Understanding Hunger and Fullness Cues: A Guide for Busy Mums

I sat down in the car on a hot and humid summer day. We had been on the streets of inner city Frankfurt, praying and evangelising to the hurting people who live in the Station Quarter. Though I had been mindful to drink plenty, I had not had the opportunity to eat for more than six hours. In the busyness of the day (and the heat), I did not realise that my body had been calling out for food. I was developing a headache and was starting to feel nauseated. My husband had already promised the kids McDonald's and I didn't have the energy to make myself food at home. So I bought myself KFC (I don't like McDonalds) and ate rapidly, more than I wanted to. I knew what my mistake had been, allowing a busy day to overtake my need for nutrition.

This happens so easily with each of us in our everyday lives. It is easy to be swept away by the needs of our children and families that we forget, or even ignore our own needs. I know this because I have done this (too many times to count). Sadly, we often respond in shame, guilt and even anger to these situations. Because of this, we begin to develop a negative relationship with food leading to overeating and an emotional response to food and our bodies. Developing an understanding and responding appropriately to your hunger and fullness cues is essential for maintaining a healthy relationship with food and overall well-being. In this article, we will discuss what hunger and fullness cues are, what their purpose is and what happens when we ignore these biological signals. By adjusting our habits and implementing the use of the hunger and explores what hunger and fullness cues are, their purpose, the hunger and fullness scales, and practical tips for being more aware of these cues. We'll also discuss the consequences of ignoring them.

What Are Hunger and Fullness Cues?

Hunger Cues Hunger cues are the body's signals indicating that it needs nourishment. These are your body's biological response systems that tell you your body is now running in a caloric deficit and demands this fuel source to be replenished. Similar to your fuel gauge in your car, when we continually push our car to run on empty, it's only a matter of time until we run into trouble (who of us hasn't run the car on empty so long that it refused to start?). Learning to listen to these cues gives us an opportunity to read our gauge wisely and refuel before the empty light turns on and our energy levels and moods drop into the danger zone. These cues can present in various forms, including:

• Physical Sensations: Stomach growling, feeling lightheaded, headaches, dizziness, or experiencing a drop in energy.

• Mental Signs: Difficulty concentrating, irritability, or thoughts about food.

• Emotional Indicators: Increased stress or anxiety levels, changes in mood.

Fullness Cues Fullness cues, on the other hand, signal that your body has received enough food. This helps your body to run effectively and provides us with the energy we need to keep up with our kids and take care of all those tasks that just need to be done (like laundry and washing dishes!). These cues can include:

• Physical Sensations: A comfortable feeling in the stomach, a decrease in hunger pangs, or a slight feeling of stretch, eating beyond comfortable fullness may result in sesations of extreme fullness, making us feel nauseated, stomach cramping, and tired.

• Mental Signs: Loss of interest in food, feeling satisfied, food may no longer taste as good.

• Emotional Indicators: Contentment and relaxation after eating.

Purpose of Hunger and Fullness Cues

Hunger and fullness cues are vital for maintaining energy balance and supporting bodily functions. These signals give us a clear indication of our body's caloric needs and help us to know when to fuel up and when to stop. Being more attuned to these signals helps us not only to know when to fuel but also how much to fuel. Without these cues, we would suffer from extreme issues such as malnourishment and morbid obesity even until death! Our hunger- and fullness cues help regulate:

• Energy Levels: Ensuring you have enough fuel for your busy day.

• Metabolism: Supporting efficient metabolic processes by providing consistent nourishment.

• Nutritional Intake: Encouraging a balanced intake of nutrients by prompting you to eat when needed.

Responding to these cues can help prevent overeating, under-eating, and the subsequent health issues that arise from ignoring your body's signals. When we become more aware of these cues, we can better fuel our bodies appropriately. These cues' purpose is to help us survive and thrive: these are essential biological communications to our body. By listening and responding appropriately, we are protecting and maintaining not only our physical but also our mental health.

What Happens When We Ignore Hunger and Fullness Cues?

Ignoring Hunger Cues Ignoring hunger cues can lead to:

• Overeating: When you finally eat, you may consume more than needed due to extreme hunger.

• Metabolic Slowdown: Your body may conserve energy, leading to a slower metabolism.

• Nutritional Deficiencies: Skipping meals or eating inadequately can result in missing essential nutrients.

Ignoring Fullness Cues Ignoring fullness cues can lead to:

• Overeating: Consistently eating past fullness can contribute to fuelling our body with more calories than it needs, resulting in increased body fat. This can contribute to a feeling of lethargy after the meal and a negative mood.

• Digestive Issues: Overeating can cause discomfort, bloating, and other digestive problems.

