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8 Traits OfEmotional Hunger
By Van PatelThe Dietologist
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Eight Traits of Emotional Hunger
Emotional and Physical hunger can feel identical, unless
you’ve learned to identify their distinguishing
characteristics. The next time you feel voraciously hungry,
look for these signals that your appetite may be based on
emotions rather than true physical need. This awareness
may head off an emotional overeating episode.
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Emotional Hunger
Sudden onset; One minute you’re
not thinking about food, the next
you’re starving. Your hunger
changes within a short period of
time.
Hungry for specific food; Your
cravings are for one specific type
of food, such as chocolate, pasta,
or cheeseburger. With emotional
eating, you feel that you need to
eat that particular food and
nothing else will do.
“Above the neck” An emotionally
based craving begins in the
mouth and mind. Your mouth
wants to taste the food. Your
mind whirls with thoughts about
your desired food.
Urgent need; Emotional
hunger urges you to eat NOW to
instantly ease emotional pain
with food.
Paired with an upsetting
emotion; Your boss yelled at you.
Your child is in trouble at school.
Your spouse is in a bad mood.
Emotional hunger occurs in
conjunction with an upsetting
situation.
Physical Hunger
Gradual onset; Your stomach
rumbles. One hour later, it growls.
Physical hunger gives you steadily
progressive clue that it’s time to
eat.
Open to different foods; With
physical hunger, you have many
food preferences, but they are
flexible. You are open to
alternative choices.
Based in the stomach; Physical
hunger is recognisable by stomach
sensations. You feel gnawing,
rumbling, emptiness, and even
pain in your stomach with
physical hunger.
Patient need; Physical hunger
would prefer that you ate soon
but, doesn’t command you to eat
that instant.
Occurs out of physical need;
Physical hunger occurs because it
has been four or five hours since
your last meal. You may
experience light headedness or low
energy if you are overly hungry.
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Emotional Hunger
Involves automatic or absent -
minded eating. Emotional eating
can feel as if someone else’s
hand is scooping up the ice
cream and putting it into your
mouth “automatic eating.” You
may not notice that you’ve
eaten a bag of cookies (mindless
eating).
Does not notice, or stop eating,
in response to fullness.
Emotional overeating stems for
desire to cover up painful
feelings. The person stuffs
her/himself to deaden troubling
emotions and will eat second
and third helpings, even though
his/her stomach may hurt from
over fullness.
Feels guilty about eating; The
paradox of emotional overeating
is that the person eats to feel
better and ends up beating
him/herself for eating cookies,
cakes, etc. She/he promises to
him/herself they will not do it
again.
Physical Hunger
Involves deliberate choices
and awareness of eating. With
physical hunger, you are aware of
the food on your fork, in your
mouth, and in your stomach. You
consciously choose your food.
Stops when full; Physical hunger
stems from a desire to fuel and
nourish the body. As soon as that
intention is fulfilled, the person
stops eating.
Realises eating is necessary; When
the intent behind eating is
based of physical hunger, there is
no guilt or shame. The person
realises that eating food, like
breathing oxygen, is a necessary
behaviour.
The hunger and fullness scale describes different levels or varying degrees of hunger and
fullness. It is a tool that can be used to help you identify how hungry or full you are, or to
help you know when to start or stop eating.
HUNGER
0: Empty:
Uncomfortably hungry, stomach hurts, headache, difficulty concentrating,
fatigue, dizzy, weak, everything sounds good.
1: PhysicallyFaint:
Difficulty concentrating, low energy, headache, everything sounds good, past the point of com
fortable hunger.
2: Ravenous:
Stomach growling, stomach may hurt, need to get food now, everything is
starting to sound good.
3: Fairly Hungry:
Thoughts about food increase, stomach starts to growl more, need to get something to eat incre
ases.
4: SlightlyHungry:
Starting to think about food, deciding what sounds good to you, what
you would like to eat, and maybe stomach gently growling.
5: Neutral:
Neither hungry nor full Hunger:
Hunger & Fullness
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Fullness:
6: Pleasantly Satisfied:
Good point to stop as you feel comfortable and likely to be satisfied for 2 or
more hours.
7: Comfortably Full:
You may start to feel some discomfort in the stomach. Would not want to eat
more? Certainly a good time to stop if you haven't already. Leave food on the
plate if you're comfortably full.
8: Stuffed:
Past the point of comfort, very full, stomach feeling uncomfortable.
9: Bloated:
Feeling very full and uncomfortable. Stomach bloated, you need to undo your
belt or waistband to release the pressure.
10: Nauseous:
You are feeling so uncomfortable that you may need to be sick to relieve the
pressure in the stomach!
It is normal for your hunger and fullness to go back and forth all day long.
Staying in the fairly hungry to pleasantly satisfied/full ranges from 3-7 will
help you avoid extremes in hunger and fullness 1, 2, 8,9 & 10!
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Summary
If you start eating when you are fairly/slightly hungry, you
are more likely to stop eating when you are pleasantly
satisfied/full.
If you start eating when you are empty or ravenous, you
are more likely to eat until you are stuffed or sick.
The hunger and fullness scale can serve as a guide to help
you mindfully connect to your body about when to eat. It
can also help you avoid extremes in your hunger, fullness,
help you sustain energy, and help you feel your best. If you'd like some support to get your emotional
eating and weight loss under control please reach
out and complete the online enquiry form for a.
FREE discovery call.
Come and find out about my online program to help
manage emotional eating in the comfort of your
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WHY you eat!Content Produced by The Dietologist- not to be replicated without
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