Are you really hungry/thirsty or just bored?

Boredom is a factor especially when stuck at home in lockdown. However, there are also other drivers for wanting food when it seems like it may not be an appropriate time but we want it anyway!

In one recent study, individuals responded “appropriately” by drinking water when they were thirsty but not hungry only 2 percent of the time. They responded “inappropriately” 62 percent of the time. In other words:

1. They didn’t eat and drink when they were hungry and thirsty
2. They ate and/or drank when they weren’t hungry or thirsty
3. They drank when they were hungry but not thirsty
4. They ate when they were thirsty but not hungry

So you can see how confused the brain is when the signals are subtle and we are tuned out from our body. If we are continually interpreting these signals incorrectly then we may well be heading away from health accidentally.

Another study a few years ago found that, among adults, poor hydration was associated with higher body mass index (BMI). Researchers speculated that individuals who are classified as obese on the BMI charts may have a harder time staying hydrated — the more you weigh the more water you need — and so may be more likely to eat when they are actually thirsty, especially if they find it difficult to tell the difference between hunger and thirst cues.

Staying hydrated can be as easy as setting up a water bottle to stay with you throughout your day and keep sipping and refilling so you know how much you have got rough in the day. A rough guide on how much – simply multiple your body weight by 0.03 and you should get an amount in liters to consume for your size. e.g. 90kg x 0.03 = 2.7 nearly 3 litres per day.

How does hunger feel for you? Physical hunger grows gradually as the time since your last meal increases. How soon you’ll start feeling hunger depends in part on the size and composition of your previous meal or snack, but pay particular attention to possible hunger cues between two and five hours after eating.

Boredom Eating

Many people struggle with boredom eating, or eating to pass the time — even if they’re not truly hungry. In fact, boredom eating and other forms of emotional eating may contribute to excess weight gain.

Physical hunger

This type is true hunger, in which your body needs food so it can create more energy.

With this type of hunger, your stomach feels empty and may rumble. You may also have hunger pangs. If you don’t eat, you may experience low blood sugar levels and feel weak, unfocused, or fatigued.

Psychological hunger

Psychological hunger occurs when you have a desire to eat but feel no physical signs that your body needs food.

It may manifest as a craving for dessert despite feeling full from a meal, or a desire for a specific item or type of food.

Contrast this sensation with physical hunger, which can be satisfied by any food at all.

What are the triggers for psychological hunger?

Boredom eating may not only occur as a result of boredom but also various triggers outlined below. For example, stress, poor sleep, and easy access to junk foods may make you more likely to eat out of boredom.

In fact it may be more common that other types of eating like emotional eating. People who are prone to boredom may be more likely to over eat or emotionally eat.

Chronic stress triggers hunger hormones which may lead some to over eat. Socialisation, if people around you are eating you are more likely to join them. Have you every been to a party and eaten dinner before you left home but when everyone there is eating you feel like you should join them even though you don’t need to?!

Poor sleep can have an impact on your hunger hormone as well. The hunger hormone goes up when we are under slept as the fullness hormone leptin also goes down so we get a double whammy effect!

Hyperpalatable foods. These are the food designed in a lab to have the perfect mouth feel! The balance of sweetness or saltiness is created so that it taste SOOO good we cannot resist going back for more and more and more!!

Fuel your body first

Eating the right foods first will set you up for less cravings and a feeling of fullness between meals. Once this is in place you should find it easier to go from meal to meal without actually needing more food. A decent portion of protein is key to staying full between meals, add in the veggies for micro nutrients and a natural feeling of fullness and you brain won’t be demanding more until the next mean is actually due.

Drink plenty of water as indicated already and that will take care of the thirst. If all these are ticked off them the last port of call is a mental check in:

Trust yourself to know how your body feels when you’re truly hungry. If you want, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What emotions are you feeling?
2. Are you bored, anxious, or sad?
3. When is the last time you ate a meal or snack?
4. Are you experiencing signs of true hunger, even if they’re early signs?

Move your Mind!

Often changing your location, finding something different to do can be enough to give the brain the stimulation you need.

1. Have a plan for if you get bored then it’s an easy shift at the time of boredom onset
2. Wait 30 mins – often this can be enough to let the food craving pass
3. Drink a glass of water – that old chestnut of mistaking thirst for hunger
4. Know when to seek help – if non of these strategies are helping go see your doctor and ask for some strategies or enlist the help of a health coach who can step you through the process of these things and set goals and support you accordingly.