What to do when you feel hungrier than normal

Do you ever have those days (or weeks) when you feel hungrier than your ‘normal?’

How do those days or weeks make you feel?

I can remember when they made me feel scared! 

I was afraid the extra hunger would make me feel out of control around food and might even end up in a binge. 

Can you relate?

I remember thinking there was something wrong with my body for wanting more food than what I was ‘allowed’ to give her that day. 

I remember googling things I could do to suppress my appetite. 

If days when you feel a little hungrier feel scary for you, I want to share with you what you can do when those days (and that fear) strike:

First, know that it is SO NORMAL to have different levels of hunger on different days. 

So many things play into our hunger — from activity levels to hormonal shifts and beyond. 

I don’t ever think you need to ‘justify’ your hunger, but I do think it helps when you’re learning to trust your hunger to know that your body has reasons for asking for more energy (even if you can’t specifically identify what that reason might be in the moment). There isn’t something wrong with you, your body is simply communicating an essential need with you.

Thank her for that!

Second, eat more when your body is hungrier. 

No need to google ways to suppress your hunger, just make your meals heartier / larger than normal, eat an extra (or a few extra) snacks, and watch how your body’s hunger will naturally disappear by eating enough food for your body that day! 

That only ‘natural appetite suppressant’ you need is the natural act of eating enough throughout the day. 

Often binges happen when we restrict over time or throughout the day (yes, restriction can look like eating what was enough yesterday but isn’t enough today) and then feel STARVED at the end of the day. A binge is a normal, natural response to restriction. 

Third, don’t worry if you’re eating more than the person you’re eating with. 

There are a million reasons that person might be eating less than you but the only thing that’s important is that you’re giving your body what she needs in this moment. 

Nobody else’s body can tell you what your body needs right now. 

Fourth, move on.

The amount of food you needed yesterday might be different than the amount you need today. It might be different than what you need tomorrow. 

This takes you back to the first ‘step’ I shared with you: it’s normal to have different levels of hunger on different days.

So, the cycle begins again! 

You can learn to trust those internal drivers.