How do you know when you’re hungry? If you’re not sure, keep reading because we are about to dive into various signs of hunger. Let’s first explore how your body and mind might be nudging you that it needs some nourishment, aka hunger cues.
Extreme Signs of Hunger
Let’s start off by looking at more intense or extreme hunger signs of hunger.
Stomach Growling
The most obvious sign of hunger is that gnawing feeling in your stomach and hearing it growl. While many use this as their sign of hunger, this sensation is usually when one is very hungry. If this is your primary sign of hunger, notice if any of these resonate for you.
Feeling out of control when you start eating
Eating really fast
Feeling overly full afterwards
Not trusting yourself around food
Many people that eat when only feeling extreme hunger will notice at least one of these experiences. In return, they might lose their sense of trust around themselves and food.
So doing the work (and yes it can be hard) of noticing more subtle hunger cues can help cultivate more trust and confidence in yourself around food. Ultimately, it can be a great tool towards reclaiming your relationships with your body and food.
Low Blood Sugar
Physiologically, we get hungry when the body needs food. And one of the ways the body knows this is when our blood sugar drops. When this happens, you may notice some physical signs such as feeling shaky, lightheaded or a headache.
Remember, these are more extreme signs of hunger so ideally you are not getting to this point on a regular basis. Low blood sugar can be quite dangerous, especially if you have diabetes. Managing your blood sugar levels and having a supportive team to help you understand how to do so is very important.
If you don’t have diabetes and this is a regular occurrence for you, I invite you to see your doctor and inquire about meeting with a dietitian. There are conditions beyond diabetes that include insulin resistance so it could be a sign of something going on medically. It could also be an indication that you might be struggling with disordered eating patterns (consciously or unconsciously) which need attention.
It might not be your relationship with food that is disordered, as many jobs, lifestyles, financial situations don’t always allow for regular adequate intake. Learning how to navigate this space with a professional could be very beneficial. If you do have a history of disordered eating or an eating disorder, I do advise you to seek out an eating disorder informed dietitian to help you. You can always reach out to me for a clarity call to see if I’d be a solid for for you. If you don’t live in NY or NJ, there are many states that I can still see clients in and you can learn more here.
Hangry
Another sign of hunger is starting to feel agitated, irritated, or as many people like to say, “hangry”. For many people, hangry lends itself to more intense extreme hunger. While slight irritation might be a more subtle cue for you.
If this resonates, monitoring your irritation throughout the day could be a great entry point into noticing your hunger cues. When you notice yourself getting irritated, take a moment and check in. Am I feeling hungry in this moment? You may not get an answer, and that’s okay. Part of this work is just beginning to pause and ask those questions. The answers will come with time and patience.
Subtle Signs of Hunger
Let’s explore some more subtle hunger cues from the body.
Losing Focus
You might begin to lose your focus. For example, if you’re reading the same paragraph over and over and over again. Check in with yourself. Am I feeling hungry right now? Do I need a break? Do I need to take a walk? Am I feeling low energy? Get curious!
It could be a combination of all of those or something completely different. This is why getting curious can be such a game changer in this work.
Tired & Low Energy
Feeling tired or having low energy is another sign of hunger and the body needing nourishment. Remember, food gives us energy. So if you’re feeling tired and/or low energy, it could be a sign that the body needs more fuel.
I want to validate that this one can be very tricky to discern when first exploring your personal signs of hunger. In today’s society, feeling rested and refreshed every single day is not a luxury that most people have. Give yourself the space to experiment. If you experience a midmorning or mid-afternoon slump, skip the caffeine and have a snack and see if you notice a shift in energy.
Thinking About Food
One sign of hunger that many people don’t recognize as being hunger is thinking about food. Mind blown, eh?? If all of a sudden you start thinking about food or you can’t stop thinking about food, that is a sign that you’re hungry. If you can’t stop thinking about food, that is a sign that you are consistently undernourished and seeking some nutritional support is recommended.
Many people get frustrated when they start thinking about food, especially if they’re dieting. So reframing this as a message from the body that it needs some fuel can be a really lovely way in time of reclaiming your relationship to your body and its needs.
How to notice your signs of hunger
We explore extreme signs of hunger and more subtle signs. These are just some examples. You might have very unique signs from your body that we didn’t discuss here today. You might be wondering how to move forward with this information. I have a youtube video that walks you through it! One tool I discuss is using a hunger and fullness scale. Friends, you’re in luck! I have a FREE hunger and fullness scale for you! I invite you to download it (see below) and begin to explore your personal signs of hunger.
Download Your Free Hunger Fullness Scale
It’s important to know that not everyone will have access or full access to their hunger cues. If you are neurodivergent, you might have a harder time with accessing bodily sensations and cues. I explore this in the following youtube video, as well as reasons as to why you might have lost your connection to your hunger cues.
When first doing this work, especially if you’ve been disconnected from your hunger cues for a period of time, the intense hunger cues that we discussed are often easier for people to notice. So you might want to start there. And as you become more attuned to your body and its needs, you can begin to tap into the more subtle, gentle cues of hunger. And as I stated before, this can also help to cultivate more trust and confidence in yourself around food.
Until next time friends, stay curious!
Disclaimer: This post is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute individualized support or medical advice.
Blair is a registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor, E-500 RYT and Reiki Master. She integrates spirituality with modern day science to help people heal and reclaim their relationship with their body and food.