Most common reason for this is thirst.

I used to get this sometimes. Turnes out my body doesn’t process fructose well. Look into FODMAPs if none of the other suggestions work for you (usually the FODMAP thing requires an elimination diet, I just lucked out due to weird circumstances)

Since my marriage started going downhill my need for treats far exceeds my natural hunger. So maybe you are eating your feelings like i do. Maybe not.

I feel this way often. I don’t eat very often, so I always figured I was hungry for more than I could physically eat at once.

How’s your water intake? Sometimes the thirst signal gets confused.

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This might be relevant, but I was like this for almost my entire life until my 30s. Found out I have a kidney disorder that makes me lose potassium way too fast. Started treating that and most cravings went away.

My takeaway was that cravings can be driven by nutritional deficiencies. Figure out what you’re missing and eat more of that, or supplement. The cravings can also be totally wrong about what to eat. I would crave purely salty stuff but what I actually needed were bananas, avocados, and strawberries (bc they’re crazy high in potassium). A lot of the foods I craved were actively worse for my cravings (very starchy foods lower potassium levels; worst offenders are pizza and alcohol).

I’m not saying you have my specific thing, it’s crazy rare; all bodies are unique, however, and yours might be missing something. Keep an eagle eye on what you actually consume and try to correlate cravings to your eating habits.

Completely unrelated, but if you have ADHD you may have also ingrained the “food=dopamine” correlation deep into your psyche. People often use food to regulate their mood unwittingly and it becomes a destructive habit.

Sometimes it can be both of these things. So good luck and godspeed.

Some possible reasons:

Nutritional factors:

• Lack of protein, fiber, or healthy fats, which help promote satiety

• Highly processed foods that are calorie-dense but nutrient-poor

• Blood sugar spikes and crashes from refined carbohydrates

• Insufficient micronutrients, though this is less likely to cause immediate hunger

Other common causes:

• Dehydration - thirst is sometimes mistaken for hunger

• Habit or routine - eating at certain times regardless of actual hunger

• Emotional eating - stress, boredom, or other emotions triggering food cravings

• Sleep deprivation - disrupts hormones that regulate hunger (ghrelin and leptin)

• Eating too quickly - not giving your brain time to register fullness (takes about 20 minutes)

• Certain medications or medical conditions

Food composition matters: Foods high in protein, fiber, and healthy fats tend to keep you satisfied longer, while foods high in refined sugars and simple carbs can leave you feeling hungry soon after eating, even if you consumed plenty of calories.

If this is happening regularly, it might be worth tracking what you eat and how you feel afterward to identify patterns, or consulting with a healthcare provider if you’re concerned about underlying issues.

a lot of the time if i am feeling hungry but just ate i think what is happening is that i am a bit dehydrated from forgetting to drink enough water during the day, so i will focus on drinking water for a while and if i am still hungry after a couple hours i might grab a snack. but quite often it’s the water thing for me and i need no snack, just sips!

Yeah I’ve felt similarly before. I agree with the other though, drinking more water helps.

Yes, it’s why I’m fat

Are you high?

I agree with everyone saying its thirst. Drink a big glass of water.

I get food cravings while full, but that’s what gum is for.