I was just reading ambabs' thread asking about whether or not to eat if you're not hungry, and it led me to wonder whether everyone has the same hunger cues. What signals does YOUR body give to tell you you're hungry?
Stomach growling is probably an obvious one, but I'm starting to learn that late in the afternoon I experience a real lethargy unless I eat a healthy snack (it can be fruit, yogurt, maybe a piece of cheese)... sometimes one early in the pm and one late in the pm. Then I don't feel the urgent need to nap nearly as often!!!
But I DON'T experience it as hunger per se. In fact, for 20 years I just thought it was part of my body's rhythm to want a late day nap. But now I'm starting to wonder. It may be a low blood sugar thing (I'm not hypoglycemic)? Or is that another way of my body telling me it's hungry?
I get dizzy when I get hungry. But I have vertigo, so I get dizzy a lot.
Also, I have the same problem with legarthy. And sometimes I get a headaches. I get headaches a lot too though, so perhaps that's just me. Everything gives me a headache and makes me dizzy.
But eating a snack usually helps, especially mid-afternoon. I think in my case it really is a blood sugar issue, even though I've never been diagnosed as hypoglycemic.
This is an interesting question for me and one that I don't have an anwer for just yet. The reason being, that I tend to work from the opposite direction. I don't so much pay attention to how I feel when I am hungry. I focus more on how I feel when I'm NOT. It is the only way I've been able to avoid eating at inappropriate times. I know I'll eat when I need to but I don't necessarily trust myself to not eat when I shouldn't. So, the ques of "head hunger" are what I've worked to identify for myself. For instance, if I want something to eat but can't say off the top of my head what it is that I REALLY want then I'm hungry. Hmmm, maybe that is one of my hunger ques -when I feel like eating and know exactly what it is that I want.
Also, while I don't make a point to eat if I'm not hungry, I do try to begin eating my meals/snacks just before I know I'm going to be hungry. It helps me to keep from over eating at a sitting. So, I don't let myself get SO hungry that I actually have physical ques (that I've noticed - but I'm going to start paying attention to see what, if any, clues my body gives me).
What I am familiar with is how my body responds if I let myself get too hungry. My hands shake, I feel weak, and my mouth sometimes waters. Oh, and boy do I get cranky. I never intentionally get to this point but it happens sometimes.
I know I'll eat when I need to but I don't necessarily trust myself to not eat when I shouldn't. So, the ques of "head hunger" are what I've worked to identify for myself.
This is an excellent tip. Knowing your cues of "head hunger" is so important. Like you mentioned, if you don't know exactly what you want to eat, you're probably really hungry. If you've got something specific in mind, then it's probably a craving and not so much actual hunger. For example, I am hungry RIGHT NOW (but I don't have anything to eat, and I leave the office in less than half an hour, so I won't have anything). I know I'm hungry because I'm not thinking about cookies or a big bacon cheeseburger or anything like that--I just feel empty and would be totally satisfied with just about anything edible to fill that hunger instead of just something yummy, ya know?
I tend to focus much more on head clues too, although I try to make sure I'm not particularly hungry at important times; morning, bed time (I can have trouble sleeping if it's been a while since dinner) and the drive home (I can get way car sick if I'm hungry so I snack before I drive).
Sometimes even when I know I'm really really hungry I try to think very hard about exactly what would please me. Rather than just think 'oh, I'll have a burger and fries' I try to think of what would be absolutely the tastiest and the most filling, and I tend to make healthier choices. If I think about the food itself, I'll be more likely not to want fast food or fatty foods. I also do have a problem with eating when I'm bored or eating a sweet in the evenings just because, even when I'm not in the mood for something sweet. So in those cases if I find myself thinking too much about a food item I'll drink a glass of water and then try to focus on something else for a while. As soon as I'm busy again I usually forget about my mild cravings. And then if I don't forget, it's because my stomach is reminding me that I really do need to eat
That's interesting. I don't think I'd ever thought about "head hunger" in quite that way. I had thought about hunger vs cravings, but this might be an important point.
Like jawsmom, I am finding I am trying to eat before I get hungry (I get cranky too). In fact, I think I have taken the whole 'eat every few hours' thing to heart and am not necessarily hungry per se when I have my snacks during the day. But I teach in the afternoons and usually it's not a good idea to eat while lecturing, so I want to be sure I'm not TOO hungry after class.
But in the evening... that seems like it's cravings more often than hunger... hmmm
I find that having a set schedule for eating something rather than waiting until I recognize hunger actually works better for me -- I don't know if I have blood sugar issues, but I do have a history of diabetes in the family. I find that if I wait until I'm really "hungry" hungry, the other side effects of that are just not fun -- my hands and legs get shaky, I get extremely irritable, and I get headaches and sometimes mild nausea or stomach cramps. "Mildly" hungry is more of an empty feeling in the tummy and a slight feeling of irritibility or tension. If I have something light when I'm feeling that, I'm fine, and I don't overeat. If I'm busy and can't do an apple or yogurt or something, then I hit "hungry" hungry and make bad food decisions as well as just feel icky. Sometimes I'll have something light even if I'm not mildly hungry because I know if I wait the couple more hours until dinner time, I'll be hurting for it.
If I cut calories too much, say over a few consecutive days, I feel tired. I nap. I can't lift as well. If this happens and I know I've had enough sleep, I need to eat more.
I'll second (or third) the notion of eating regularly to avoid feeling hungry or tired. If I get the rumbling grumbling tummy, I usually grab something fast and bad!
I think I'm similar in that I'm learning to eat at this "pre-hungry" phase, because I feel and act in unpleasant ways if I let it go too far... especially late in the afternoon. At other times of the day, it seems I can let it go longer, and it doesn't build into something nasty... it's not cranky hunger, just ... hunger.
I dont have a "hungry" feeling since I eat every 2-3 hours, so I guess if I went by how I feel right away in the morning (since it would have been 13-14 hours without eating overnight) then I have to say a pain/emptiness in my belly that I have to fill (no specific food, just anything) So usually I eat oatmeal and a cup of coffee in the morning, then I start my water and eating every 2-3 hours after that.
I like the phrase "pre-hungry". Right now, I often find myself quickly moving from an initial stomach growl (what I guess I consider "normal hungry") to an incredibly ravenous state as my blood sugar probably starts to plummet--a little lightheaded, shaky hands, shaky everything. I was actually tested for diabetes so I know this is not diabetes. I'm having to struggle a bit to eat sooner than I would choose, but I'm also sort of giving my self permission sometimes to go over my calorie limit for the day when I have this "bottomed out" feeling too often because I'm just really taking that as my body saying HEY--YOU THERE. I'm learning that when I honor that need for food, my body responds with a little jump in weight loss which clearly has to be my metabolism picking up.
I guess I'm still afraid that I'll feed a "craving" instead of hunger so I let it go too long more often than I should right now.
NowOrNever -- I know you mean about that "bottomed out" feeling. I don't get it often, but when I do I let myself eat a little more. Don't know the result on my weight loss (though that's been steady), but it helps me feel a little more in control.
I do sometimes feed my cravings, but I count it when I do, and I try to do it with a small portion.
How do you know when you're hungry?
