Do You Know The Difference?

Brandolin11

Do you know the difference? (And these are just TENDENCIES - these may not apply to everyone across the board)....

Physical hunger builds gradually; Emotional hunger develops quickly.
Physical hunger strikes below the neck (growling stomach); Emotional hunger strikes above the neck (ex. a "taste" for ice cream).
Physical hunger occurs about 3+ hours after a meal; Emotional hunger occurs at totally random times.
Physical hunger can be temporarily offset by drinking water; Emotional hunger still persists after drinking water.
Physical hunger goes away when you're full; Emotional hunger still persists after a good deal of food has already been eaten.
Physical hunger is satisfied after eating food; Emotional hunger leads to guilt after eating food.
Physical hunger can be suppressed with stress; Emotional hunger is activated with stress.
Physcial hunger enhances taste; Emotional hunger does not.
Emotional Hunger makes you feel a panicked desperation, like, "I have to eat this NOW or I'll go insane" kind of feeling. You almost feel like you can't think of anything else until you get that food. Physical hunger can be urgent too, if you wait too long to eat, but it's more like "sheesh, I'm so HUNGRY, can't wait to eat a sandwich" and you kind of just make your sandwich and eat it. You're not shoving the sandwich into your face like a starving refugee, like when you eat an entire pint of ice cream, for example.

What can you do to make emotional hunger go away?

1.) The most important thing is to explore why you do this. Research, ask, seek, look, read, journal, discover as much as you can about yourself. Read books (ex., the Overeater's Anonymous "Big Book" or the book "Trigger Foods" by Rhona Epstein are great resources to start with but there are many others!), articles, etc. about emotional eating. What is it? Find out. Ask yourself why you're doing it. Listen to yourself, acknowledge it. Keep a Journal about when you tend to do it and see if there are any correlations between things you're feeling inside. Work hard to grow up in this area, don't be apathetic. Figure it out, even if you have to sit down with a counselor or pastor or whatever.

2.) When you feel hungry, stop for one moment, look at the clock, and deliberately ask yourself, "what kind of hunger is this? physical or emotional?" And REALLY think about it. If you just ate an hour ago, and you feel "peckish" or "desperate" for food (especially foods you crave or trigger you to crave), you can guarantee you're not really hungry for food. You need emotional comfort and release. Food will NEVER satisfy that black hole, so don't go there. See #1 - figure out what WILL satisfy it.

3.) Ask yourself what you REALLY need in this moment, since food is *not* it. If you're bored, go do something: read, play a game, call someone, make a craft, take a walk, GET UNBORED. If you're angry at someone, talk to them, write them a letter, call them, work it out. If you're sad, watch a funny movie or listen to a favorite comedian on youtube. Put on your favorite song and sing and/or dance your heart out. If you're anxious figure out why and talk yourself through it. Or call a friend and have them talk you through it. If you are lonely, ask someone to see a movie with you. If you feel empty, pray and/or work on your spiritual journey. These are just a few suggestions for comforting yourself with things other than food.

4.) Consider abstaining from the foods you've traditionally used to comfort yourself (translate: abuse yourself) with. Like a codependent relationship, you may need time away from these foods to get them out of your system and think straight. You will not be able to comfort your emotions properly if you have bad boundaries with food. You'll keep turning to it and that absolutely stunts your growth in this area..... At some point you may be able to reintroduce these items and practice moderation with them and so much the better for you. But sometimes you temporarily, or permanently, need “time away” from a food you use as a crutch, just to get your head together.

These are just a few suggestions - anyone else? What do you do?

itsolyo

love this post---i'm definitely an emotional eater, knew it all my life, actually---but to have someone just, put it in writing just clarifies things so much more. thanks!!!

Brandolin11

love this post---i'm definitely an emotional eater, knew it all my life, actually---but to have someone just, put it in writing just clarifies things so much more. thanks!!!

I find this topic to be the elephant in the room - in here on MFP and out in the world when people talk about weight loss. We talk so much about the *physical* aspects of it, but often neglect to get into the underlying mental and emotional nuts and bolts about WHY we eat like we do. And yet, it's one of the foundational keys for long term success. So it's good to tackle it.

JessG11

Yes! Love it....especially Number 4. Great explanation.

What I would add is also seek professional help if you believe the emotional eating is out of control. I know for me, I stress eat HORRIBLY. But I am properly handling my anxiety now and it has for sure helped me with emotional eating!

Thanks for posting

Brandolin11

Yes! Love it....especially Number 4. Great explanation.

