting the nutrients you need
You might be eating full meals, but if you're still getting hunger pangs after them, it could indicate you're not getting the right nutrients, Dr Mosley said.
For example, you might be eating too many refined carbs or too little protein, fat or fibre.
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The weight loss guru recommended sticking to a Mediterranean style diet to make sure you're consuming a mix of these.
Adding plenty of non-starchy vegetables to every meal will also help you to feel full and satisfied, Dr Mosley added.
These include leafy greens like kale, lettuce, cabbage and spinach, root veggies like carrots, celeriac and radishes, as well as squashes, and stalk veggies like asparagus and celery.
Dr Mosley recommended filling half your plate with vegetables.
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2. You're not getting enough sleep
Not getting enough sleep can make your appetite fluctuate, Dr Mosley wrote.
This because two hormones impacted by sleep - leptin and ghrelin - work together to manage appetite, he explained.
When you're sleep-deprived, leptin - a hormone that naturally reduces appetite - falls, while ghrelin - a hunger promoter - rises.
According to Dr Mosley, sleep deprivation can also make it harder to 'resist unhealthy food'.
The former doctor previously shared his five tips for getting to sleep faster.
3. You're not drinking enough water
It's pretty annoying to complain to someone that you're hungry, only to be told you should drink a glass of water.
But Dr Mosley said dehydration can sometimes be mistaken for hunger.
"Not only can dehydration lead to hunger throughout the day, but it can also lead to eating more at mealtimes," he wrote.
If you're feeling peckish even though you've just eaten, Dr Mosley recommended you have a glass of and then 'reassess your own hunger levels'.
Of course, never deprive yourself of food if you really are hungry.
Nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert recently told The Sun that setting overly prohibitive diet plans can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, or failure.
Far from aiding fat loss, grappling with these feelings might even cause you to overeat, she said.
Dr Mosley added that drinking alcohol that drinking alcohol could also be dehydrating you and making you feel hungrier.
4. You're rushing through your mealtimes
Dr Mosley wrote: "How many times have you raced through lunch while working, or eaten dinner in front of the TV, only to realise you’ve finished and you hadn’t even really processed the fact that you’d eaten it?
"Even if you consume a healthy, well-balanced meal with the right nutrients in it, if you’re distracted, your brain won’t have processed the meal in the same way."
He suggested you slow down and use your senses - sight, smell, texture, sound - to enjoy your food so that you 'eat with your mind and your body'.
He claimed doing this will make you feel less hungry after eating a decent meal.
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Dr Mosley previously shared three fruit you're eating that might be stopping you losing weight.