Is Your Hunger Emotional or Physical?
Do you know the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger? The signs seem identical until you learn their unique characteristics. Understand the difference so you can take charge of emotional eating and lose weight in the process.
Here are five traits that differentiate emotional hunger from physical hunger. This knowledge and awareness helps you prevent emotional eating episodes.
1. Emotional hunger occurs in response to your feelings. Physical hunger occurs because your body needs fuel.
If you tend to eat for emotional reasons, it's not only due to painful feelings. Any feeling that is difficult to regulate may trigger the urge to eat. For example, you feel sad and turn to food for comfort. Or, you feel excited about something and react by eating. It’s not the feeling itself that triggers the urge to eat; it’s the inability to let the feeling be present without stimulating it or numbing it with food.
Physical hunger is biologically based and connected to blood sugar levels in your body. Your body responds with a grumbling in your belly, a light-headed feeling, fatigue or a headache. You also may feel irritable or have difficulty concentrating.
2. Emotional hunger tends to come on suddenly. Physical hunger emerges gradually.
When your emotions drive your craving, the impulse to eat feels sudden, intense and urgent. You confuse an emotional need with a physical one. It’s not about the food, but food is the only thing on your mind.
With physical hunger, the sensations in your body develop over time. If you’re attuned to your body, you notice cues that your body needs food. You feel in control of these cues. Food is something you desire, but it can wait.
Sometimes, however, physical hunger does come on suddenly due to blood sugar instability. Please seek medical guidance to determine if this applies to you.
3. With emotional hunger you crave certain foods. With physical hunger you’re open to many options.
When you eat for emotional reasons, you tend to want specific foods, such as cookies, chips or pizza. You believe nothing else will help so you’re not open to alternatives.
When you're physically hungry, you’re open to many food choices. Even carrots and celery look appealing to your rumbling stomach.
4. Emotional hunger doesn’t notice signs of fullness. With physical hunger, you stop eating when full.
With emotional hunger, you generally stop eating when you become numb to the feeling that triggered the impulse to eat. You’re not as attuned to your body because you’re satisfying an emotional need not a physical one.
When you eat because you're physically hungry, and you’re able to control your impulses, you decide when you’re going to stop eating. You feel in tune with your body and respond to the sensation of fullness. You make a conscious choice to stop because you’ve eaten enough.
5. Emotional eating induces feelings of guilt. Physical hunger is satisfied with no remorse.
Emotional eating episodes perpetuate a cycle of self-blame. You eat because you want to feel better. You feel better at first because food numbs your feelings. Then, guilt and shame replace the feeling that triggered the impulse to eat in the first place. The cycle continues.
When you eat to satisfy a physical hunger only, your body feels nourished and you feel content. There is no guilt because you know eating fulfills a necessary need.
It’s Not About the Food
If you struggle with emotional eating, understand it’s not about finding the right nutritional plan. It’s about allowing your feelings to be experienced and released in a safe, nurturing way. Practice the Stop-Breathe-Reflect-Choose technique to create space between the urge to eat and acting on that urge. Identify and name the feeling you’re experiencing. Develop a list of strategies to help soothe and comfort yourself. Learn to allow your feelings to flow through you rather than push them away with food.
Your thoughts?
Do you understand your hungers? How do you cope?
Diane Petrella, MSW is a psychotherapist and life coach. She offers her clients a spiritual approach to weight release and helps them develop a loving, respectful relationship with their bodies. Receive a free copy of Diane’s Seven Easy & Effortless Weight Loss Secrets by signing up for her monthly e-newsletter, Living Lightly, for spiritual insights and tips to release weight with confidence and love. To contact Diane visit www.dianepetrella.com.
Comments
Thanks! We see every day... the bait!! Like when we go fishing, we throw out the lure, something that will really look good to a fish, something irresistable, something that will make him happy!! THEN... BAM!!! He is hooked. A friend of mine used to talk about how to be like "the Wise Old Fish". He was a big fish that lived in the lake. You know how he to to be a WISE... OLD... Fish? He didn't take the bait!!! All good is yours today.
