Everyone possesses a biological need for food. This is because food provides us with the essential nutrients required to fuel our energy, facilitate repair, support growth, and uphold the proper functioning of crucial bodily processes.
Consuming food should be as straightforward and intuitive as the acts of using the restroom and taking a breath.
Unfortunately, over time, the influence of diet culture has complicated our ability to function as natural, intuitive eaters. The good news is that through practice, you can rediscover your ability to be a true intuitive eater who enjoys a slice of cake at a birthday party or a corndog at the food court without negative self-talk and feelings of shame.
Rather than making food choices and determining our individual eating habits according to how our body feels, we frequently find ourselves swayed by the influence of diet culture.
Diet culture teaches us to ignore the signs of biological hunger and instead base our food choices according to external factors like the time of day, the latest diet trend food rules, and calorie calculators.
Fortunately, the idea of mindful eating is steadily gaining ground in our diet-centric culture.
Mindful eating encourages us to become the experts of our individual body’s cues by tuning into our inner bodily processes and understanding the different types of hunger our body communicate to us.
This blog post is going to focus on the 7 different types of hunger in mindful eating developed by Jan Chozen Bays. These different types of hunger influence our eating patterns on a daily basis.
But first, we must take a closer look at understanding some key concepts including:
- Intuitive eating
- Mindfulness
- Mindful eating
What is Intuitive Eating?
Intuitive eating in a non-diet, food neutral approach to eating that emphasizes building a healthier relationship with food and your body.
It encourages the intuitive eater inside all of us to take a more mindful approach to our food intake by paying close attention to the different types of hunger our body experiences, choosing tasty foods that create a satisfying meal, and finding ways to move our body that truly feel good to us.
Intuitive eating is neither a weight gain nor weight loss diet
The best way to describe intuitive eating is saying it is the exact opposite of everything diet culture teaches us. With intuitive eating, there are no food rules, no negative emotions, no unhealthy food options, no negative self-talk, and no feelings of shame.
Intuitive eating encourages you to get in touch with your physical hunger cues and fullness cues so that you can have a more joyful relationship with food and your body.
The intuitive eating framework was developed in the 1990s by two registered dietitians, Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole. Intuitive eating consists of 10 core principles including:
1. Reject the diet mentality
2. Honor your hunger
3. Make peace with food
4. Challenge the food police
5. Discover the satisfaction factor
6. Feel your fullness
7. Cope with emotions with kindness
8. Respect your body
9. Movement – feel the difference
10. Honor your health – gentle nutrition
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of fully existing in the present moment, free from interpretation or judgment.
The concept of mindfulness has been used for centuries in Buddhist and Hindu teachings, but was introduced to the Western culture in the 1970s by a man named Jon Kabat-Zinn.
While a professor at the University of Massachusetts, Kabat-Zinn created the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program with the intention of treating individuals with chronic pain.
During his time working with these individuals, Kabat-Zinn discovered that those who embraced the concepts of mindfulness were better able to manage their chronic pain, while those who sought to avoid discomfort ultimately experienced greater pain.
Recently, the practice of mindfulness has become a pivotal therapeutic technique for helping individuals cope with anxiety, depression, and other mental health related conditions.
What is Mindful Eating?
Mindful eating is deeply rooted in the overarching philosophy of mindfulness. It centers on the holistic experience of eating, including not only the physical act but also the thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations related to food. When you practice mindful eating, you are engaging all your senses while you eat without being critical of yourself like diet culture often encourages.
Jan Chozen Bays, author of the book Mindful Eating, describes it best when she says:
“The problem is not in the food... The problem lies in the mind. It lies in our lack of awareness of the messages coming in from our body... Mindful eating helps us learn to hear what our body is telling us about hunger and satisfaction. It helps us become aware of who in the body/heart/ mind complex is hungry, and how and what is best to nourish it.”
According to Jan Chozen Bays, there are 7 different types of hunger that correlate with different parts of our anatomy.
These 7 different types of hunger include:
- Eye Hunger
- Nose Hunger
- Mouth Hunger
- Stomach Hunger
- Heart Hunger
- Cellular Hunger
- Mind Hunger
All of these are considered a valid hunger and becoming familiar with these 7 different types of hunger can assist you in becoming an intuitive eater and having a more joyful relationship with food.
This means recognizing your body’s cues and making food choices that nourish not only your physical health, but also your mental and emotional well-being.
7 Different Types of Hunger
1. Eye Hunger
As humans, we are notably influenced by visual stimuli, making the sight of appetizing food considerably more likely to trigger feelings of hunger compared to visually unappealing food. This effect holds true regardless of the specific food option.
Scientific studies reveal that these visual cues possess the power to generate neural, physiological, and behavioral reactions within our bodies that trigger the desire to eat, regardless of when you last ate.
Picture yourself dining at a restaurant, and suddenly a hostess glides by, pushing a cart adorned with a variety of delectable treats from the dessert menu. In such moments, it’s a normal human experience to be captivated by the sight of these visually enticing dishes, evoking a desire to indulge even when you’re already satiated from your delightful dinner. This is a classic example of eye hunger.
To satisfy the experience of eye hunger, consider presenting your meals in an enticing manner. Enhance your dining space with a candle or a vase of your preferred fresh flowers. Incorporate food choices that boast contrasting colors, such as pairing pink salmon with vibrant green pesto pasta and a medley of salad greens.
Ensuring your food is visually appealing on the plate can substantially amplify your overall meal satisfaction.
