O ur bodies have this incredible ability to send us signals or cues when one of our needs is not met, such as thirst, sleepiness, and hunger. Hunger is described as “a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by a lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat”. When we think of hunger in this way, we often only associate it with physical hunger, but we may also feel a desire to eat without being physically hungry.
Unfortunately, diet culture tells us that we should only eat when physically hungry and sometimes not even then, for example with intermittent fasting! It’s important to realize that responding to hunger builds trust with your body and meets your basic human needs. It is also very common and normal to eat for reasons that have nothing to do with physical hunger. Let’s explore the different types of hunger we may experience so that we can better understand our motivations for eating throughout the day, what we are feeling, and how to truly give our bodies what they need. When starting out, take a moment to identify which of the following hungers you are experiencing when you reach for a meal or snack.
Physical Hunger
This type of hunger is your body’s way of letting you know that it needs energy/fuel from food.
Possible signs that you may be physically hungry:
How to address it:
It's important to note that if you are not used to eating regularly or eating enough throughout the day, your physical hunger cues may be absent or unreliable. If you often don't feel physically hungry, this doesn't necesarily mean that your body doesn't need fuel, it means that we might need to rely more on practical hunger until our physical hunger cues return - learn more about practical hunger below.
If we ignore physical hunger for too long, it can result in more significant symptoms, such as feeling lightheaded, nauseated, irritable, weak, tired, or dizzy. Putting it off for too long can also result in increased cravings for refined carbohydrates, resorting to the next available food item to suppress the discomfort, regardless of what that may be or how that food makes you feel, and/or overeating at the next meal or snack.
Mouth Hunger
Good ol’ cravings, most of us know them well. Your body’s main need here is satisfaction, pleasure and enjoyment. Mouth hunger is driven by the taste and texture of foods. Diet culture tells us that cravings are a bad thing and that giving into your cravings is a sign of weakness or lack of motivation. It's important to know that responding to cravings is not a bad thing and I actually encourage it! Restricting, controlling and avoiding your favourite foods or the foods that you are craving often backfires. It may result in more intense cravings, eating a bunch of alternative foods that aren’t as satisfying, or feeling out of control around that particular food, ultimately eating more than what would have made you feel good.
Signs that you may be experiencing mouth hunger (cravings):
How to address it:
Emotional Hunger
That “I just need a cookie” to get through this stressful workday or “let’s see what else is in the fridge” walk to the kitchen because you’re bored-type hunger. Emotional hunger is when we use food to comfort, distract, numb, avoid, or cope with a negative or unwanted emotion.
Signs that it may be emotional hunger:
How to address it:
Practical Hunger
This one is a little bit more obvious as we may not feel hungry, have a specific craving, or be using food to cope with our emotions, but we may be eating because it is practical for our schedule that day. This type of hunger is not a “listen to your body” or “listen to your gut” type of hunger, it asks you to consider the specific circumstances you are in and eat with a plan.
Signs that it may be practical hunger:
How to address it:
Written by Liz Powell, RD and Joy Tang
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