Are you really able to feel physical signs of hunger and know when to eat in response? Surprisingly, many people don’t and wonder to themselves, “Am I really hungry?”
But don’t worry, if you’re one of those people – we’ve got you covered.
Navigating the physical signs of hunger can be a challenging game. We are so busy with what’s going on, we often don’t feel as though we’ve had the time to conquer hunger or acknowledge what hunger really feels like. And even sometimes, we simply don’t know what it’s like!
talking about vigilance and mindful eating Lots more here at Nutrition Stripped and again, it’s going to play a role here too. When we’re not eating attentively (and Mindless eating, if you will), it’s very difficult to tell whether or not hunger is what drives our food choices.
To help you with that, we’ll teach you how to be more mindful and recognize the physical signs of hunger.
But before we get there, let’s start diving into why it’s important to eat in line with your hunger.
Why is it important to recognize the physical signs of hunger?
Throughout the day, our bodies are constantly communicating with us to let us know when we need energy, and when we don’t. for us Hunger and satiety stimuli They are responsible for this!
The hormones responsible for triggering that hunger and satiety are ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and leptin (the satiety hormone).
When we feel physical signs of hunger, the body tells us it needs energy. But what unfortunately happens to many people over time, is that they start to ignore those physical signs or forget how they feel. Time schedules, time constraints, stress, and diets are just a few of the many lifestyle factors that can cause this.
When we ignore or don’t notice the physical signs of hunger, a chain of events begins to occur.
We can reach extreme hunger points and lose control of foodWe feel lethargic, bloated, and overly full when we eat, and always eat too much or not enough, and the list goes on and on.
To prevent this from happening, we want to really recognize the physical signs of hunger.
Common physical signs of hunger
When you check your hunger and satiety cues, you can realize that you are really hungry and in need of energy.
Here are some of the most common physical signs of hunger.
Fatigue and lack of energy
Have you ever felt like you just got out? Are you tired of sleeping despite your good sleep? Laziness even though you haven’t done anything particularly stressful?
This is one of the signs of physical hunger.
We keep pointing out that the body needs energy. Well, think energy = food. When we don’t get enough food (and thus energy), the body can start to feel very upset.
Everyday tasks are a little more difficult, and we don’t seem to get out of it. The only way out of it is to eat a nutritious meal!
Next time you’re feeling tired and lacking in energy, be sure to check in to see if it’s a physical sign of hunger.
stomach rumble
This is easy, isn’t it?
If your stomach rumbles or feels sharp pain, your body is trying to tell you that it needs food.
I promise you, no matter how many diets, detoxes or cleanses tell you to ignore these cues for x hours, they are simply not helpful and incorrect.
When we feel this pain, what happens is that the stomach muscle contracts when it is empty. Next time your stomach screams, listen and respond with nourishment Foundation Five a meal!
Headache and shaking hands
When we feel hungry, and go some time without eating, the blood sugar levels in the body can drop. Now when your blood sugar level drops, your body sends signals to your brain to let it know that you need more energy or food.
When this happens, narrowing of the blood vessels and increased blood pressure are possible. The final result? headache.
In addition, when the blood sugar level is low, it is very common to feel shaky and tense.
If you often find yourself experiencing headaches combined with trembling hands, your body may be trying to tell you that it needs food. This could be one of the physical signs of hunger.
Brain fog and inability to focus
These two types are also associated with low blood sugar. When the body does not receive the energy it needs from food, the brain also does not receive the energy it needs to function properly.
This can make things, well, blurry! You may feel that processing your thoughts is a little slower than usual, or that you cannot focus on usual tasks as you normally do.
By operating below par, your body is trying to tell you that it needs more nutrients in order to raise your blood sugar back up.
irritability
Everyone has tried “hanger” before. When you’re irritable, frustrated, and sometimes awkward for no apparent reason. Is there anything really bothering you? Is there an error? No, it’s just starvation.
Your body is low on energy and nutrition, so again, your blood sugar is low. When our blood sugar is low, it is easier for us to react emotionally for no good reason.
If you find that this happens a lot when you go a long time without food, one of the physical signs of hunger in your body may be “hanger” or irritability.
Signs that hunger can be mistaken for but there are “Hunger Chief”
But what happens if we think we’re seeing a physical sign of hunger when in reality, it’s something else? we call this Head Hunger.
head hunger It is when a particular situation, emotion, or feeling results in a response to reaching for food.
Here are some of the most common signs of what we call, hungry head.
Sudden cravings
Think to yourself randomly, “Oh my God, I’m going to kill for [insert craved food item here]”, Suddenly?
This is a passion! Now before we dive into this, there are a few anatomical scenarios that may cause cravings, and it may have something to do with physical hunger. So if you are interested in learning more and haven’t done so already, head over Here To find out more about what your cravings might be trying to tell you.
But more often than not, we crave the taste and experience of food, not physical nourishment through food. When we simply want to eat and eat, if you want, this is a sign of hungry head.
Physical or mental exhaustion
Have you ever been so physically or mentally exhausted that all you wanted to do was eat something to feel better? Yes, hungry head.
Now I will say, this is a bit tricky. It is entirely possible to feel physically hungry as a result of exhaustion. But often, when we are mentally or physically exhausted, and we don’t show physical signs of hunger, the food may still be fine.
When we mindlessly eat as a result of an emotion or feeling, we don’t really listen to the body’s hunger cues.
untreated stress
This is very similar to our previous example! We can do the same thing when we feel stressed when we feel overwhelmed.
Tension is uncomfortable and unpleasant. On the other hand, eating delicious food is very relaxing and enjoyable. It can be very easy to develop the habit of reaching for food in stressful situations.
We call this stress eating!
When stress is not addressed, it festers and we look to quick and easy ways to relieve it. Food is one of those ways. Hunger as a result of stress is a way hungry head Instead of physical hunger.
Emotions escalate
Finally, we have feelings. Have you ever felt so sad, angry, depressed or frustrated that you just needed to get a cookie?
After the last two examples, I think it’s easy to see how this is an example of Hunger head. Just as with stress, when feelings are not dealt with, we can seek relief from them through food.
Learn how to control the physical signs of hunger
The goal here is for you to start really attuned to your individual hunger, and even your satiety cues. To recognize the physical signs of hunger that you feel regularly. Once you do this, you will be able to eat attentively with ease.
inside The Conscious Nutrition Method™Our members provide tools and resources to develop this skill in tuning into their bodies’ hunger cues so they can build confidence in knowing when to eat, what to eat, and how much to eat based on their unique needs at that moment.
It’s an empowering skill!
0 Comments