Why am I hungry all the time? 🧠

The four types of hunger (and what to do about it)

Ever found yourself standing in front of the fridge, unsure whether you're actually hungry, or simply...bored?

We often talk about hunger as a yes-or-no thing. But it’s not that simple.

There are actually different types of hunger.

Knowing which one you're feeling, what's driving it, and how to respond can make healthy eating a whole lot easier.

What we’ll cover today:

• The four types of hunger and how to spot them

• The hunger-fullness scale: your guide to when to start and stop eating

• PDF download: Test how much food pulls your attention (even when you’re not hungry)

• How gut microbes influence hunger, fullness, and cravings

• 5 top tips on what to eat to stave off hunger (and feel full, satisfied, and energised for longer) paid subscribers only

The four types of hunger

• Physical hunger: your body needs fuel

• Taste hunger: you want something delicious

• Emotional hunger: food as comfort or coping

• and…microbe-driven hunger?

A rumbling stomach

Physical hunger is your body’s way of letting you know it needs fuel. It can feel like a gnawing or emptiness in your stomach, a dip in energy, a slight headache, or even irritability (hello hanger).

Under the surface, it’s your brain and gut talking to each other.

When your stomach is empty, it sends signals through the vagus nerve and releases hormones like ghrelin, known as the "hunger hormone", to let your brain know it’s time to eat.

Your blood sugar may dip too, nudging you to refuel. These signals are your body’s way of keeping energy levels steady and making sure you refuel before you run low.

But when is it actually time to eat?

If you wait until you're ravenously hungry, you might be making healthy eating harder than it needs to be.

That’s because extreme hunger can make it harder to make balanced choices, and more likely you’ll reach for whatever’s quick, easy, and often less satisfying in the long run.

Use the hunger-fullness scale in the images above to help you decide when to start and stop eating based on how hungry or full you feel.

Just remember, the hunger-fullness scale is a “most days” guide.

Some days you’ll need to be practical and eat at a certain time even if you’re not fully hungry yet; like before a long meeting, or if you’re heading out and know you won't get a chance to eat later.

The pleasure of eating

Remember how I said hunger isn’t always that simple - and that there are different types of hunger?

Taste hunger is the desire for a specific food simply because it’s enjoyable, like wanting something sweet after a meal even if you’re full.

Emotional hunger is the urge to eat in response to how you feel, whether it’s stress, sadness, boredom, or even celebration.

Taste hunger and emotional hunger are both forms of hedonic hunger, the kind that’s driven by pleasure and emotion rather than physical need, and reflect how the brain links food with reward, comfort, and emotion.

When you anticipate or eat something enjoyable, your brain releases dopamine, a chemical involved in motivation and reward, which can make eating feel especially satisfying.

These reward signals can encourage eating even when your body doesn’t need fuel. It’s a completely normal part of how we interact with food, and it reflects how deeply food is connected to comfort, emotion, and memory.

But if food has become your only source of comfort during tough moments, it might be worth gently exploring other ways to care for yourself - ones that support you emotionally in the long run, too.

Do you often feel drawn to food, even when you’re not hungry?

Try this 15-question tool to help you notice how much food grabs your attention, whether it’s nearby, right in front of you, or you’ve already had a taste.

Power Of Food Scale Dr Emily Leeming

326KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

This questionnaire reflects how strongly you're pulled towards food, how much you think about it, crave it, or your urge to eat, regardless of hunger.

It doesn’t measure how much you eat, diagnose eating disorders, or predict your weight. It’s simply a useful self-awareness tool.

This isn’t about “good” or “bad” responses but understanding your own patterns. Enjoying food is normal. Pleasure is part of eating.

But when food has a strong pull, it can sometimes make it harder to tell the difference between physical hunger and the natural desire to eat for pleasure, called hedonic hunger.

Hungry microbes, hungry you

There’s another layer to hunger that’s only just beginning to be understood.

And that’s hunger driven by your gut microbes.

The trillions of microbes living in your gut - bacteria, but also viruses and fungi - feed on the food you eat.

In return, they make all sorts of molecules, including ones that can influence how hungry or full you feel. Some of these molecules seem to affect hormones like ghrelin (which makes you feel hungry), and GLP-1 and PYY (which help you feel full).

There’s also early evidence that gut bacteria may influence how tempting we find certain foods. Some studies suggest they could influence parts of the brain linked to cravings and reward, though this research is still in its early stages and mostly based on animals or small trials in people.

What we do know is that your gut isn’t just a passive digestive tube. It’s actively involved in shaping appetite, cravings, and how satisfied you feel after eating.

5 smart ways to feel fuller, longer

It’s not practical (or healthy) to rely on hunger ‘hacks’ or gimmicks to avoid eating.

Instead, focus on eating at regular timings, choosing foods that support your body’s natural appetite signals, and making small shifts that actually work with your biology - not against it.