Ever wonder if you happen to’re actually hungry? This blog post takes a deep dive into hunger cues: the 4 sorts of hunger, 8 signs of hunger to look at for, a scale to assist determine your degree of hunger, and background on the way you’ve been conditioned to mistrust your hunger cues.

Do you ever query whether or not you’re actually hungry? 

Do you ever second-guess your hunger? Wondering if it’s something else? Doubting that you could possibly actually be hungry?

Do you ever end up ravenous by the point you sit right down to eat? Do you struggle to note hunger until it’s too late?

For those who answered yes to any of the above questions, this post about signs of hunger is for you!

We’ve been conditioned to mistrust hunger

Hunger is a natural physiological cue that alerts us when it’s time to eat. When your stomach is empty, it produces ghrelin, a hormone that travels through the bloodstream to the a part of the brain (hypothalamus) that regulates hunger (amongst other physical functions).

Once you were young (before you were conditioned by weight loss program culture), you almost certainly noticed hunger signals and also you responded to them by eating. It wasn’t all that complicated.

But somewhere along the best way, you were taught to override your hunger signals. That if you happen to were hungry on a regular basis, it meant you had willpower.

You were taught that hunger could easily be mistaken for thirst and that it’s best to just drink a number of water as an alternative of eating.

You were taught that you almost certainly weren’t physically hungry, it was just all in your head.

You began to mistrust your hunger. You began to fear your hunger. And perhaps sooner or later you stopped noticing hunger.

Diet culture does a beautiful job at convincing you that hunger is a nasty thing. That you want to override what your body is telling you in an try and reduce weight. It tells you that you just are “doing it right” if you happen to’re hungry on a regular basis.

Diet culture is an effing liar. It disconnects you out of your body’s wisdom. It makes you think that your body can’t be trusted.

Let me ask you this to place things into perspective: Have you ever ever been taught to second guess your body’s cue to go pee? Have you ever ever been told that you could have a lot willpower if you happen to fight the urge to go pee? Have you ever ever been conditioned to fear the urge to pee?

No, in fact you haven’t! That may be ridiculous. Because relieving yourself is morally neutral. Whereas hunger is a loaded cue.

But hunger and the urge to pee are each inherently neutral physiological signals – it’s just that our culture has attached meaning to at least one and never to the opposite.

4 Forms of Hunger: Physical, Emotional, Taste, and Practical

Physical Hunger

Physical Hunger starts out gradual and builds over time. This can be a style of hunger you’ll feel via bodily sensations like a grumbling stomach, inability to focus, salivating, and it’s generally satisfied by eating enough.

Emotional Hunger

Emotional hunger gets a nasty rep. We’ve been taught that emotional eating is “bad” but emotional eating is a really normal a part of being a human being. Food is supposed to be pleasurable and comforting – if it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be as inclined to eat (see more in this text I wrote for SHAPE.com on emotional eating)

Emotional eating comes on faster than physical hunger and you would possibly have a taste for something specific (i.e. a comfort food). Emotional eating only becomes problematic if it’s the one tool you could have in your tool belt for coping with emotions.

Taste Hunger

Taste hunger is when you could have a taste for something very specific. This may be known as a craving. Taste hunger can overlap with emotional hunger however it doesn’t should. You is perhaps having an emotionally neutral day but still have a taste for something specific.

Taste hunger may also overlap with physical hunger however it doesn’t should. Let’s say you’re noticing physical hunger and you might be craving a turkey sandwich – that’s each taste and physical hunger. Let’s say you simply finished dinner and you could have a craving for some chocolate – that’s taste hunger.

Practical Hunger

This can also be referred to within the Intuitive Eating book as eating as an act of self-care. Practical hunger is if you’re not physically hungry – yet – but you want to eat something due to if you likely will get hungry and food may not be accessible at the moment.

An ideal example is you could have class at 9am and also you’re not allowed to eat during class. You get up at 8am and also you’re not hungry yet but that by 9am you will probably be hungry. As an act of self-care, you eat at 8:30am before heading out the door so that you just’re not ravenous by the tip of sophistication.

8 Signs of Physical Hunger

Most individuals consider hunger as residing within the stomach and struggle to note other subtle (or not-so-subtle) signs and symptoms of hunger. Listed here are another signs that may mean you’re hungry! A few of these signs overlap with signs it’s possible you’ll not be eating enough.

1. Stomach gnawing, grumbling, feeling empty

Many individuals recognize feeling hunger of their stomach – you would possibly hear some growling or sense some grumbling. Perhaps you are feeling an ache or gnawing in your stomach or you could have a way that your stomach feels empty.

2. Headache

When you find yourself hungry, typically your blood sugar is low since you haven’t eaten shortly – low blood sugar levels may end up in headaches.

3. Inability to focus / concentrate

When your brain isn’t well nourished, it could feel difficult to focus on work or give attention to the duty at hand. You furthermore may might end up fascinated by food, which makes it hard to pay attention.

4. Feeling Irritable

Hanger is for reallllll. For those who’ve ever snapped at your partner or friend if you were hungry, you’re not alone. Been there, done that. When blood sugar levels are low, it’s common to experience some irritability or anger (hanger!).

5. Anxious

For others, low blood sugar can manifest as anxiety. Perhaps you begin to get shaky or sweaty or your heart starts to race otherwise you begin to ruminate – these could all be signs of hunger.

6. Dizzy or lightheaded

This is normally a hunger sign meaning you’re past the purpose of gentle hunger (see hunger scale below). For those who’re feeling dizzy or lightheaded, you almost certainly missed a more subtle hunger cue along the best way.

7. Fatigue

Perhaps you didn’t sleep well the night before…or perhaps you’re just hungry? You’ve probably heard of parents reaching for that second (or third) cup of coffee (or perhaps that’s you!) to combat the mid-afternoon slump. But what in case your body is definitely hungry mid-afternoon and it needs nourishment, not only caffeine? Not having enough fuel within the tank by way of energy from calories could cause you to feel drained and sluggish.

8. Salivating

Our body produces extra saliva in response to hunger. Ever notice how you would possibly have more saliva if you smell a batch of freshly baked cookies coming out of the oven? That’s your body’s way of preparing to eat!  

So how do if all of those symptoms are a results of hunger or something else? You begin to concentrate with curiosity and start to note patterns over time.

For those who notice any of those symptoms, try asking yourself “is it possible that I could possibly be experiencing physical hunger right away?” “When is the last time I had something to eat?”

How hungry are you?

Have you ever ever seen a hunger / fullness scale? This could be a helpful tool to clue you into just how hungry you might be.

Ideally you wish to be eating around a 3-4 on the hunger scale. For those who’re eating at a 1 or a 2, you’re overly hungry, and also you is perhaps more prone to eat past comfortable fullness, and sure won’t have the ability to really enjoy what you’re eating.

Other Reasons Hunger Might Not Be Accessible

Diet culture interferes with our ability to honor our hunger but for others it may not be nearly cultural conditioning.

Folks who’re neurodivergent and people with histories of trauma that make it difficult to attach with the body could have a harder time noticing hunger cues. For these folks, practical hunger and eating in response to the clock or as an act of self-care would be the most nourishing alternative. 

I hope you found this post helpful! For those who did, please leave a comment below. I’d love to listen to from you! 

For those who liked this post, try a few of my other related Intuitive Eating blog posts:

Are you on the hunger fullness weight loss program?

Am I eating enough? 8 signs it’s possible you’ll be undereating

The beginner’s guide to Intuitive Eating

Top 10 Intuitive Eating books to make it easier to heal your relationship with food