Am I Hungry?
One of the most difficult things about recovery is that anyone who has had irregular eating habits for a long time has lost touch with their body’s natural signals of hunger and fullness. Many might ask: “What does hunger even feel like?”.
This question was posed to members of the message boards at www.joyprojectonline.com.
Here’s a collection of their answers.
Question: For me, I always know it’s time to eat when:
- I start thinking about what I might want to eat next
- I see a picture of food and it looks reeeeeeeeeallly tasty
- I get a headache
- I get cranky and don’t want to do anything that requires alot of energy
- I have difficulty focusing and concentrating on complex tasks
- I start slouching or searching for a place to sit down and rest because standing is taking too much energy
- I tend to get really anxious and VERY impatient/jittery when I’m hungry
- It’s been a few hours since the last time I’ve eaten
- My stomach growls
- I get confused as to what I’m supposed to be doing or I can’t make a decision
- I start pacing or tapping my foot excessively
- I get weepy and whiny
- Sometimes I think I need a nap, but really, I’m hungry
- I get irritable
- I get impatient – people are suddenly much too slow, too annoying, etc.
- I get clumsy. I start to drop pencils, knock over objects on my desk or counter, etc.
- I get slightly shaky (and that usually only happens when I am REALLY in need of some food)
- I stop talking as much and start to withdraw from the people I’m with
- My anxiety goes through the roof
- I’ll start to stare off into space
- Food commercials, diet ads, food in TV shows/movies start to stand out
- When I reach for a piece of gum, I need to eat something
- I start daydreaming about what I will eat next
- I start wondering how long it will be until it’s time to eat.
How about you? How do you know when you’re hungry?