What I would add is also seek professional help if you believe the emotional eating is out of control. I know for me, I stress eat HORRIBLY. But I am properly handling my anxiety now and it has for sure helped me with emotional eating!

Thanks for posting

That's a really good one. There's absolutely no shame in going to talk to a counselor if you feel like you don't know what to do, have overwhelming obsession or anxiety issues, etc.!

JessG11

No shame in getting medicine to assist with that anxiety either!

_KitKat_

This was a great post, a while ago I saw a great article and it was what do skinny people have in common that makes it seem like its so easy for them. The answers were they were active and ate when hungry and stopped when full. I never used to worry about my weight just ate when felt I needed to and portion control was just simply the amount I wanted (happened to be the right amount). When I gained weight I had become less active and slowly started with bigger portions and grabbing a snack because I had a taste for it, undoing these new habits is what I have to do now but when you do know the differences between mental and physical hunger weight maintenance is just natural.

Brandolin11

No shame in getting medicine to assist with that anxiety either!

Amen to that!

Brandolin11

A friend just added something about this on my profile that I thought was great: She mentioned Procrastination.

Procrastination is one of the biggest emotional eating tricks. So you have a task you need to do which is unpleasant. Or, it's a pleasant task, but the thought of getting *started* is unpleasant. And how do many of us deal with uncomfortable, unpleasant emotions? We eat. Just standing up, determining to do ONE thing on our to-do list, and actually DOING it can literally make that food craving disappear into thin air!

SnowWhiteFanatic

Great post!! Thanks!

JessG11

A friend just added something about this on my profile that I thought was great: She mentioned Procrastination.

Procrastination is one of the biggest emotional eating tricks. So you have a task you need to do which is unpleasant. Or, it's a pleasant task, but the thought of getting *started* is unpleasant. And how do many of us deal with uncomfortable, unpleasant emotions? We eat. Just standing up, determining to do ONE thing on our to-do list, and actually DOING it can literally make that food craving disappear into thin air!

I never even thought about this and it is so true for me! I do this!

SuperstarDJ

I read somewhere that when you're physically hungry, you'll eat whatever's available to you, whereas with emotional hunger you'll have definite foods in mind, e.g. cookies, ice-cream, and no other food will do? Not sure if it's true or not though?

zyxst

In to find later.

OT: No, I apparently don't know the difference.

_KitKat_

There are some mental urges for foods that should not be ignored. Many times if a nutrient is low in the diet the body will start demanding what it needs. For example I become anemic at times and if my protein is not high enough I will crave protein (red meat) insanely. It is not something that would ever make me gain weight but it is a sensation that comes across as mental but has a physical need. Side Note if you ever have these sort of cravings it is important to talk to your DR. and find out what you may be deficient in and learn to control it.

Brandolin11

I read somewhere that when you're physically hungry, you'll eat whatever's available to you, whereas with emotional hunger you'll have definite foods in mind, e.g. cookies, ice-cream, and no other food will do? Not sure if it's true or not though?

Maybe not for everyone, but I think it's very true for many of us! Many of us "use" food to comfort ourselves and we use it like a friend, or a parent (or a spouse). It's rather like a relationship. We turn to it in time of need. We need something that makes us feel "better" even it only for a split second. And I don't know about you, but carrots and celery and quinoa do not typically make me feel that surge of "good, comforting" feelings, lol.

What hits me hard and fast? Sugary and fatty and salty treats. It goes straight into the bloodstream and directly to the pleasure center of my brain. For a moment, when that cupcake hits the lips, I feel "cared for", "okay", "good", "better". I "need" that food like I "need" a friend. It's very specific.

But of course we know what happens next. Trigger foods are actually more like "frenemies". In other words, they turn on you in a split second. After eating them you feel AWFUL - guilt, shame, disappointment, even physically sick, depending on how much of that thing you ate.

And the cycle begins all over again - now you feel terrible about yourself, which is stress, which is a high emotion, which causes you to crave to eat or binge all over again.

It's time for a break up with these behaviors and sometimes those specific foods! We need to learn to actually CARE for ourselves properly using healthy emotional techniques that are LONG LASTING and not temporary quick hits like drugs that take you up and then crash you down.

Brandolin11

There are some mental urges for foods that should not be ignored. Many times if a nutrient is low in the diet the body will start demanding what it needs. For example I become anemic at times and if my protein is not high enough I will crave protein (red meat) insanely. It is not something that would ever make me gain weight but it is a sensation that comes across as mental but has a physical need. Side Note if you ever have these sort of cravings it is important to talk to your DR. and find out what you may be deficient in and learn to control it.