Awesome article! I wish more people understood the difference. I was eating emotionally instead of for nourishment and THIS is why I gained a lot of weight. After changing HOW I ate, I discovered that I should not be hungry since I was eating every few hours! It took less than a week for me to catch on that I was soothing myself with food.
If I never started eating half-meals spread throughout my day, I never would have realized what I was doing! If you can, try keeping your hunger satisfied all day by eating small meals and see if you get hit with hunger. You shouldn't. If you do, it's a trigger. You can follow the half meal habit to see if this is the case--and cut 500 to 1000 calories per day out of your diet...painlessly.
Good luck everyone!!!
Jim
I totally get what they are saying, and I think I know the difference. I have never been an emotional eater, but more of a boredom eater. Since starting with CC, I've kept that bad habit under control. However, lately my stomach growls all the time! And it's not just gurgling, it really feels like hunger pangs. It can happen as soon as 10-15 minutes after a regular meal...so I KNOW I'm NOT HUNGRY!! It's really aggravating, because I'm trying so hard to be good and I've put on a few pounds that I lost because of it! Does anyone else have this problem?
Original Post by: cynthia84I totally get what they are saying, and I think I know the difference. I have never been an emotional eater, but more of a boredom eater. Since starting with CC, I've kept that bad habit under control. However, lately my stomach growls all the time! And it's not just gurgling, it really feels like hunger pangs. It can happen as soon as 10-15 minutes after a regular meal...so I KNOW I'm NOT HUNGRY!! It's really aggravating, because I'm trying so hard to be good and I've put on a few pounds that I lost because of it! Does anyone else have this problem?
Hi Cynthia,
Are you drinking enough water? Since you're obviously eating less, you might be lacking in your hydration. One little tip I got from HMH is to drink a glass of water BEFORE every meal. Plus, keeping hydrated all throughout the day.
Give it a go and let us know if it works.
Jim
hey, th article plus the comment made by PATMCOLL are perfect. i love the wise old fish story. thanks for that.
Original Post by: allawnhhey, th article plus the comment made by PATMCOLL are perfect. i love the wise old fish story. thanks for that.
old Islamic tradition states when hungry to eat:
- 1/3 water
- 1/3 food
- 1/3 air
this was the tradition of the Prophet (pbuh)
I never thought of myself as an emotional eater. But I have these urges to eat certain food. Like it says in article nothing else will be satisfying. I don’t know how to deal with it.
But having lived in Kuwait and Oman, I can tell you that the food in the Arab world is TOOOO good to pass up!!! With all deference to the Prophet (praise be upon him), you gotta be REALLY strong to pass up the Machboos, the Shawarma and the wonderful hamour and other fish dishes. I had to get back to the U.S. to escape the temptation in the Middle East!!!! I wan't such a wise old fish in those days!!! Masalama
I know I'm an emotional eater, but so far no tricks have helped. I might be able to put off eating for a while, but my mind will continuously go back to the food I want. I obsess over it. I know I'm not physically hungry but the urge to eat just doesn't go away. I have depression and recently quit smoking. I think my brain just wants the dopamine. The only thing that's helped is to give in just a little bit. So if I want pizza, I'll go out and get ONE slice. It's not the best solution, but it's all I got.
Original Post by: jimmyloramOriginal Post by: cynthia84I totally get what they are saying, and I think I know the difference. I have never been an emotional eater, but more of a boredom eater. Since starting with CC, I've kept that bad habit under control. However, lately my stomach growls all the time! And it's not just gurgling, it really feels like hunger pangs. It can happen as soon as 10-15 minutes after a regular meal...so I KNOW I'm NOT HUNGRY!! It's really aggravating, because I'm trying so hard to be good and I've put on a few pounds that I lost because of it! Does anyone else have this problem?
