Eating when we are hungry is one of the factors that can help with eating feeling much more satisfying and enjoyable. I love sitting down for my breakfast when I’m genuinely feeling hungry, grabbing an afternoon snack when I’m feeling a slight rumble in my stomach, and going out for a delicious dinner when I have the space to truly enjoy it.

Eating is, of course, more motivating when our bodies are clearly communicating the need for nourishment!

That being said, there are definitely reasons to potentially eat even when you are NOT feeling that sensation of hunger. Note that hunger feels different for everyone — sensations can include dizziness, lightheadedness, gnawing or grumbling in the stomach, and an overall lack of energy.

I’m all about listening to hunger and fullness cues as a general principle. BUT, nourishing your body well is more than just listening to hunger and fullness cues.

I like to think of eating as a combination of considering or listening to our bodies (i.e., our hunger cues), our minds (i.e., what do know about my nutrition needs?), and our overall intuitions.

Let’s further consider some of these reasons to eat even when you’re not hungry!

Reasons to Eat Even When You’re Not Hungry

You’re working on weight restoration

Especially if you’re working on weight restoration in your eating disorder recovery, there will likely be numerous times throughout the day when you’re eating even though you’re not feeling those hunger sensations. I recognize how tough and uncomfortable this can be!

It can be helpful to remind yourself each day of your reasons for eating regularly despite not feeling hungry. Each meal and snack is one step closer to being in a healthier body, feeling more regulated, and normalizing your hunger and fullness signals.

More importantly, each meal and snack is one step closer to you being fully recovered and living your life on YOUR terms, not the eating disorder’s.

You’re working on getting your period back

Whether or not you’re intentionally working on restoring weight lost due to disordered eating, if you’ve lost your period there’s a good chance one possible reason is because you might not be eating enough.

Our bodies need adequate nutrition for a healthy metabolism and healthy hormones. When a woman’s body isn’t getting the nourishment it needs, one of the first thing to go is her period.

We NEED the energy we ARE getting to go to absolutely essential functions like our keeping our hearts beating, legs walking, and minds thinking. While the ability to reproduce (whether or not you want to get pregnant any time soon) is important, when resources are limited the body tables this for later, wisely choosing to keep us alive!

If your period has been missing or irregular lately, consider if you need to focus on eating more, even if you’re not feeling the hunger to match your needs. This might be just the thing you need to improve your hormones, restore your period, and feel more energetic!

You’re an athlete or an active person

If you’re an athlete OR an active person in general, you likely need to be eating more than your hunger cues alone would lead you to eat.

This is where that “mind input” or knowledge when it comes to eating can be especially helpful. This goes for anyone, but especially if you exercise on a regular basis, it’s important to develop a general “knowing” of the amount of food you need to eat in a day to roughly meet your nutrition needs.

I’m not talking counting calories — more so having a feel for the amount of snacks you need on top of your 3 meals, and what those portions generally should look like. If you’re feeling unsure of this, it’s a good reason to reach out to a dietitian!

As someone who is a pretty active person, I generally know from experience (“mind input”) that I need 3 meals and about 3-4 snacks per day to have the energy I need and to not lose weight. As a rule of thumb, this is the rhythm of eating that I follow most days, even when I’m not necessarily feeling hungry for each meal or snack. Throughout the day, I’ll add more snacks or increase portions as my actual hunger communicates!

Your hunger is off because you are feeling sad, stressed, or anxious

Our emotions, especially ones related to feeling sad, anxious, depressed, or hopeless, can alter our appetite signals and cause our hunger cues to temporarily go offline.

This does not mean we don’t still have the need for nourishment!

When you’re feeling especially down or stressed, minimal-effort, leftovers, takeout, or prepared foods can all be helpful options. 

Consider these easier yet nourishing meals the next time you’re not feeling the best emotionally, yet know you need to still eat:

–> Smoothie bowl topped w/ granola (add in healthy fats to your smoothie, like avocado, peanut butter, and full-fat yogurt)
–> Turkey sandwich, carrots w/ dip, tortilla chips
–> Canned soup, toast w/ butter
–> Frozen meal, store-bought roll, side salad

You know you will be hungry later, and it’s significantly more convenient to eat now 

Sometimes we might not be hungry when we have the chance to eat, yet still would benefit from eating in that moment, given we won’t have a good opportunity (or any opportunity) to eat when our hunger would normally strike.

I call this “practical” or “anticipatory” hunger.

Examples of anticipatory hunger might be eating an early lunch before your chemistry lab, squeezing in a quick snack during a work break, or having an early dinner before heading on an airplane.

Just because we aren’t hungry when we eat in these cases does NOT mean we are “overeating” — we are simply meeting our nutrition needs in advance!

For fun, celebratory, and social reasons

Living life to the fullest often involves making fun, food-centered, celebratory memories from time to time. We might not often be physically hungry for birthday cake after a satisfying meal or for spur-of-the-moment ice cream with friends. But eating is so much more than just nutrition and fuel for our cells — it’s also about experiencing joy in the pleasures of life and connecting with others.

Our nutrition needs are not black-and-white — there is plenty of margin to be physically healthy, maintain whatever your healthy weight range is, and enjoy eating fun, delectable foods in a balanced way, even when we aren’t physically hungry!

Our bodies and our metabolisms are incredibly complex. If your eating feels overly rigid, what might it look like for you to loosen the reigns on your eating a bit, trusting that there is likely more margin than you might think to enjoy food in a celebratory, spontaneous way?

Sometimes, just because! 

Sometimes, we eat when we aren’t hungry just because.

Eating is not something that should be associated with guilt. You do not have to be hungry to eat, even if none of the reasons above feel like they “apply” to you in any given moment.

Might it be most satisfying to eat when we are hungry most of the time? Most likely yes.

That being said, eating is something that should feel free — not like there are all these rules attached.

Normal eating looks like eating when your hungry most of the time. It also looks like sometimes eating when you’re not hungry, knowing that you still need to care for your body. Or, maybe you’re wanting to enjoy the pleasures of a fun dessert, or enjoy a time to connect with friends over appetizers.

Having a healthy relationship with food is less about finding the “one right way” to go about it, and more about growing in feeling more calm and centered in making nourishing, balanced food decisions.

Interested in more support with making food less complicated? 

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