How to Know the Difference Between Hunger and Boredom
By Katherine Metzelaar, MSN, RDN, CD
After years of restrictive eating, it’s common for hunger to feel confusing.
After all, you have likely spent most of your time and energy throughout your life trying to do everything in your power to ignore hunger. Oftentimes the practice of ignoring your hunger starts with the advice from diets or comes from other “wellness” plans or individuals who recommend ways to “curb your appetite” and “stave off hunger.” What happens though is that over time you get more and more disconnected from your hunger cues. This leaves you feeling like you don’t know how to detect hunger and you don’t know how to tell if you are bored or hungry.
What’s the difference between hunger and boredom?
Hunger is defined as “a craving or urgent need for food or a specific nutrient or an uneasy sensation due to lack of food.” As an eating disorder dietitian I get more specific and define hunger as “the physiological bodily sensations and cognitive thoughts that signal food is needed.” The experience of hunger is nuanced and often happens in waves. This differs from boredom which is defined as “ the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest. “ Hunger and boredom are both very different experiences and sensations and yet the conundrum and confusion between the two remains. But why?
Eating food is demonized in this culture. (or at least any food that diet culture doesn’t deem permissible)
I don’t believe this is a hyperbolic statement. Think for a moment about all the ways that being full from food, binge eating, “overeating” and “emotionally eating” are demonized. Now think about all the ways that hunger and ignoring your hunger is elevated. The repeated message is one of hunger being virtuous, a goal to strive for, and a symbol of discipline (getting any religious vibes yet?). The combination of cultural messaging and participation in disordered eating leaves you feeling disconnected from your hunger over time with the exception being when you feel overwhelmingly hungry. But even with this knowledge it’s often hard to find ways to understand your hunger cues. So let’s talk about what you can do!
The first step is getting to know Hunger and embracing it consistently by breaking it down into categories.
You will find lots of hunger scales out there, but I tend not to recommend using them. This is because I have found over the years that folks that hold themselves to high standards or consider themselves perfectionists can get fixated on getting hunger “just right” when using the hunger scale. Instead, I recommend separating hunger into three categories: pleasant, unpleasant and neutral hunger. By separating them into categories you can begin taking steps toward reconnecting with your body’s own unique hunger cues.
How do you use the hunger categories?
Take out a piece of paper or create a notes section of your phone and write down “hunger” at the top and then below this write down “pleasant, unpleasant, neutral.” This will be the place that you will document your observations before meals, after meals and in-between meals. Remember that it’s not about getting it “right” but rather starting to get curious and collect information about your own unique experience with hunger. And if you are feeling stuck you can ask yourself some of these questions:
How would I describe unpleasant hunger to a friend? Where in my body do I feel it? Is it a pang in my stomach? Gnawing? Do I think about food a lot? Does my energy feel low? Do I feel irritable?
How would I describe pleasant hunger to a friend? Do I still feel it in my stomach, but it feels different than unpleasant? Is it an emptiness in my stomach? Do I find that I can still concentrate on other things but it’s starting to shift? Do I feel excited about eating?
What might neutral hunger feel like in my body? Generally when you are most full you are most neutrally hungry, meaning that you don’t feel much hunger at all.
One you start practicing this you will get begin to get a better inventory of how you experience hunger. This will allow you to begin to take steps toward distinguishing the difference between hunger and boredom. And don’t fret if it takes some time! Remember how long you have felt disconnected to hunger and give yourself some grace. Reconnecting to hunger can feel hard and challenging.
Lastly and as a reminder: even when you are skilled at knowing the differences between hunger and boredom, it’s still ok to eat when you are bored.
Please remember that diet culture will do anything it can to get you to eat less. It tends to demonize eating for any reason outside of giving yourself fuel/energy. It’s ok to eat when you are bored and it doesn’t mean that you have done anything wrong.
What you want to work toward over time is getting to know your hunger cues, how you experience them and the nuances of hunger cues so that you are better able to distinguish the difference between hunger and boredom. Then from there you can make a choice.
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Do you feel disconnected from your hunger?
Hunger and fullness can be confusing and nuanced, especially when you’re stressed or feel like your emotions are all over the place. Prioritizing your relationship to food can look like getting to know your hunger better. At Bravespace Nutrition we work with clients virtually helping people who are struggling with food and body image. It’s possible to change your relationship with food and your body, free up headspace, and live your life with more presence, abundance and peace. Learn more about Bravespace Nutrition, our philosophy, and the services we offer.