It’s one thing to know what we should eat but putting this into practice is often the more difficult part for many people. While eating, at its core, is a way to get energy and essential macro- and micronutrients into our bodies, there is so much more behind why we eat. To begin a successful journey towards healthier eating, it’s important to explore these driving factors and understand what your triggers are in order to come up with a plan to stay on track with your health goals.
Hunger Cues
At its core, hunger refers to the biological need to eat for survival, but this simple definition doesn’t encompass the complexity of the human experience and the plethora of emotions and motivators that are attached to hunger. In addition to that biological urge to eat, hunger is also influenced by non-food factors like stress and other emotions, senses, social settings, and so much more!
Taking some time to understand the drivers behind hunger can help you to better understand your own body and triggers. Breaking it down, there are essentially four different types of hunger:
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Physical hunger - The body’s biological need for food
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Taste hunger - A craving or desire to eat based on something that looks, sounds, or smells good
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Emotional hunger - A common occurrence that happens in response to an important unmet need or intense emotion. This can be a way to offer comfort, calm anxiety, reward or bribe yourself to accomplish a task, combat boredom/loneliness, etc.
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Practical hunger - Eating when you may not necessarily be hungry at that moment but realize you need to eat to avoid being overly hungry later on (i.e. eating before going to work)
Now that you know about the different types of hunger, how can you use this information to your advantage? When you start feeling hungry, it can be helpful to “check in” with your body and try to understand the type of hunger you’re experiencing.
One way to go about this is to use the hunger-satiety scale that rates your physical hunger/fullness and is as follows:
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Starving, no energy, very weak
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Very hungry, low energy, dizzy
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Uncomfortably hungry, distracted, irritable
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Hungry stomach growling
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Starting to feel hungry
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Satisfied but could eat a little more
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Full but not uncomfortably so
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Overfull, starting to feel uncomfortable
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Stuffed and uncomfortable
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Extremely stuffed, nauseous
Society, diet culture, and a childhood of being told to “clean your plate” are all responsible for people getting disconnected from their internal hunger and fullness cues. Using the above scale can help you to get back in touch with these cues and gain a more neutral relationship with food.
When you feel a hunger craving, consider referring back to this and try to think about where you are on this scale. The goal is to stay in the 4-7 range as much as possible and to begin eating when you reach a 3 or 4.
Another useful exercise is to reflect on this scale at different times during the same meal. For example, consider your hunger levelswhen you start a meal, midway through that meal, and at the end of the meal. This can feel uncomfortable and may not seem natural at first, but the more you practice, the more you will start to get back in tune with your body. Consider picking just one meal per day to practice this strategy with and think of it as a science experiment!
Emotions and Eating
As discussed above, emotional eating is extremely common. Food can be a coping tool to deal with other unmet needs and offer comfort in times of stress, sadness, and even joy. Responding to this desire isn’t automatically a bad thing. However, if it is your only way of coping or managing emotions or is consistently contributing to you doing things that sabotage your health journey, then learning some different skills may be helpful.
An important first step on this journey is often to understand the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger. For reference, physical hunger:
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Is felt in the stomach and/or causes physical reactions like feeling tired or shaky
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Comes on slowly and several hours after your last meal
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Can be satisfied with almost any food (not food specific cravings)
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Eating leaves you feeling satisfied (not guilty)
On the flip side, emotional eating:
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Occurs when you’re experiencing an intense emotion or need for comfort
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Is a sudden urge that occurs regardless of when you ate last
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Can only be satisfied with a specific food
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Leaves you feeling guilt, disappointment, anger, or shame
If you’re dealing with physical hunger, it’s important to eat! However, if you find that you’re dealing with emotional eating instead, learning how to redirect this will be an important part of your health journey.
After you’ve determined that you’re dealing with emotional hunger rather than physical hunger, try to pause and ask yourself, “What am I feeling right now?” Simply learning to identify your emotions can help to separate hunger from your emotions.
Next, ask yourself, “What do I really need right now?” Will eating satisfy that urge? If the emotion you’re dealing with is boredom, then eating likely won’t satisfy that urge. If you’re feeling frustrated, stressed, or depressed, how will eating in this moment make you feel afterward?
Once you’ve had a chance to really think about what you need in that moment, the last question to ask yourself is, “How can I fulfill this need without turning to food?” If you’re dealing with boredom, going for a walk, reading, or watching a movie may all be better options. If you’re feeling stressed, frustrated, or anxious, doing yoga, breathing exercises, meditating, or whatever coping strategies work best for you may be worth practicing in that moment.
More tips on balancing stress and other emotions will be covered in Chapter 6 - Stress.
Mindfulness
Have you heard of “mindful eating” or “intuitive eating”? This refers to focusing on your sensual awareness of food and the experience of eating itself rather than the “what” or “when” of your meal. Learning to be more mindful of your eating can help you to connect to your body better and enjoy food in a more appropriately.
In addition to helping you gain a better relationship with food, practicing mindful eating can also help to improve digestion, increase satisfaction, and ultimately lead to better glucose values through more balanced meals.
Being more mindful with meals can be more easily said than done. This approach takes time and often doesn’t come naturally. However, with consistent practice, this skill can help you to have a better relationship with food. You can also avoid that feeling of being out of control that often comes with repeated yo-yo dieting. Some tips for getting started include:
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Review the hunger scale listed above to determine where you are in terms of physical hunger.
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Eat without distractions. Eating in front of the TV or while working can make it more difficult for us to tune into our internal hunger and fullness cues. It can also lead to continued cravings even after we’re physically full.
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Take a mindful bite. Use all of your senses to appreciate how your food looks, smells, tastes, and even sounds. Enjoy the feeling of the food in your mouth and give yourself time to enjoy all of the flavors in your meal.
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Slow down while you eat. If you’re a fast eater, your body may not have time to signal to your brain that you’re getting full and satisfied. Aim to make your meal last at least 20 minutes and be intentional with your eating.
Learning how to slow down and be more mindful with your meals takes time and practice. Consider focusing on mindful eating practices one meal per day and slowly increase this as you get more comfortable with it.
If you’re interested in learning more about mindful eating, check out the Center for Mindful Eating website, and your NutriSense nutritionist can also help you develop mindful eating habits that are appropriate for you and your unique situation.
Next: When You Eat