Surely you have felt this in some situation: cravings and the need to eat at odd hours, opening the pantry or refrigerator without really knowing what you are looking for, or thinking about food when you have to sit down to do a task.
Did you know that this sensation is understood as emotional hunger? They are impulses that are detrimental to your diet, and identifying them will be of great help to control them. Some of the main situations that we identify as “emotional hunger” are associated with the end of a hectic day full of stress, moments when the body relaxes; with when you have fewer tasks to do and you confuse boredom with hunger; or an escape route from personal problems, turning to food for the release of happiness hormones it produces in our body.
We explain to you the difference between physiological and emotional hunger and some tips to control it
Physiological hunger is the natural sensation that occurs in our body when you need nutrients to satisfy the body’s needs People need nutrients derived from food to fulfill a multitude of internal and external functions.
We can classify nutrients as macronutrients (proteins, fats and carbohydrates), and as micronutrients: vitamins and minerals.
Identifying physiological hunger
Physiological hunger is natural, we all feel it, and it is okay to even feel a little hungry at the next meal. It is just an alert from our body that we need food
Below, we leave some notions to learn to identify physiological hunger:
What is emotional hunger?
Emotional hunger occurs as reaction to escape certain emotions, which are usually negative Our body is prepared to survive and feel good, it looks for a quick way to escape from certain situations that we dislike… and from this short-term point of view, what better than a rapid hormonal release through food.
Identifying emotional hunger
Analyzing our body and understanding it will make you have a better relationship with it and therefore you will get a better version of yourself.
Surely you have ever felt this instant hunger after a hectic day in the society we have built, or during weekends of boredom without knowing what to do. We leave you some notions to identify when it is emotional hunger:
Once we differentiate emotional hunger from physiological hunger, We have to learn to control emotional hunger to have greater balance in our habits and our health, obtaining a greater feeling of well-being and fullness. Therefore, we leave you some guidelines to combat emotional hunger.
Improve your relationship with food
Improving your relationship with food is essential to improving your diet, it is the first step This means breaking the traditional concept of diet, commonly understood as a circumstantial methodology to lose the maximum possible kilos in the shortest time, in whatever way, without taking into account health or other patterns. This is a mistake, the ideal is that your diet gives you a greater feeling of well-being and fullness, that it helps you have more energy or even that it helps you prevent diseases.
The word diet actually means the set of foods that we eat on a daily basis, and this It has to be varied, balanced and adapt to your person There is still the belief that when a person diets there are forbidden foods, when in reality this is not true, but perhaps their consumption should be reduced.
There are no bad or good foods
A fairly common mistake is to classify foods as good or bad, depending on your objective. For example, thinking that there are good foods for losing weight. There are no healthy foods in and of themselves. Health lies in the total count of foods and day-to-day actions
We recommend that you vary foods, this will contribute to the nutrient richness of your diet and avoid generating allergies and intolerances due to excess. In this sense, a motto that we really like is:
“Not even a salad is going to make you healthier, nor is a hamburger less healthy”
Help yourself improve your health with different habits incorporated into your routine, such as:
A greater balance in our diet.
More physical activity.
A better rest.
Greater emotional balance.
Changing your lifestyle is a process
Don’t go from white to black, bringing greater balance in our lives and our habits is a gray scale Start little by little, changing and improving certain habits, it all adds up! If you can’t exercise for 5 days, maybe you can do 2, and that’s fine, you don’t have to have all the perfect meals.
It’s a process, so small steps will help you develop a habit since you control those emotional impulses more and more. If you put your mind to it, you will surely make the total count of your day-to-day diet more balanced and sustainable.
Start now! Don’t go on a diet again, but change your lifestyle forever.
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This article has been reviewed by our editorial team at PsychologyFor to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to evidence-based research. The content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.
