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06 Sep

Am I Hungry?


Have you ever been told to ignore hunger, maybe instead you were advised to drink water, or chew gum or have a carbonated drink before eating. Well me too! This, in the cold light of day seems like diet culture moving us another step further away from being able to both listen to and trust our bodies.

So rather than hunger be something we try and supress, let’s try and look at it from an unstigmatised functional perspective and one that we can trust. Just like when we are tired our eyelids feel heavy (you can trust that response easily, right?) and when you are thirsty your mouth is dry (of course) , when you are hot you sweat (absolutely), when you need food you get hungry. It doesn’t feel as natural as the rest does it? There are layers of second guessing that have been drummed in to us by thousands of voices telling us how we should feel.

Many of us, are scared of the concept of responding to our hunger, with lack of restrictive rules. Believing that if we were left to our own devices, there is a chance we would eat and become out of control. However in reality if we actually listened to our own hunger and fullness cues and detach from the changeable irrelevant external narrative we will eat and stop as and when needed.

So how do we start to listen to our hunger cues again after potentially years of trying to ignore them? Well the first question is to ask ourselves, What does hunger feel like to me? Many associate hunger with a rumbly tummy however there are many different hunger cues. These are the cues that we need to be aware of, listen to and respond too to ensure that our body is well nourished and fed.

Hunger cues can include:-

  • Rumbling stomach
  • Irritability
  • Shakiness
  • Dizziness
  • Headache
  • Problems focusing

Why not take some time over the next few days and really check in with what hunger feels like for you? And let yourself trust your body again. Check in here over the coming days and weeks for more information.