Hi Cynthia,
Are you drinking enough water? Since you're obviously eating less, you might be lacking in your hydration. One little tip I got from HMH is to drink a glass of water BEFORE every meal. Plus, keeping hydrated all throughout the day.
Give it a go and let us know if it works.
Jim
Hi Jim,
I do drink water all day...I have one of those 32 Fl. Oz. G2 bottles that I fill with water 2x a day. And I usually have 1-2 of those tall Smart Water bottles during and after my workouts. I like to always have something to sip on. I think I just need to learn to ignore my tummy grumbling unless I know I should truly be hungry. Have a great day!
Cynthia
Original Post by: jimmyloramAwesome article! I wish more people understood the difference. I was eating emotionally instead of for nourishment and THIS is why I gained a lot of weight. After changing HOW I ate, I discovered that I should not be hungry since I was eating every few hours! It took less than a week for me to catch on that I was soothing myself with food.
If I never started eating half-meals spread throughout my day, I never would have realized what I was doing! If you can, try keeping your hunger satisfied all day by eating small meals and see if you get hit with hunger. You shouldn't. If you do, it's a trigger. You can follow the half meal habit to see if this is the case--and cut 500 to 1000 calories per day out of your diet...painlessly.
Good luck everyone!!!
Jim
PATMCOLL thanks for the good laugh and hey, if you are interested in some good healthy arabic eats let me know and I can suggest some in your area
This was a great article and pointed out some issues with emotional eating that I wasn't aware of. I feel "armed" to deal with this issue a little better. Thank you.
Would LOVE to find some good Arabic meals in our area. I am in North Georgia, USA, but we go to Atlanta a lot. Any ideas in the Atlanta area? I miss my kubbas (kuboos) and labneh!!!
Arab guy in Irish Body Patrick McGee Collins
Emotional eating is not just psychological. In my case, I can feel fine, but am completely at the mercy of "trigger foods." If they are in the house, they're all I will eat until they are gone. This article mentioned "just" wanting more of a delicious food. It's as dangerous as emotional overeating in terms of weight gain, and something that the stop-breathe technique would also handle, and I'm going to use it.
Actually, depression turns off my appetite. Brain studies show that there are some people whose brains really light up because of eating a favorite food, and I'm sure I'm one of them.
Great article....I have lost 40 lbs so far addressing this issue as well. I absolutely LOVED reading Marianne Williamson's A COURSE IN WEIGHT LOSS which deals solely with the WHY behind our compulsive/ emotional over-eating. A great book that I highly recommend.
From the beginning of my weight loss journey I decided to follow these two rules always, they are very important! 1) Never eat for comfort 2) Never eat for reward. I know this is easier said than done, but you can! It took me a while to be able to follow this, but now it is no problem most of the time. So far I have lost 130, and have 50 more to go.
The article was very helpful, but I have two points of differentiation to make. The article said that when you're physically hungry, you won't crave anything specific but rather anything will look good. I have, several times in my life, been SO physically hungry that nothing looks good--nothing sounds appetizing to me, or else very hungry for one specific thing (usually something very high-calorie that I don't have on hand) and nothing I have nearby sounds appetizing.
The other thing is that the article said that when you're physically hungry, your body tells you when you are full. This is true, but there are times when this signal gets mixed up. If you eat quickly, for example, you can easily eat more than your body needs. Also, if you are very hungry, sometimes some very small amount of food will make you feel full, even though your body needs more calories to function properly.
Just saying. 
Original Post by: cynthia84Original Post by: jimmyloramOriginal Post by: cynthia84I totally get what they are saying, and I think I know the difference. I have never been an emotional eater, but more of a boredom eater. Since starting with CC, I've kept that bad habit under control. However, lately my stomach growls all the time! And it's not just gurgling, it really feels like hunger pangs. It can happen as soon as 10-15 minutes after a regular meal...so I KNOW I'm NOT HUNGRY!! It's really aggravating, because I'm trying so hard to be good and I've put on a few pounds that I lost because of it! Does anyone else have this problem?
