Why do I get hungry every two-three hours?

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I've noticed that no matter what I eat or how much I eat, I get hungry pretty much every two hours, or sometimes every three (if I'm lucky), and I was wondering if anyone has any ideas what could cause this? Is it a high metabolism? I understand that certain foods leave people feeling fuller for longer etc and I have experimented with lots of different meals but always with the same result… I'm hungry again in about two hours! Take tonight, for example, I had a quorn cottage pie (so lots of protein) with loads of cauliflower and broccoli at 7pm and now at 9pm I am thinking about food again and feeling like I need to eat. My body just doesn't seem to remember that it had a huge meal two hours ago!

If anyone looks back through my posts they’ll see I have an eating disorder so I just want to say here that I get this hunger even if I have been eating normally and I have been this way for as long as I can remember (so even when I didn't have an eating disorder).

I find it annoying because sometimes I don’t want to eat but a lot of the time it is impossible to ignore. If I eat every two hours then it feels as if I'm eating a huge amount and that causes me a lot of anxiety because of my eating disorder.

How old are you?


Plus, it's perfectly fine to eat 6-7 times a day every couple of hours. (But then of course less food).

I'm 27.

Also, don't know if it matters but I'm female and very small -- I'm a little over 5 feet (but not quite 5 feet 1). I weigh around 39-40kg currently but have an eating disorder. However, I have always been very slim. But despite all this, I seem to need a huge amount of food. I don't get it.

Actually they say that eating every two or three hours is ideal for keeping the metabolism burning healthily. Little and often is supposed to be optimal.

The key to staying satisfied for most people is eating adequate amounts of fat.

I like to keep low fat string cheese snacks around for this very reason. Eating one every few hours could help keep your metabolism up, give you a boost of protein which keeps you full longer and a little bit of the fat your body needs to transport certain vitamins and nutrients.
It's ok to eat whenever you get hungry. A big salad, a piece of low fat cheese or even a small handful of nuts. Don't think of it as food. For people with an eating disorder "food" can be a four letter word, I know. Think of it as body fuel. You can't run your car all day on a teaspoon of gas. Allowing your body the fuel it needs to run it's basic life support systems is perfectly reasonable.

Thanks for all the responses. I was not aware eating so frequently is favourable. I just find it inconvenient and anxiety-provoking! It makes me feel as if I'm eating huge amounts.