I had a heavy, sumptuous meal lately. I was so full that I even skipped breakfast the next day. But by lunchtime I was craving a hearty meal again, even though I definitely didn’t need the food. It was like a hangover. Isn’t that completely illogical?
In: Biology
There’s a lot of things that affect your hunger signaling, but two big ones are
* the physical volume of what you are eating (this is why just eating more low-calorie-density fruits and vegetables causes some people to lose weight)
* [your need for incoming protein](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8620426/), as your body does not store aminos for too long
If you have a big meal, you will (usually) be satiated for longer, but 1. eventually you’ll have cleared out all the physical space in your stomach and 2. you won’t have ingested protein for an extended period of time, and these two together will make your hunger rebound with a vengeance.
Having a few slow-digesting, protein-rich snacks after a big meal helps keep hunger under control. It’s a decent trick to have on hand after having a big “cheat meal” with friends – you kind of just work through a couple protein bars and some fat-free Greek yogurt the next day, and then resume normal eating at dinner.
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