This is a very good point. If you have this issue you should def. talk to your doctor. I would think this might feel a bit different than emotional hunger though - but not having had anemia issues I wouldn't know personally.

SuperstarDJ

There are some mental urges for foods that should not be ignored. Many times if a nutrient is low in the diet the body will start demanding what it needs. For example I become anemic at times and if my protein is not high enough I will crave protein (red meat) insanely. It is not something that would ever make me gain weight but it is a sensation that comes across as mental but has a physical need. Side Note if you ever have these sort of cravings it is important to talk to your DR. and find out what you may be deficient in and learn to control it.

Agreed. Sometimes a craving for sweet things can be a sign your blood sugar levels are low. It's the only time I crave chocolate! Micronutrient deficiencies usually cause a craving for 'healthy' things though - your case is a good example - or really strange things, like clay or coal in people with pica.

_KitKat_

There are some mental urges for foods that should not be ignored. Many times if a nutrient is low in the diet the body will start demanding what it needs. For example I become anemic at times and if my protein is not high enough I will crave protein (red meat) insanely. It is not something that would ever make me gain weight but it is a sensation that comes across as mental but has a physical need. Side Note if you ever have these sort of cravings it is important to talk to your DR. and find out what you may be deficient in and learn to control it.

This is a very good point. If you have this issue you should def. talk to your doctor. I would think this might feel a bit different than emotional hunger though - but not having had anemia issues I wouldn't know personally.

Honestly, I wouldn't know if it feels different. I am not an emotional or stress eater my fault with food is boredom, so cravings are my only experience of a want for food coming from a thought. Reading your discription of the emotions that an emotional eater feels, it is definitely nothing like that, there is zero emotion involved it is more like an obsessive thought or an itch that must be itched, when the craving is fulfilled there really isn't even a moment of relief, the craving is just gone.

farfromthetree

There are some mental urges for foods that should not be ignored. Many times if a nutrient is low in the diet the body will start demanding what it needs. For example I become anemic at times and if my protein is not high enough I will crave protein (red meat) insanely. It is not something that would ever make me gain weight but it is a sensation that comes across as mental but has a physical need. Side Note if you ever have these sort of cravings it is important to talk to your DR. and find out what you may be deficient in and learn to control it.

This is a very good point. If you have this issue you should def. talk to your doctor. I would think this might feel a bit different than emotional hunger though - but not having had anemia issues I wouldn't know personally.

Honestly, I wouldn't know if it feels different. I am not an emotional or stress eater my fault with food is boredom, so cravings are my only experience of a want for food coming from a thought. Reading your discription of the emotions that an emotional eater feels, it is definitely nothing like that, there is zero emotion involved it is more like an obsessive thought or an itch that must be itched, when the craving is fulfilled there really isn't even a moment of relief, the craving is just gone.

I totally hear you. I felt the same way. I have learned to have what it is I crave, yet control how much and when. For me, the craving doesn't go away until I have some of whatever it is I am craving. But, it is a great feeling to not be "out of control" with it.

WBB55

Do you know the difference?

After 30+ years of emotional eating, I have to tell you, what I've learned is that my thoughts and feelings on hunger are simply not to be trusted. My hunger is a pathological liar.

-I always "want" to eat more
-I "crave" things that don't fuel what I want to accomplish
-I never feel "full"

-The only way I know I'm actually hungry is by looking at the clock.
-The only way I know what I actually might have a deficiency in my diet is by looking back at the foods I've logged.
-The only way I know I've eaten enough/too much/not enough is by calculating how many calories I just consumed.

Brandolin11

Do you know the difference?

After 30+ years of emotional eating, I have to tell you, what I've learned is that my thoughts and feelings on hunger are simply not to be trusted. My hunger is a pathological liar.

-I always "want" to eat more
-I "crave" things that don't fuel what I want to accomplish
-I never feel "full"

-The only way I know I'm actually hungry is by looking at the clock.
-The only way I know what I actually might have a deficiency in my diet is by looking back at the foods I've logged.
-The only way I know I've eaten enough/too much/not enough is by calculating how many calories I just consumed.

What a great testimony to the power of using good tools that exist outside of ourselves. I am very much like you. I think I've gotten more saavy at detecting my "inner cues" as well, over time, but I have also observed that they can be very deceptive and cannot always be trusted. Sometimes, but not always. So my tools are my official "back-up", which I will ALWAYS use, just in case. Thanks for that.