Describe how "hungry" feels to you?

[HennyPennyHorror]

This question has come about from a conversation with my friend who's trying to lose weight.

I said what had helped me was only eating when I felt hungry.

She said she always feels hungry. I wonder now if her concept of hunger is different to mine?

When I'm hungry, my stomach feels empty and rumbles...that's hunger. She said she just always feels like eating...they're different no? I think she has lost the ability to actually feel hunger because she never gives herself a chance.

[HennyPennyHorror]

Oh and this is NOT a fat bashing thread. I have been overweight myself. I lost two stones after DD2. I'd been slim until my second baby. Now I
m almost where I feel comfortable.

[whatsnewchoochoo]

Yep, I agree with you. (I feel exactly like your friend but I agree with you)

[BestZebbie]

Yes, the first one is hunger (or sometimes, thirst too) and the second is compulsion/habit/boredom.

[Inapickle230]

My tummy rumbles and I start to lose concentration. When I’m behind my desk at work though it’s complete boredom! I crave junk food and salt. I’m good at home though as I’m too busy to think about it until I’m actually hungry.

[Abcdefuck]

I can’t remember the last time I actually felt hungry tbf - which is really bad. I’m like your friend.

[Tailfeather]

I feel sick when I am hungry.

[MilkTwoSugarsThanks]

Feeling a bit shaky, and possibly a bit sick (weirdly) is sign for me that I've really got to eat something and have a glass of water.

I usually respond to the hollow tummy rumbles before I get to that point though!

"Feeling hungry" all the time sounds more like boredom and habit to me and very difficult to break.

[Bloodybridget]

It's an ache-y, empty feeling in my stomach. Sometimes I get hangry too - jittery and irritable.

[MightyAtlantic]

Hungry to me is when my stomach feels empty. I'm hungry now and I had a small bowl of cereal at 9.30pm and pasta for tea at 7pm. So I know I don't really need to eat but I want to. I'm a size 14.

[ILoveMaxiBondi]

I get two different types of hunger feelings

Normal one is the same as you OP- empty/echoey stomach. Can ignore it until a practical time to eat.

Rarer but still happens- I suddenly feel very ill and shaky and have to eat straight away. Really unpleasant feeling. I think blood sugar related?

[MeInGeneva]

They are multiple types of hunger though.

Your friend has emotional hunger - whether that's stress, boredom, comfort etc.

Nutrition hunger (when your body seeks calories and nutrients) is like you describe - empty feeling, belly rumbling. It comes on slowly and will go away if ignored.

The posters that get hangry, shakey and lose concentration have blood sugar crash hunger. If it happens often get checked for prediabetes! This is a sudden and strong hunger that gets worse if ignored.

[Fuppy]

When I'm hungry I feel like my stomach has clenched into a fist (almost painful) and I start to feel sick.

I believe some people confuse craving something or wanting something with hunger.

Also a good tip is to eat slowly and stop eating when you're not hungry any more, not when you're full.
Or only have a very small portion, wait 20 mins to see if you're still hungry before eating any more.
That's how I lost weight and put it on by ignoring it

[NameChanger22]

Real hunger is an uncomfortable feeling in your stomach that seems to grow and grow and starts to feel a bit desperate after a while.

I also get the other kind of hunger, mostly at work. I just feel fed up and need to something to relieve the stress/boredom/sadness of my day. I can relieve this hunger with other things apart from food some of the time by doing something I enjoy, but usually I just eat biscuits.

[StillCoughingandLaughing]

I think for me it’s when I can’t think of anything other than food, even if I have something important to do. At the extreme, I feel a bit shaky.

[bridgetreilly]

When I did the Blood Sugar Diet I suddenly discovered that what I had been feeling for years was not hunger but cravings. Equally powerful but different. The carb cravings are never really satisfied because the carbs just make you crave more carbs. Cutting out the carbs altogether meant that the cravings stopped (after a day or two) and then I could feel actual hunger when I needed food.

[HennyPennyHorror]

Meln the first isn't "hunger". It's a craving. Not the same as hunger.

[Purpleartichoke]

Mild hunger My stomach feels unsettled and I feel light-headed in an unpleasant way.. Beyond that I feel queasy and have a bad headache. If I still don’t eat I get jittery.

[Ohyesiam]

Tell her to look at Paul McKenna. He goes into the difference between physiological hunger and wanting to eat, it’s the main thrust of his weigh loss stuff. Really eye opening and it works. I’m a compulsive over eater and I control it with his method.

[RoyalChocolat]

"good" hunger (when I am low-carbing) : stomach rumbling, I know I need to eat but I can wait.

"bad" hunger = sugar crash : slight stomach pain, headache, need food NOW.

craving (not in the light sense of the word - I have severe eating disorders) : I feel a kind of tightening at the back of my throat. All I can think about is food. In those moments nothing can stop me from eating. If there is no carb-loaded food in the house I'll go and buy some.

[InDubiousBattle]

Empty stomach, stomach grumbling mean I'm a bit hungry. When I get very hunger I have almost tunnel vision about getting something to eat, I can't focus on anything else until I eat something. Fancying some food because I'm bored and it's there is very different. I lost 3 stone on slimming world and, although I didn't really follow the plan 'properly' it did help me to think 'am I actually hungry' before I ate. I used to pick and snack so much I only very rarely felt hungry.

[OneStepSideways]

Hungry means feeling faint and shaky to me. Early signs of hunger I tend to ignore if I'm busy.

I also get boredom hunger which is isn't true hunger just a craving for sweet comforting things while I'm reading or watching tv. I'm not so good at ignoring that!

[TrainSong]

I have two types of 'hungry'.
One is a constant, really intrusive craving and message from my brain to 'Eat now. NOW! DO IT NOW!!! Keep eating!'
I get that if I eat wheat or sugar. They trigger those constant cravings reaslly aggressively.

The other one I'd describe as real hunger, which I get if I low carb. It's a sharp small pain in the gut and a slightly grumpy but low key message that just says: 'I'm hungry. Eat soon.'

[Meralia]

Yeah, I’ve retrained myself in only eating when actually hungry.

I used to be an emotional eater, so ate when I was sad, depressed, stressed etc... it was always junk as well. My line between actual hunger and needing a food pick me up was blurred.

It’s ok to feel hungry, you don’t have to rush out and eat the moment you feel peckish.

[TemporaryPermanent]

It was really important for me in losing weight to find the difference between actual hunger and the desire to feel completely full. That stuffed feeling you get from eating a whole pizza or too much of a takeaway - I thought that was normal. I had to reeducate myself about just eating enough to stop feeling hungry, and not chasing that lovely dopey stuffed feeling.

[CoolJule43]

I've read that we often mix up the signals between hunger and thirst and that when we think we feel hungry it is often that we are dehydrated and need a drink.

To me hunger is when your tummy rumbles but sometimes it can feel like there is a sort of painful hole in the stomach which can be unfillable.