Hunger or Habit?

Hunger or Habit

Today I pose this the question that many people have difficulty answering: are you eating out of habit or hunger? 

First, why do people eat? Silly question, sure. But think about it. We eat out of necessity – humans need food to survive – because we cannot exist on air or water alone despite some people who claim otherwise.  

Some people will eat several times a day, but others will go hours without eating because they are busy. 

Some people will say, I cannot imagine forgetting to eat. But many people do. Going to school, working, taking care of family all in one day over and over again, people will forget some things. But it will also catch up with them. 

But here, I want to address what hunger is. 

Hunger is the physiological response from the body that makes you want to eat. Your body sends physical messages (through a series of hormones) to your brain that your stomach is empty. Hunger makes your stomach growl and gives you hunger pangs. Hunger makes some people feel lightheaded or grouchy. Because of this, the word hangry is in the dictionary as of 2018. Hangry is an adjective that describes the feeling of being irritable due to hunger.  

Appetite is not the same as hunger. Appetite is a desire for a particular food, a psychological response to food. For example, dessert is available after you have finished a meal and you are completely satisfied and no longer have hunger. If something sounds appetizing, the brain will override the message of “but we are not hungry” and say “yes.”  

Hunger and appetite will often go together, but they can also be separate. For example, you can have an appetite without hunger leading to the consumption of eight Oreos. Okay, 12. 

You can have hunger and no appetite, such as when you are sick – and your stomach and brain insist on being fed for the good of the person, but not one thing is appealing.

So, with this, I now turn to habit. Habit is an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary. It is something that we do without really even thinking much about it. 

Eating breakfast is a good habit to adopt. For some people, it takes effort to eat breakfast. It is not a habit. The practice of making coffee every morning. More likely a habit. 

I don’t want to address the “good” vs. “bad” habits here, but I ask whether eating at specific times is related to hunger or habit. 

Are you going for snacks in the pantry at 8:00 pm after having a well-balanced and satiating dinner? Are you having a bowl of cereal before bed even though you ate just a couple of hours ago? Again, I ask: is this because you are hungry? Or is it a habit? 

Are you going to the coffee shop mid-morning? What is the reason? 

Are you having the snack mid-afternoon? Habit or to help alleviate hunger that is just around the corner?  

Asking this question is not to judge but more asking for self-awareness. You don’t need to change anything. Just observe. 

At times, when on vacation, we find that we cannot eat three meals. Because of a habit of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it may seem strange not to have three meals. But if we are not hungry? Why force it?  

As you go through your days and eating episodes, ask yourself “am I eating to satisfy hunger or because this is a habit?” It could be both. And it may be just one. 

Sometimes, when people recognize that the bowl of cereal or the ice cream is more habit than hunger, it may naturally decline after that acknowledgment.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this one. Let me know.