How to stop being always hungry

[m1st]

I'm 5'0" and walk anywhere between 25k-45k steps a day (between my running, commute, dog walking, trying to be active in instances where I would otherwise be sedentary, walking places since I don't have a car, etc) and I eat around 1,600 calories a day and weigh 99 pounds. I am not gaining or losing weight but I am always hungry. I don't think I'm in a deficit (since I am not losing weight) and drinking water and eating higher protein and high fiber (I am vegan and get a lot of fiber) and still just...obnoxiously hungry. I can eat up to 7 small meals a day (eating 3 large ones makes me feel nauseated).

Example day:
breakfast: Protein Shake (home made with two sources of protein), Overnight oats

lunch: Some grain or half a spaghetti squash with vegetables/jackfruit/tofu and a sauce or a smoothie bowl

snacks before dinner:
Protein Bar
some sort of fruit or carrots with hummus
crunchy chickpeas

Dinner: Homemade vegan pizza bagels/some version of lunch

dessert: almond milk yogurt and blueberries

Like...I really can eat this much and drink 24oz of water and coffee and I am still always hungry. The reason I eat so many snacks is because I'm hungry and it's to the point that I can't focus on work until I eat something. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I will say it's worse during the work week than it is on the weekends and I'm more active on the weekends than during the week usually cuz there's more free time. 

Anyone got any insight on how to get this under control? It's really ridiculous, debilitating and I'm at a loss.

[Glenda]

eat almonds  until you are not hungry.  Google soybean oil.  Soy products I've just learned including tofu is bad for you.  

[m1st]

Where did you hear tofu is bad for you? All the research I've read says otherwise. Soybean oil does not equate to tofu... They are both from soy, yes, but they are two different types of processes. Soy products aren't inherently bad... soy beans and edamame are a great source of protein. You're talking about like...refined oils and that has nothing to do with this and I don't eat processed junk with excess oil... I can't even digest high-fat foods. Almonds are super high calorie for only a few of them and not filling at all. 

[Dominique]

Most people are not active enough for their own good and eat too much in relation to their activity, which is a common reason for getting a Fitbit. You, OTOH, are at the other extremity of the spectrum: your activity level is unusually high and you are very close to being underweight for your height (BMI: 19.3). We don’t know your age, but even for a very thin, petite female, 1600 calories doesn’t seem much, given all the stepping.

What are the reasons for your high stepping:

1) you’re just the kind of person who is naturally very active and can’t stay in place

2) you feel you need to be that active for your fitness and health goals

3) you feel you need to push yourself to move that much in order to keep your weight under 100 lbs

Probably not what you want to hear, but I believe you would benefit from gaining a little bit, by easing up on the stepping and/or eating a little bit more. The hunger may be your body telling you you need to carry a little bit more fat for your own good (fat plays a big role in hormone regulation, and although carrying too much is not good for health, carrying too little can also have adverse effects).

Have you considered activities like yoga, meditation, weight lifting etc., to counterbalance your hyperactivity and have a more rounded fitness routine? Hunger is not purely physiological, it’s driven by the brain to a large extent. Hunger can also be symptomatic of an eating disorder.

[SunsetRunner]

You may not be getting enough fiber in your diet. Fiber helps with feeling fuller for longer. For some people, they may need extra help when fiber isn’t enough. You can try CLA. CLA is debatable at the moment on whether or not it truly has an impact on weight loss but there are many people that swear by it so it could possibly be dependent on the person. However, CLA does come from dairy and meat products so depending on how strict you are with your way of eating it may or may not be an option for you.

[moriahcat]

A lot of small meals is often better than three large ones, but I get why it can be annoying to be hungry all the time.

You're currently in the low-end of healthy for your height, but certainly still healthy.  It sounds like you are very active and you also eat high-quality foods, all good things.  You could probably eat more and not gain, but you're saying that with the quality of foods you are eating, if you up quantity it's making you sick.  Which becomes an issue, and not one I'd want to say to fix by "eat some junk food".

So I would presume there are no underlying health issues going on... but it doesn't hurt to get a checkup and just make sure there isn't something else that is causing the sensation of hunger when you're eating quite frequently.  

[moriahcat]

Two other thoughts:

One: It might not hurt to add a scheduled midmorning snack that has some additional carbs, like a piece of fruit since you seem to prefer a whole-foods diet, and a scheduled midafternoon snack of something similar, during the days at work when you're the most hungry.  You said fiber isn't your problem, and you seem to utilize a lot of additional protein sources to get vegan protein. 

Sometimes "hungry" is "my brain needs carbs", and since it's happening at work when you might not be using your body as much but are using your brain quite a bit... hopefully adding that to your current snacking won't cause you a problem, or not be easily digested since you said eating too much makes you nauseated.  It also isn't *that* much additional calories, just calories easily turned into brain fuel.

Two: I'm short and I know the Fitbit gives a very low calorie burn for short tiny people, but is it saying you're only averaging a burn of 1600 a day with all that stepping?  You may have a higher metabolism than the app is used to. 😉