2. Nose Hunger
Your sense of smell and taste are intricately connected, which is why you might have encountered challenges in tasting your food during a bout of congestion or a head cold.
The enticing aroma of freshly baked bread or the comforting scent of your grandmother’s renowned chocolate chip cookies holds the power to trigger your hunger signals, even when genuine hunger might not be present.
Conversely, the reverse holds true as well – unpleasant odors emanating from food can yield an opposing response, thus reducing food cravings.
Consider a scenario where you’re about to pour yourself a bowl of your beloved cereal, yet the scent of sour milk fills the room. It’s improbable that you would feel a strong inclination to proceed with consuming that cereal. This is a classic example of how nose hunger can affect your appetite.
To indulge your sense of nose hunger, tune into the diverse aromas that waft through the cooking process. Experiment with incorporating fresh herbs sourced from the farmers market or infuse a hint of garlic into your roasted vegetable medley.
The more delightful the scents of your food, the more heightened the flavors will be when you indulge your taste buds.
3. Mouth Hunger
Your taste buds thrive on a diverse range of flavors and textures. When you make food choices that ignite excitement in your mouth, the likelihood of desiring more of those foods increases.
An example of pure taste hunger is eating more of a specific food solely because it tastes good.
It’s worth highlighting that mouth hunger can sometimes lead to eating beyond your natural hunger cues, purely because the food is pleasurable. This is a normal human experience and can form a component of a well-balanced approach to eating.
To satisfy the feeling of mouth hunger, consider embracing a variety of foods that you enjoy.
Tune into your body’s cues and authentic food cravings at that particular moment, whether they lean towards the sweetness, saltiness, sourness, or even a combination of these flavors.
Honoring your palate’s preferences plays a pivotal role in addressing this type of hunger.
4. Stomach Hunger
Stomach hunger is a sign that your body has a physical need for food.
Hunger signals in the stomach manifest uniquely for everyone, underscoring the significance of familiarizing yourself with how your stomach conveys hunger cues in your particular case.
Classic examples of physical symptoms of stomach hunger include a growling stomach, empty feeling, low energy, or a rumbling sensation. It’s crucial to acknowledge that factors like emotions, including anxiety, can influence how your stomach perceives or doesn’t perceive stomach hunger.
To satisfy stomach hunger, consume regular meals and snacks throughout the day that include a balance of foods from all food groups including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and fiber.
An example of a well-balanced meal is a chicken sandwich nestled within a freshly baked baguette, complemented by a homemade pesto spread. This could be accompanied by a side salad and a serving of savory potato chips for added flavor and satiation.
5. Heart Hunger
Heart hunger, often recognized as emotional hunger, entails the intricate relationship between the foods you opt to consume and the emotions you’re experiencing, regardless of whether these are positive or negative emotions.
Despite it getting a bad rap, emotional hunger is a valid hunger and part of the normal human experience.
Emotional eating is your body’s way of telling you there is an emotional need for something that it wants to satisfy with food.
While food should not be the only thing used to manage an intense emotion, it should not be accompanied with negative self-talk or feelings of shame.
A classic example of heart hunger is making your grandma’s secret family recipe for cinnamon rolls every year on her birthday or going out for ice cream after a hard day at work.
Selecting food based on emotions isn’t inherently negative, but it’s essential to acknowledge that genuinely nurturing your uncomfortable emotions and managing them independently from food is the ultimate approach to providing holistic nourishment for your heart.
6. Cellular Hunger
If you’ve ever found yourself yearning for a specific nutrient or food group, chances are you’ve encountered what’s known as cellular hunger. Cellular hunger occurs in different ways, but is a sign that your body is lacking in something.
A classic example of cellular hunger is when individuals adhering to a low-carb diet start to crave carbohydrates. This happens because their cells have depleted the necessary sugar needed to maintain energy levels.
It’s akin to your car’s gas light illuminating when it requires more gasoline to power itself.
Another example of cellular hunger is when your body is low on salt and causes you to begin craving high-salt foods such as potato chips.
An important thing to realize is that you must practice getting in touch with your body’s cues before you can truly identify cellular hunger.
7. Mind Hunger
Mind hunger encompasses all the internal messages and thoughts you harbor about nutrition and well-being.
In the current landscape of diet culture, your mind can often engage in a mental tug-of-war regarding what you “ought” or “shouldn’t” consume, needlessly complicating your healthy relationship with food.
Instead of succumbing to the latest diet culture trends, a great way to cultivate the habit of mindful eating is reminding yourself there is no such thing as good or bad, unhealthy or healthy foods. All foods can find their place within a pattern of moderation and equilibrium.
Think about being at a party or a friend’s birthday bash – you’re eyeing those delicious desserts, but that inner voice is giving you a hard time, telling you it’s all unhealthy food you should steer clear of. That’s a classic example of mind hunger.
To satisfy this kind of hunger, try getting in touch with your body’s cravings and give yourself the freedom to indulge in them without being too hard on yourself.
When you’re at your next social event with food, look around and see what truly looks good to you and allow yourself to have some without feelings of shame or guilt.
Lastly...
No one type of hunger should be considered the holy grail or most important type of hunger.
All 7 different types of hunger will affect your eating habits and food choices on a regular basis.
The best way to satisfy each type of hunger while maintaining healthy eating patterns and joyful relationship with food is to tune out diet culture and tune into your body’s cues.
Happy Mindful Eating Journey! 🙂
Kelly Melanson, RD
