I eat even though I'm not hungry. There is probably no person who has not happened to this. Today, food has so many meanings and roles that it is virtually impossible to consider it merely as a source of survival energy. Find out what emotional hunger is, how to recognize it, and for what reasons you eat the most often, even though you are not hungry.
Functions of food in the modern world
Eating to satisfy your hunger is a natural and survival activity. But, let's be honest, none of us eat just to survive. We often eat food out of boredom. Food can be a reward (I coped with this client very well. I'm going for coffee and cake!). It can be a consolation after difficult experiences and relaxation after a hard day (Hmm … maybe chips for the series?). Food performs many functions apart from the typically biological one, i.e. providing energy and nutrients.
What can food express and what functions does it perform?
- It is a form of expressing feelings, e.g. inviting a partner to dinner, grandparents giving sweets to children.
- Reduces tension, regulates emotions, e.g. eating when you are sad, snacking or restricting eating when stressed.
- Works as a punishment or reward, e.g. taking your kids to fries for good grades at school.
- Gives you a sense of control, e.g. over your own life while following a restrictive diet.
- Expresses power, e.g. forcing children to eat.
- It is an expression of cultural identity, e.g. eating traditional Christmas attitudes.
- It is an expression of religious identity, e.g. meat fasting on Friday among Catholics, not eating pork by Muslims.
- Expresses social and economic standing, e.g. eating oysters.
- Fills up time - eating out of boredom.
- Compensates for experienced shortcomings, e.g. loneliness, dissatisfaction with work.
- Is a form of expression of views, e.g. vegetarianism.
- The above list is not exhaustive. There are even more roles of food in the modern world. However, on its basis, you can start looking for answers to why you eat, even though you are not hungry.
Physiological hunger and emotional hunger
Reaching for food when the stomach is not rumbling at all is an expression of satisfying emotional hunger. Yes, we distinguish between physiological hunger whichyou have to satisfy to survive and emotional hunger, which is not the best idea to satisfy with food. Instead, it answers the question"Why do I eat when I'm not hungry?"You eat because of emotional hunger. It is worth learning to distinguish such hunger and make an informed decision whether you want to satisfy it.
How to distinguish between physiological and emotional hunger
| PHYSIOLOGICAL HUNGER | EMOTIONAL HUNGER |
| Builds up gradually | Appears suddenly |
| Feels below the breastbone as a sucking or rumbling belly | It is felt in the mouth as a desire for something, the so-called I have a taste for … |
| Begins to feel a few hours after a meal | Appears regardless of the time of the meal |
| It is the need to eat anything | Is the need to eat a specific product |
| It disappears after eating | It persists despite the feeling of fullness and a full stomach |
| Makes eating related to the feeling of contentment | Often causes eating to be associated with feelings of guilt or shame |
Why do I eat even though I'm not hungry?
Very easy, basically unlimited access to food meant that we stopped treating it only as a form of satisfying biological needs. Food satisfies our emotional needs, and this can lead to very unfavorable effects.
What situations and emotions are most often accompanied by eating despite the lack of hunger?
Boredom
Boredom is the most common feeling associated with emotional eating. You wander aimlessly around the apartment, unconsciously peeking into the refrigerator and the cupboard, which often contains something sweet. Or you don't feel like sitting at your computer so badly that you just go to the kitchen and make yourself a cup of coffee. And maybe a croissant for this? Why not, the brain needs sugar to work after all. Sounds familiar? If boredom and lack of mind activity make you reach for food, try to do anything for 5-7 minutes. During this time, you will almost 100% forget that you wanted to eat something.
Stress
Chronic stress is associated with elevated levels of cortisol in the blood, the hormone responsible for the fight-or-flight response. The same hormone makes you want to eat more as a result of stress exhaustion. Due to elevated cortisol levels, you may be prone to snacking and lose control of the amount of food that unknowingly flows into your stomach.
Eating under stress also has a different background. Taking care ofthe act of eating makes you forget for a moment what caused the tension. Eating, especially sweet and favorite foods, also triggers the production of "happiness hormones", which makes you feel better after eating.
Fatigue
I perfectly remember the moment when, during a period of very intense work, moving and renovation, I came to the store and bought a chocolate bar. Completely unknowingly. I threw myself at him. I was not hungry. I was terribly tired and my brain was begging for a quick source of energy. Hence such an unbridled craving for sugar.
Fatigue very often makes you reach for food, even though you should just take a nap, or in fact start getting a good night's sleep. As a result of fatigue, the level of ghrelin increases - a hormone whose secretion also increases due to physiological hunger. At the same time, the level of leptin - the satiety hormone - drops. In the case of fatigue, the response of ghrelin and leptin is exactly the same as in the case of hunger. So it's no surprise that you want to eat even though your body doesn't really need the extra calories.
Anxiety and fears
People experiencing anxiety and anxiety, and thus also problems with falling asleep, often feel an overwhelming urge to eat, also at night. Some of them say that by eating despite the lack of hunger, they try to drown out anxiety and fear. Such conditions require consultation with a doctor and should not be taken lightly.
Crowd pressure
Eating doesn't always happen when you're alone and in a bad mood. Socializing also promotes emotional eating. It's easy to get carried away by the good atmosphere of meeting friends or family and eating because everyone around you is eating to please the host or not to notice how much you've eaten because conversations are so engaging.
Drinking alcohol
Alcohol lowers the ability to judge a situation rationally, and therefore makes you ignore how much you have already eaten and whether you actually want to eat, or simply "your eyes would eat". Another very important factor is the stimulation of AgRP neurons by alcohol, i.e. hunger neurons. Alcohol activates them, even though the caloric balance is correct and you don't need to eat at all. The strongest trigger of food, despite the lack of hunger, is beer. Beer contains opioid-like substances, which activates the brain to search for food, even though it itself contains a lot of calories.
Lack of mindfulness
Mindfulness while eating, focusing on the activities of eating is extremely important to do it naturally, without countingeat as much calories as your body needs. Unknowingly eating while doing other activities (e.g. watching TV, reading a book, working) makes you completely lose control over the amount of food you put in your mouth. Even though you ate a lot while nibbling on chips while you were watching the show, you still feel hungry because you haven't paid enough attention to your brain to register it properly.
You need emotional comfort
Eating is fun. There is no doubt about that. Food also gives comfort. Often, after a hard day, you do not have the strength to do anything else that could compensate for the difficult day and provide the necessary dose of pleasure. So you start eating. It is simple, quick, requires almost no effort, and creates a feeling of comfort and satisfaction. It all comes from early childhood, when food was synonymous with safety and well-being. Therefore, in adulthood, many people give exactly the same meaning to food.
Author
Aleksandra Żyłowska-Mharrab, dietician Food technologist, dietitian, educator. A graduate of Biotechnology at the Gdańsk University of Technology and Nutritional Services at the Maritime University. A supporter of simple, he althy cuisine and conscious choices in everyday nutrition. My main interests include building permanent changes in eating habits and individually composing a diet according to the body's needs. Because the same thing is not he althy for everyone! I believe that nutritional education is very important, both for children and adults. I focus my activities on spreading knowledge about nutrition, analyze new research results, and make my own conclusions. I adhere to the principle that a diet is a lifestyle, not strict adherence to meals on a sheet of paper. There is always room for delicious pleasures in he althy and conscious eating.