Emotional Hunger vs. Physical Hunger

Let’s explore the differences between the two…

Emotional hunger

• Turning to food to avoid uncomfortable emotions or to heighten pleasurable feelings.

• Eating based on how you feel as opposed to eating when the body requires energy.

Physical hunger

• Eating when your body signals a need to actually consume food. This is much more easy to detect than emotional hunger.

We are usually able to stop eating once satisfied, whereas with emotional eating we tend to binge uncontrollably.

Have you ever noticed how there’s always room for dessert after your main meal, even though you aren’t physically hungry for it?

You may feel full, but still eat it.

This is often due to the palatability of the dessert.

When attempting to lose weight, it’s important to recognise these feelings to ensure you don’t overeat.

Look out for triggers of emotional hunger and be prepared for the challenges.