Are you scared of feeling hungry?

The fear of feeling hungry is REAL...

It might seem surprising, especially with food options at every turn, but many people truly fear hunger. I see it all the time with my clients—week after week. They often don’t even realise that it’s hunger itself they’re wary of, but once they recognise what’s going on, things start to click.

Do you fear hunger? How do you know?

Here are seven signs to look out for:

 1. Your fridge and pantry shelves are always full to overflowing.

2. You don't allow yourself to get hungry before eating again.

3. You graze all day long.

4. You skip breakfast because when you eat it, you get hungrier during the day.

5. You drink LOTS of water throughout the day because you find that keeps your hunger at bay.

6. You keep yourself busy, throwing yourself into your work or exercise to distract yourself so that you won't notice your hunger signals.

7. You spend an excessive amount of time planning what to eat and try to "control" your hunger by eating specific foods (like lots of protein, or low calorie, diet foods) or drinking diet drinks, like diet coke.

Now doing any of those things doesn't guarantee that you fear feeling hunger, but it certainly makes it a lot more likely.

So what is hunger? And why do we find it so scary?

Hunger is a natural body signal, letting us know it’s time to eat. When your stomach’s empty, it releases a hormone called ghrelin, which travels through the bloodstream to the brain’s hunger-regulating center—the hypothalamus. This along with a combo of other signals is how your body cues you in on hunger.

​The most important thing to realise is that hunger is meant to feel uncomfortable. It's designed to motivate you to go find something to eat, which years ago (think cave-man times) wasn't as easy to do as it is today. Back then it could have taken you hours of foraging to find a handful of berries. Whereas now all you have to do is open a bag or a box!

Let’s dive into some of the common reasons you might fear hunger. While there are many, here are the top four I see most often:

1. As a child, you may not have had consistent access to food, or there were times when you didn’t get enough to eat. Even now, as an adult with plenty of food available, this memory can be hard to shake.

2. Or, like me, you might have been told, “You’re not really hungry, just drink some water,” so you tried your best to make the hunger to go away, but most of the time it didn't and you remember just how painful that was (yes, I used to have the fear of being hungry too!)

3. Possibly THE most common reason I see is that you spent years dieting, often feeling hungry but not “allowed” to eat, which can now cause you to feel very anxious when you even just THINK about being hungry.

4. And another common reason is that in the past when you got hungry, you ate too fast or too much, felt sick or uncomfortable and now you’re afraid that if you allow yourself to ever get hungry, you'll overeat like that again.

The issue with fearing hunger is that it makes it difficult to tune into your “Perfect Gauge” —the internal signals that help you recognise when you’re truly hungry and when you’re comfortably full.

When you're afraid to let yourself feel hunger, you'll end up eating pre-emptively—before your body signals that it's time.

When fear takes over, you might ignore or misinterpret these signals. You can eat due to anxiety rather than genuine hunger, eat beyond fullness to avoid future hunger and this disconnection will most likely cause you to overeat.

When you consistently eat more than your body needs, over time, this leads to weight gain and make losing weight harder. You’ll also remain disconnected from your body’s needs and struggle to build a healthy, balanced relationship with food.

​So what can you do? What's the fix?

Well the first step is awareness. So stop and ask yourself honestly if this could be an issue for you.

And if it is, the next most important thing to realise is that there are two kinds of fear:

The first one is logical, rational fear. The second, mind story fear.

Logical fear is based on real, tangible risks—like staying away from the edge of a cliff to avoid slipping and falling over. This type of fear is protective and keeps you safe.

Whereas mind story fears aren't real. They stem from the stories you tell yourself about what "could" go wrong. Or "will" go wrong. And it's usually stated in a way that suggests that somehow you can predict the future!

While these fears may feel very real, they are projections of your mind’s beliefs and worries. For example, the fear of hunger could come from a belief that if you get hungry, you'll lose control, overeat and gain weight. And herein lies the problem.

If you have been listening to the podcast or if you've read any of my previous posts, you'll know that YOU GET WHAT YOU THINK.

So this fear of hunger will more than likely cause you to do exactly what you're afraid of. Overeat and gain weight or (subconsciously) prevent yourself from losing weight. Further feeding this fear and keeping it alive!

​Become aware of what's actually happening

Hunger is simply your body’s way of reminding you to eat—without it, you might forget. Hard to believe, I know, but true!!

And since eating is essential for survival, it’s actually a life-saving signal.

It's time to make peace with hunger.

Practice tuning into and responding to your true hunger cues in a timely manner. This way you can eat consciously. Choose food that you genuinely want to eat and make sure you eat “enough” to satisfy your hunger. The more you practice this, the more evidence you’ll gather that hunger isn’t something to fear. Over time, this will quiet the anxious stories your mind is currently creating.

Hunger isn’t something to fear — it’s simply a guide, a signal like the signals that tell you when you need to wee and poo.

Start by taking small steps to acknowledge and trust your hunger, knowing you’ve got the tools to manage it. Tools like planning and preparing delicious, satisfying meals and over time, this will help ease your fear.

And if you need help with this, please get in touch.