Hungry or Thirsty? Are you eating when you should be drinking?
- dannidobsonpt
- Feb 29, 2020
- 3 min read
Can you tell the difference between hunger and thirst? While the answer should be “Yes,” the reality is often different. Our internal “I’m hungry” and “I’m thirsty” cues can be subtler than you think.
It is important to know the difference between how it feels to be hungry and how it feels to be thirsty. Otherwise, you could be eating more calories than you need when you really are just thirsty. Important if you want to achieve your fat loss goals.
Why do I think I'm hungry when I am really thirsty?
The same part of your brain is responsible for interpreting hunger and thirst signals, which can result in mistaking the signals.
Some symptoms of mild dehydration — headache, fatigue, lightheadedness and difficulty concentrating can resemble symptoms of hunger. Many feel the “classic” hunger cues of a growling or empty-feeling stomach. For others, the clues that they need to eat are more subtle.
Another reason for confusion about whether we’re hungry or thirsty is that much of the time, we don’t wait to actually feel hunger or thirst before eating or drinking. Instead, we eat and drink because it is a specific time, we’re bored, because we like the taste, because everyone else is, or because we think we might get hungry or thirsty soon!
In a recent study individuals responded “inappropriately” 62 percent of the time to hunger and thirst signals. In other words:
They didn’t eat and drink when they were hungry and thirsty.
They ate and/or drank when they weren’t hungry or thirsty.
They drank when they were hungry but not thirsty.
They ate when they were thirsty but not hungry
This study (http://www.annfammed.org/content/14/4/320.full) found that, among adults, poor hydration was associated with higher body mass index (BMI). Remember BMI is not individual to you and is a broad brush....
"We found a significant association between inadequate hydration and elevated BMI and inadequate hydration and obesity. This relationship has not previously been shown on a population level and suggests that water, an essential nutrient, may deserve greater focus in weight management research and clinical strategies".
Researchers speculated that individuals who are classified as obese on the BMI charts may have a harder time staying hydrated. Why? The more we weigh the more water we need. So may be more likely to eat when they are actually thirsty. Especially if they find it difficult to tell the difference between hunger and thirst cues. Compounding the issue.
Further complicating the picture is the fact that many foods contain water, and some drinks are packed with calories. Eating water rich foods like vegetables, fruits and soups may help tackle both thirst and hunger, but beverages don’t satisfy hunger. But they do provide extra calories.
So what can you do?
Stay hydrated.
Drink at least eight, 250 ml glasses of water a day. Thats a minimum of 2 litres every day. Drink more if it’s hot outside or when you are exercising. If you are drinking enough water, your urine should be very pale yellow. (It’s darker when you’re dehydrated.) Once you’ve eliminated mild dehydration as a cause of whatever sensations you’re feeling, it’s easier to identify hunger.
Start paying attention to how hunger feels for you.
Physical hunger grows gradually as the time since your last meal increases. How soon you’ll start feeling hunger depends on the size and what you ate for your previous meal. Pay particular attention to possible hunger cues between two and five hours after eating.
Not sure if it is hunger your feeling? Then Test It Out.
Whenever you think you may be hungry, try drinking a glass of water and waiting 10-15 minutes. If the feelings you thought were hunger go or the water satisfies you, you were just thirsty. If you still feel your stomach grumbling then you're probably hungry.
If drinking a glass of water or eating a snack doesn't seem to satisfy you, you could be experiencing a craving or emotional hunger, rather than true hunger. (emotional hunger is a big topic that I will tackle in another article).
Cravings Versus Hunger.
If you're truly hungry, any food will satisfy you. If you've got a craving, only a specific food or type of food will do. Likewise, a sudden feeling of hunger that comes on even though you've eaten recently is more likely to be a craving than true hunger. Find something else to do, talk to a friend or take a walk to distract yourself until the craving passes.
So the message is drink more water, know what hunger feels like and drinks glass of water to test if it really is hunger.
I hope you enjoyed this article? If you did tell me and your friends! Like the article, Like my page and Share with your family and friends. If you want to discuss this or any other Health and wellbeing matter, contact me on the details below.
Danni X
Contact me by e-mail: dannidobsonpt@outlook.com
Call/Text 07811 888394
Facebook @Dannidobsonpt
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