Understanding the Different Types of Hunger

red/orange neon sign reading 'eat what makes you happy' via Upsplash

Did you know that there are multiple types of hunger? Honoring hunger is an important principle in the Intuitive Eating framework and it covers 4 different types of hunger that we can experience. In the past, we’ve discussed how to honor your hunger, and today we are diving into the different types of hunger and how to distinguish between the different types.

Before we dive in, let’s go over a few important points.

1. Remember that Intuitive Eating is a framework and guide, not a set of rules to follow or a diet.

2. There will be times when you make the choice to eat food and you don’t feel physical hunger. Read that again. Intuitive Eating is sometimes called the ‘Hunger/Fullness Diet’. Yes, the framework helps people identify their hunger and fullness cues, but this simplification misses the other equally important types of hunger we can experience as humans.

3. Attempting to tune into and practice experiencing all types of hunger all at once might feel really overwhelming. Consider tuning into one type of hunger for a bit until you understand it better and feel more comfortable with it.

4 Different Types of Hunger

Physical /Primal Hunger | Physical hunger is often the standard definition of hunger. We feel biological sensations from our body letting us know it needs food. Sensations can include but are not limited to feeling faint, having a headache, having difficulty concentrating, gnawing, gurgling, or uncomfortable stomach pain, and even feeling hangry. Everyone experiences physical hunger sensations in different ways, so just because your sensations are different from your friends, does not mean yours are wrong. It can be difficult to identify your hunger cues if you are recovering from an eating disorder, struggle with disordered eating, and/or have dieted in the past. This is normal. If you find you need more assistance in this area, consider utilizing the Hunger/Fullness scale, eating every 3-4 hours, or working with a dietitian.

Taste Hunger | Taste hunger is making the choice to eat food because it sounds good or looks good. When we experience taste hunger, we might not have any physical hunger sensations. Consider when a co-worker brings in homemade treats. You might not be physically hungry, but it looks so good and likely tastes great! For some, honoring taste hunger can feel like a slippery slope that leads to a binge, increased restriction, increased body image distress, increased thoughts about food, increased feelings of being out of control, and more. The good news is that with work, it’s possible to honor taste hunger in a supportive and positive way. When we create rigidity around when we can and can’t eat food, we create a barrier to interoceptive awareness and miss out on opportunities to enjoy good food and make memories.

Practical Hunger | Practical hunger focuses on the awareness of your body’s hunger for the longer term. Let’s say you have a busy day a work with a solid block of meetings from 11:30 - 2:30. You usually get hungry and eat lunch around 1:00, but that does not seem possible today because of your schedule. You know from past experience that if you skip lunch, your hunger cues grow in intensity and you start to feel angry. Instead of waiting the entire day to eat, you enjoy an early lunch/hearty snack before your meetings to ensure your body has what it needs until you are free to eat something more. Similarly to Taste Hunger, you might experience any physical hunger sensations and that is okay.

Emotional Hunger | It’s likely you’ve heard the phrase ‘emotional eating.’ Like other types of hunger, emotional eating tends to get a back rap in diet culture. Emotional eating can be a helpful coping tool to have in our toolbox. The difficulty comes when it’s our only tool and it’s used as a way to numb uncomfortable emotions. Often, when we emotionally eat, food becomes our go-to tool to make ourselves feel better and in skipping right to this option, we bypass the opportunity to better understand ourselves and meet our actual needs.

Distinguishing Types of Hunger

If you find it difficult to identify the type of hunger you are experiencing, asking yourself a handful of questions is a great starting point [1]. When it comes to making changes in our life, it can be helpful to build awareness and get curious first.

1. Am I biologically hungry? Ask yourself this question, tune into any hunger sensations, and consider utilizing the hunger/fullness scale to help guide you. If it’s a YES, honor that hunger by enjoying food. If it’s a NO, move to the next question.

2. What am I feeling? We recently wrote a post on how to identify and feel your feelings. Our feelings and how we engage with food are highly connected. Tuning into your feelings can help you identify what you need, which brings us to the next question.

3. What do I need? Are your needs being met? Are you tired? In need of physical activity or social time with friends? Remember that as a human, you have needs. Honoring those needs consistently helps with mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Not tending to those needs consistently can lead to stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, and more. If you are not sure what you might need, consider testing things out like:

   • going for a walk

   • talking to a friend or family member

   • doing a yoga class

   • journaling how you feel

   • crying

   • buying yourself fresh flowers

4. Would you please…? Maybe part of what you need involves the help of someone else. Perhaps you need to hang out with a friend at their house to chat and pet their cat. Or you need your partner to take over making dinner for the next few days to allow yourself a little extra time to relax. With this step, you are not only honoring your needs, but you are communicating them, advocating for them, and helping other people better understand you and your world.

A note on social situations: There are a lot of social activities that involve food. You might feel pressured to eat or not eat, and more, depending on the situation. You can utilize the questions above to help you if you are feeling stuck. But also remember that you can make empowered choices that feel good and appropriate to you. There might be concern about judgment from other people for your choice, however, it is not your job to manage other people’s discomfort or judgment. Consider exploring any fears or feelings of judgment to better understand how to manage those feelings.

Moving Forward

Honoring all types of hunger is an act of self-care and self-compassion. Unfortunately, diet culture tends to demonize eating and enjoying food outside of strict parameters and rigid rules, leaving people feeling guilt and shame for acts of self-care, self-compassion, and self-love.

Honoring your hunger takes practice. I find that when clients want to make more supportive changes in their lives, they want the changes to take effect quickly. Remember, you did not get to this place overnight. It will take time to move to shift your relationship with food and your body.

Practice, practice, practice. Focus on tuning into one type of hunger until you feel more comfortable recognizing it and honoring it. Use each experience to gather data to help inform your choices moving forward. Give yourself grace and support when you feel discomfort. Consider the smallest baby step you can take FIRST (hint: building awareness and getting curious is a GREAT, necessary, and helpful first step!). Find support from friends, a group, or a practitioner.

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Resources Used:

[1] Tribole, E., & Resch, E. (2020). Intuitive Eating, 4th Edition (Updated). St. Martin’s Essentials.

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Collaborative Counseling & Nutrition is an outpatient nutrition and body image counseling center, with locations in Indianapolis and Carmel, that provides compassionate, holistic eating disorder treatment. Through practicing mindfulness, intuition, and Health At Every Size, we are on a mission to help you find a true state of well-being! We take an anti-diet, weight-inclusive approach with all our clients and work to help guide you towards a way of healthy living designed by you, just for you! This post is for education purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for treatment for an eating disorder. If you are looking for a registered dietitian or therapist to assist you on your recovery journey, please reach out today!