Hi Cynthia,
Are you drinking enough water? Since you're obviously eating less, you might be lacking in your hydration. One little tip I got from HMH is to drink a glass of water BEFORE every meal. Plus, keeping hydrated all throughout the day.
Give it a go and let us know if it works.
Jim
Hi Jim,
I do drink water all day...I have one of those 32 Fl. Oz. G2 bottles that I fill with water 2x a day. And I usually have 1-2 of those tall Smart Water bottles during and after my workouts. I like to always have something to sip on. I think I just need to learn to ignore my tummy grumbling unless I know I should truly be hungry. Have a great day!
Cynthia
Hey Cynthia, what about fiber? I've found I can now tell when I've eaten a meal with lots of fortified fiber (like oatmeal) based on how hungry I am, and how soon, afterward. It keeps you fuller, longer, which I learned on calorie count.
Here is the info from caloriecount: http://caloriecount.about.com/dietary-fiber-facts-nf291#high foods
Hi, Cynthia,
Two things come to my mind when I hear about growling stomachs when one "shouldn't be hungry."
1) If you eat fruit or simple carbs without protein, the blood sugar skyrockets and then plunges, causing stomach growling and feelings of hunger very soon after you eat. Eating some low-fat protein either alone, or with a fruit or veggie, helps regulate the blood sugar in your body, and keeps you from feeling hungry for a very long time.
2) You may have an acid stomach, which makes you feel STARVING almost immediately after you eat. If eating protein doesn't work, try taking Tums or OTC Prevacid to see if that soothes the savage beast. If it turns out to be acid reflux (acid stomach) be sure to see your doctor, too.
A big help for mindless eating is to engage my mind with a hypnosis CD. I CAN MAKE YOU THIN by Paul McKenna has made what was very difficult, much easier. I often go to sleep listening to the CD, and then again if I have time in the morning.
Original Post by: ruiner38I know I'm an emotional eater, but so far no tricks have helped. I might be able to put off eating for a while, but my mind will continuously go back to the food I want. I obsess over it. I know I'm not physically hungry but the urge to eat just doesn't go away. I have depression and recently quit smoking. I think my brain just wants the dopamine. The only thing that's helped is to give in just a little bit. So if I want pizza, I'll go out and get ONE slice. It's not the best solution, but it's all I got.
Dear ruiner38,
Your solution is fine. Eating a small amount of a food you're craving is OK.
The important thing is to take time to identify and express the underlying feelings that triggered you to eat. Perhaps writing what you're feeling in journal is a good place to start.
Congratulations for quitting smoking! Since smoking, as well as food, can be used to numb feelings, you may be doubly challenged right now, along with feeling depressed. Do the best you can to find positive ways to comfort and soothe yourself. Here's a wonderful book that may help you and others reading here:
50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food, by Susan Albers, Psy.D
I wish you the best.
Warmly,
Diane
Original Post by: heidimayerHi, Cynthia,
Two things come to my mind when I hear about growling stomachs when one "shouldn't be hungry."
1) If you eat fruit or simple carbs without protein, the blood sugar skyrockets and then plunges, causing stomach growling and feelings of hunger very soon after you eat. Eating some low-fat protein either alone, or with a fruit or veggie, helps regulate the blood sugar in your body, and keeps you from feeling hungry for a very long time.
2) You may have an acid stomach, which makes you feel STARVING almost immediately after you eat. If eating protein doesn't work, try taking Tums or OTC Prevacid to see if that soothes the savage beast. If it turns out to be acid reflux (acid stomach) be sure to see your doctor, too.
Thanks Heidi! I never considered the acid thing. I do sometimes (probably once every 2 weeks or so) have bad acid / indigestion feelings...and no amount of Tumms or anything can fix it! I wonder if that is a problem. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!!
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For anyone interested, I wrote an article about this. Feel free to take a look, a quick read and it may help you....
http://hilltopglimpses.blogspot.com/2012/08/fair-or-fat.html
Are we facing hunger... or appetite?
Never give up!!!!!