The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Emotional Hunger vs. Physical Hunger

If you are someone that turns to food as a crutch when you are stressed, or anxious – read on!

As a nutritional therapist here in Dublin, I’ve seen firsthand how understanding the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger can completely transform your relationship with food. So, let’s chat about the ins and outs of hunger. Spoiler alert: not all hunger is created equal!

Did you know there are different types of hunger?

Emotional hunger and physical hunger, and they can impact your appetite and how you feel about your relationship with food in different ways.

Physical Hunger: The Real Deal

Physical hunger is your body’s way of letting you know, “I need fuel!” It’s a biological signal that you need to eat to keep your body functioning properly.

Here’s how you can spot it:

• Gradual: Physical hunger doesn’t just hit you out of nowhere. It starts off mild and gets stronger over time.
• Physical: You might feel a rumbling stomach, low energy, inability to concentrate, irritability, or even a headache.
• Any food will do: When you’re physically hungry, you are open to eating a wide variety of foods, whether it’s an apple or a sandwich.
• Easily satisfied: Once you eat, the hunger goes away.
• No Guilt After Eating: You don’t feel guilty because you’re addressing a physical need.
• Mindful Eating: More likely to pay attention to what and how much you’re eating.

Physical hunger is all about your body needing nutrients to function. Our body needs macronutrients, vitamins, minerals to function at its best!

Emotional Hunger: The Sneaky Imposter

Emotional hunger, is more about your mind than your stomach. It’s driven by emotions rather than a need for nutrients. Here’s what emotional hunger looks like:

• Sudden onset: Emotional hunger can strike out of nowhere, like a craving for chocolate at 10 p.m.
• Triggered by Emotions: Often linked to feelings such as stress, boredom, sadness, or loneliness.
• Specific cravings: Usually, you crave specific comfort foods, like ice cream or crisps.
• Not satisfied by food: No matter how much you eat, you don’t feel full or satisfied.
• Guilt and shame: Emotional eating often leads to feelings of guilt or shame afterward.
• Mindless Eating: Eating without paying attention to how much you’re consuming. You might eat more than intended.

Emotional hunger is like trying to fill an emotional void with food—it just doesn’t work because the hunger isn’t about physical need and although food might help to soothe and numb the emotion in the short term, it does not help you deal with the emotion in the long term.

How Emotional Hunger Messes with Your Relationship with Food

Emotional hunger can cause confusion. You don’t want to eat, yet you can’t help yourself. Emotional eating is different to binge eating, but one thing that is the same is the lack of ability to be able to control food intake and understand why.

Clients that come to me to heal their relationship with food often feel a lot of shame around their food intake due to emotional eating, but once they understand why this is happening, and how different parts of their brain is at play and it is not their ‘lack of willpower’, they can finally work to heal.

How Emotional Hunger Messes with Your Relationship with Food:

• Confusion: Not knowing whether you’re emotionally or physically hungry can lead to overeating.
• Emotional eating cycles: Eating to soothe emotions can become a habit.
• Guilt and shame: Emotional eating often comes with a side of guilt, which can harm your self-esteem and body image.
• Physical symptoms: If you are regularly consuming extra food due to emotional eating you might end up experiencing physical symptoms such as headaches, digestive discomfort and weight gain.

Why Understanding the Difference Matters

You might hear me repeating myself, I am always harping on about how awareness is so important. Once we are aware of something we want to change AND we understand how to by getting the right support, change is possible!

So, knowing the difference between emotional and physical hunger is a game-changer. Not only does it help you make better choices about when and what to eat, but it also helps you develop a deeper connection with your emotions, what needs might need to be met, and how you can take care of yourself. Here’s why it’s so important:

• Better decision making: When you know you’re physically hungry, you can make healthier food choices.
• Emotional awareness: Recognising emotional hunger can help you address the underlying emotions instead of eating them away.
• Improved self-care: Understanding your hunger can lead to better self-care and a more positive relationship with food.

Tips for Telling the Difference

So, how do you tell if you’re emotionally or physically hungry? Here are some tips:

• Check the clock: When did you last eat? If it’s been a few hours, it’s probably physical hunger.
• Rate your hunger: On a scale of 1 to 10, how hungry are you? If you’re at a 6 or higher, it’s likely physical.
• Mindfulness check: Take a moment to breathe and check in with yourself. Are you stressed, bored, or emotional? That might be a clue.
• Wait it out: If you think it’s emotional hunger, try waiting 10 minutes. Physical hunger usually sticks around, while emotional hunger might fade.

Building a Healthy Relationship with Food

Building a healthy relationship with food means learning to listen to your body and emotions. Which is what I cover in my programme, you can read about it here.

Here are ideas of what you can expect when you heal your relationship with food:

• Eating intuitively: Listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues. Eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re satisfied.
• No rules or restrictions: No need to keep chocolate and crisps out of the house, you become comfortable with being around all foods. You don’t have a drive to eat them just because they are in arms reach!
• Balanced meals: You can create meals from a place of nourishment, self-care and respect for your body. You are consistent with your food, you are no longer on track/off track.
• Mindful eating & satisfaction: Not every meal needs to be delicious, you learn how to practically plan and prepare meals but you also know how to include satisfaction in your diet, without guilt and loss of control/overeating.
• Treating yourself kindly: With food, exercise and emotionally!

I hope you enjoyed this little chat about hunger and how it can impact your appetite and relationship with food. If you have any questions or need support, just drop me an email Leanne@leannemoran-com