Emotional Hunger vs. Physical Hunger

Hunger is one of my favorite topics to teach. Understanding why you are hungry and approaching hunger with logic based on nutrients, energy, and enjoyment is possible. When we figure out what drives us to eat, it may increase positive opportunities with food and reduce extreme behaviors. The behavior in question here may be excessive intake during emotional situations. Learning to recognize hunger and hunger cues is imperative for balancing nutrients and managing food intake. Hunger may present in many ways in your daily life. When eating food is based on physical desire instead of an emotional response, proper portions can be easier to manage. It is common to discount or misinterpret hunger cues when emotions are driving the internal food truck.  

Emotional eating may happen when food is used for comfort or consumed to fill a void. This is not necessarily a bad situation, when we are wanting to celebrate or go all in on particular foods here and there. Where it becomes an issue is when you reach for food each time you are feel emotional such as lonely, angry, sad, or vulnerable in some way. Often these responses can occur when we aren’t even hungry. When this happens, some may deal with feelings of shame or guilt. It happens to many of us throughout our lives. However, this is an opportunity to build awareness. Also, stress may be a great predictor of emotional eating. The great news here is that specific signs indicate the differences between physical and emotional eating patterns. Recognizing emotional eating and altering those responses may lead to more freedom with food choices and help reduce negative food thoughts.  

Can you tell the difference between emotional hunger vs. physical hunger?

As you can see, the physical hunger column is a normal response to food and meals spaced out throughout the day. These are the typical common meal patterns eaten when not under stress, with adequate time and portions. Emotional hunger can be an extreme response and may have follow-up emotions due to the type or the amount of food eaten.  

What can you do to avoid emotional hunger?  

Emotions come and go. How we respond may be challenging when our food patterns are already compromised due to the lack of balance, sleep, and increased stress. Create some goals to become aware of hunger and approach eating adequately with these tools 

1. Use a hunger scale. When we approach extreme hunger (waiting too long to eat), we may be putting ourselves at risk for overconsuming food, which can cause a restrict and binge cycle, even unintentionally.     
2. Try to eat roughly every 4 hrs. during the day to avoid extreme hunger. If emotional situations come, then you may respond differently due to already having the nourishment you need.
3. Balance meals with carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to improve satiety (the feeling of fullness).  
4. Incorporate ways to manage stress 
5. Get adequate sleep. Emotional situations may be easier to manage when you are not running low on sleep and energy.

 Is food part of your stress response? Emotional eating may be a pattern that you use to deal with stressful situations. Knowing the signs of both types of hunger may help with improving consistent patterns that rely less on emotional eating.   

Resources:

Controlling Hunger

Emotional Hunger

Why emotional eating happens

Mindy Diller, MS, RDN, LD     Registered Dietitian Nutritionist       http://www.Smartchoices@ttu.edu