When we encourage people to listen to their hunger and fullness cues, what do we mean? After all, it sounds like very arbitrary advice. In a culture filled with words and images that idolize dieting, restriction, and prescriptive eating templates, we have all but lost our ability to follow the guidance of our bodies’ innate wisdom. In this article, we hope to better explain hunger and fullness, what steps you can take to listen to the messages your body is providing you, and the benefits you will reap for doing so. 

 

What is hunger?

 

Hunger, the strong desire to eat, can be influenced by two main contributors.  

 

Physical Hunger

• This happens when the body reaches the physical need to eat and replenish.
• Hunger comes on gradually. 
• Stomach begins to growl, feeling low in energy, fatigued, or irritable. 

 

Emotional Hunger 

• An emotionally based craving usually revolves around what your mind and mouth want— often comfort foods.
• This differs from physical hunger as hunger comes on suddenly and you feel as though you are “starving.”
• Typically paired with an upsetting or strong emotion (ex., sadness, loneliness, boredom, stress, anxiety, depression, anger, frustration, excitement, wanting to feel love/connected/comforted, feeling the need to reward or bribe with food).
• Often linked with absent-minded eating.
• Emotional hunger has strong ties to an inability to stop eating in response to fullness cues.
• Frequently accompanied with feeling guilty after eating. 

 

With either of these hunger contributors, there is a distinction between fullness and satisfaction. Fullness is the physical sensation of satiety, while satisfaction is the mental experience of satiety. To better illustrate this, think of a time that you were hungry, and you got exactly what you were hungry for— reflect on how that felt for you (ex., content, satisfied, happy, good). Now think about a time when you were hungry, but for whatever reason, you didn’t get what you wanted—even if you got full, it is likely you never felt satisfied. And here is a little science lesson so that you understand the hormones that control our appetites: 

 

Ghrelin: known as the “hunger hormone,” Ghrelin is secreted by the stomach when blood sugar drops and is involved in stimulating hunger.

Leptin: produced by fat cells, this hormone initiates feelings of satiety in the brain (specifically, in the hypothalamus).

Peptides: released by nerves in the stomach and small intestine, these hormones signal the hypothalamus to reduce hunger and for the stomach to slow down emptying.

 

Okay, now that we have provided you with some behind the scenes info, you might be wondering how you can make this scientific balance work to your advantage, and WHY it is important to do so. 

 

As noted earlier, many of us have lost the ability to connect to our bodies and to truly be able to listen to the cues it provides all day long. Observe a child in your life (or look back at your own childhood) and notice how he or she are able to pick up a food, eat it, and stop eating when they are no longer hungry. Obviously once social cues and introduction to hyperpalatable foods has taken place, they may start losing that connection, but overall, they do a great job listening to what their bodies tell them (minus the going to bed part when they are tired. They absolutely fight that one). These signals are here to tell us when to start and when to stop eating. It’s quite simple, yet we have complicated things because of social pressure, diets, lack of self-care, and deficiency in self-attunement (we are more tuned into our tech devices than our bodies). Good news! You can unlearn those behaviors, practice new behaviors, and create a new and healthier relationship with your body. 

  

How to listen to your hunger and fullness cues 

 

Depending on how long you have been disconnected from your hunger and fullness cues, this practice may take some time until you get the hang of it and learn to trust that the signals are correct. 

 

Scale your hunger from 1 to 10 

1.  Very Uncomfortable hungry—hard to focus, weak, dizzy, nauseous
2. Extremely hungry—‘hangry’, irritable, low energy levels, headache, starting to get shaky
3. Hungry—stomach feels empty, may be growling, ready for a meal 
4. I could eat—low level of hunger, could have a snack
5. Neutral—neither hungry nor full, could keep eating, but could stop if a snack and eating again soon (this is how you should feel a couple hours after a filling meal). 
6. Mild fullness—or pleasantly full, but you still wouldn’t mind eating more
7. Satisfied—or comfortable and satisfied. Stomach feels full, but not overly full and not uncomfortable
8. Slightly overfull—some feelings of discomfort, and there is some roundness in your stomach
9. Stuffed—very full and uncomfortable, want to unbutton pants 
10. Physically ill—painfully stuffed and feeling sick 

  

Practice listening to your body 

 

As you are learning to listen to your body, you will initially want to be more intentional with your actions. Use the hunger scale provided to help you understand the signals and the level of hunger/fullness you are experiencing. 

• Take a moment to sit quietly with yourself. You can even close your eyes if this will help with focus. Place your hands on your belly and notice the sensations you are experiencing—does it feel empty? Is it making rumbling sounds? When you think of food, how does it feel and how does the rest of your body feel? What is your energy like currently? If your body is providing hunger signals, assess where you are on the scale provided (to the best of your ability), and move on to the next stage. If not, check in again later.
• Get curious. Ask yourself what food your body is hungry for—savory, salty, hydrating? How hungry is your body (again, good time to use the scale if you haven’t already)?
• Slow down. Once you have chosen the food, eat it slowly and mindfully. Take time to enjoy and savor each bite. Allow your body to properly digest and absorb the meal.
• Check in. After you have finished eating, scan your belly/body again to see how you feel. If this was a child, would he or she be asking for more food or was that enough? Also, was the food what you wanted, and did it satisfy the fullness and satisfaction needs? 

 

Ideally, start eating when you are feeling at about a 3 or 4. At this point, you are not irritable or ‘hangry,’ you are not uncomfortable, and your blood sugar isn’t too low. This means that you are better able to use judgement and intention when choosing what and how much to eat. If you do find yourself at a 1 or 2, do your best to slow down when you eat and practice mindfulness. As for when to stop eating, a good aiming point is 7 because you are feeling comfortable and content, and your body will be primed to eat in a few hours. If you pass that point, it is completely ok! Unzip those pants (or get into comfier clothes) and remind yourself that your next meal is an opportunity to improve your listening skills and to better understand your fullness signals. 

 

By becoming a great listener to your own body’s hunger and fullness cues, you will develop: 

• A healthier attitude toward food and body image.
• Increased awareness as to what, when, and how much to eat—there’s room for all kinds of foods when you learn to listen and trust your body.
• The ability to eat the foods that support your body as well as make you feel satisfied—choosing from a wide variety of foods will offer diversity and enjoyment.
• Freedom from diet dogmas, rules, and restrictions. 

The gift of making peace with food, which can ultimately help you make peace with your body.