It’s actually very complex and depends on hormones released by your body, your mood, your environment, how full your stomach is, your genetics, the macronutrients in the food and how quickly they are digested and even what time of day it is!
We all know that feeling of yes, being full, then someone offers you a delicious looking desert, and suddenly you have room for it. Or eating something snacky while you are distracted and you can completely overeat and be unaware of it.
Hormones like Ghrelin and Leptin can make you feel hungry or full, sensors in the stomach can tell you how full your body is, delicious smells and sights can trigger a hungry response etc
Protein, fat, and fiber take longer to digest. Drop a cracker (carbs) in a glass of water and watch it disintegrate. Now drop a bite-sized piece of steak in there and watch it just sit there. Stomach acid is more powerful than water, but the concept is similar. That harder to digest food will keep you feeling full longer.
Low carb foods also don’t create an insulin spike (the crash is really the problem, but you can’t have a crash if you don’t have the spike), so hunger is more gradual than sudden, so you don’t notice it as much.
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