• Emotional Eating: Ignoring fullness can foster an unhealthy relationship with food, where eating is driven by emotions rather than physical need.

The Hunger and Fullness Scales

The Hunger/Fullness Scale is a tool that helps you identify your level of hunger or fullness on a spectrum from 1 to 10, from extreme hunger to extreme fullness. This tool can help to guide us in our eating habits. The scale functions like this:

1. Starving: Weak, dizzy, irritable.

2. Very Hungry: Ready to eat anything.

3. Hungry: Stomach growling.

4. Slightly Hungry: Could eat.

5. Neutral: Neither hungry nor full.

6. Comfortable: Satisfied but could eat more.

7. Full: Satisfied and don’t need to eat more.

8. Very Full: Starting to feel uncomfortable.

9. Uncomfortably Full: Feeling bloated.

10. Overstuffed: Feeling sick.

The Hunger- and Fullness Scale is a great tool to help us become more sensitive to our body's needs and ensure we nourish it with the appropriate. The scale will feel slightly different to each individual but the above example and the following video help to explain how this might feel to you. It is best to start preparing to eat when we reach a four on the hunger scale (slight hunger). This will prevent becoming overly hungry which often results in rushed overeating and a lack of awareness in the eating experience.

Check out this video here from dietitian Colleen Christensen that goes into further detail on how to use the Hunger- and Fullness Scale

Here is a visual reference for the Hunger and Fullness Scale

Tips to Be More Aware of Hunger and Fullness Cues

Learning to use the hunger/fullness scale can be intimidating and requires time and practice. I suggest you start with one meal at a time. Dinner is a good choice for many as we are (hopefully) less likely to be rushing off to pick up kids or trying to get kids out the door. Being present with our meal is essential to becoming more aware of, and appropriately responding to, our hunger cues. Though it may seem impossible as a parent to create this awareness of our physical needs, there are some simple and practical tips to help us be more aware, and respond appropriately, to these cues.

1. Eat Mindfully Take time to eat without distractions. Focus on the taste, texture, and aroma of your food. This practice helps you recognize when you start feeling satisfied. If you want to know more about Mindful Eating, check out my article on the topic here: https://jennytheissignutri.wixsite.com/jenny-theissig-nutri/post/mindful-eating-for-busy-moms-practical-tips-for-a-healthier-lifestyle

2. Check In with Yourself Pause before and during meals to assess your hunger and fullness levels. Ask yourself where you fall on the hunger or fullness scale. Remember that you are not a human garbage bin and do not need to clear your plate. Leftovers are great and almost all restaurants will allow you to take uneaten food home.

3. Slow Down Eating slowly allows your body time to signal fullness to your brain. Put your fork down every few bites and chew thoroughly. Eating before we become overly hungry can help prevent rushed eating and often reduce the amount we eat.

4. Plan Regular Meals Establish regular meal times to help regulate your hunger and prevent extreme hunger, which can lead to overeating. Whether you work in or out of the home, planning meals every 3-4 hours can be helpful to be more aware of your hunger and fullness cues. This may mean, depending on your specific circumstance, keeping things like protein bars, precut fruit or veg, or other simple snacks ready to go.  

5. Hydrate Although hunger and thirst are different, staying hydrated has been shown in several studies to reduce food intake and may assist in weight management as well as improving digestive health.

6. Listen to Your Body Pay attention to how different foods and meal sizes affect your hunger and fullness. Adjust your eating habits accordingly to find what works best for you. This may take some trial and error but remember that this is a skill and by keeping that learning mentality, you will make great progress without falling into a shame spiral.

Conclusion

Becoming aware of our hunger- and fullness cues as a busy mum can be challenging as we are constantly on the go. Ignoring these biological signals is often not intentional but rather, it happens as we are more focused on other tasks. Our hunger and fullness serve as a fuel gage for our bodies, sending warning signals that the fuel is running out and preventing overeating by shutting off the desire for food once our stomachs are full. These cues help regulate your energy levels, metabolism, and nutritional intake. By changing our habits we can make ourselves more aware of our body's need for fuel. Planning our meals for the day and practising mindful eating helps us know when the need for food arises (before we are hit by intense hunger) and be more aware of what and how much we are eating. Rushing through meals can be very challenging as a parent, but reminding ourselves that we will function more efficiently when we fuel it mindfully. Hydration may also play a role in helping manage hunger cues and may assist in weight management. Developing these habits as well as using the Hunger and Fullness scale helps us listen to our body's needs and helps guide our eating habits. Remember, listening to your body and responding with grace and patience is the key to fostering a positive relationship with food and promoting overall well-being.