I Don't Get Hunger Signals - What Should I Do?

In this fourth episode of our deep-dive series on hunger, we tackle one of the most common concerns: missing hunger signals. If you can't feel hunger or only notice it when you're absolutely ravenous, you're not broken - you've just taught your body to stop communicating.

What You'll Discover:

• Why hunger signals disappear and how your body adapts to restriction
• The difference between "not hungry" and "can't feel hunger"
• How to rebuild trust with your body through consistent nourishment
• Why eating on a schedule can actually restore your natural signals

If you've been waiting for hunger to guide your eating but can't feel those signals, or if you only experience extreme hunger that leads to overeating, this episode will show you a gentle path forward.

Catch up on the series:

• Episode 1: What Is Your Relationship With Hunger?
• Episode 2: Your Relationship With Hunger Begins in Childhood (with Lisa Smith)
• Episode 3: What Is the Difference Between Physical and Emotional Hunger?

Want to know what it would look like to get help rebuilding your hunger signals? Schedule a Breakthrough Call today.

Want to know why you struggle with food and what to do next? Start watching The Food Freedom Mini Series today. 

Transcript

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If you can't feel hunger signals, or if you only notice them when you're absolutely ravenous, you're not broken and you're not alone. The truth is that you've just taught your body to stop communicating with you. And today we're going to explore why hunger signals disappear and the gentle, consistent steps to bring them back. Welcome to Binge Eating Breakthrough, the podcast to help you stop feeling out of control around food and build trust with your body. If you've tried everything but still feel stuck, you're not alone. I've been there too. I'm Jane Pilger, and I'm here to help you see binge eating in a new way so you can finally break free. Each week you'll get the tools and insights to create peace with food and your body. Your breakthrough starts now. Hello, trusted listener. I consider you a trusted listener because I trust that you are willing to be patient with your body as it learns to trust you again. I trust that you're ready to understand why your hunger signals may have gone quiet. And I trust that you're committed to the consistency it takes to rebuild this communication. So we are in the midst of a series on hunger. We're exploring what is your relationship with hunger. We've looked at the relationship with hunger that begins in childhood. We've also explored the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger. So if you haven't listened to any of these other episodes, I will link to them in the show notes so you can go back and check them out. But today we're addressing a common question that I get. And it's this I don't get hunger signals. What should I do? So if this is you, if you find yourself eating by the clock because you can't feel when you're hungry, or if the only hunger you experience is that overwhelming, ravenous feeling that leads to eating way more than your body needs, this episode is for you. First, let me say this clearly. What's happened is that you have taught your body to stop sending them. And the good news is that this can absolutely change. You can get your hunger signals back, but only from a place of wanting to work with your body, not trying to control or manipulate it. So why do hunger signals disappear in the first place? There are several common reasons. And understanding why this happens can help you approach the solution with more compassion for yourself and your body. The most common reason is chronic dieting and restriction. When you repeatedly ignore hunger signals or consistently eat less than your body needs, your body essentially learns to stop asking. Think about this. If you had a friend who constantly ignored your requests for help, eventually you'd stop asking, right? Your body does the same thing. It's not being stubborn or difficult, it's being efficient. Your body gets used to anything. If you've ever, if you've never allowed yourself to eat breakfast, or you went on a diet years ago that said you shouldn't eat before noon, you have taught your body that it won't get food during those hours. So it stops bothering to ask for it. If you've had years of restricting, skipping meals, or following external rules about when and how much to eat, your body has learned that its signals aren't being honored. Stress is another major factor. When your nervous system is constantly activated, it can suppress hunger signals. Your body is focused on survival, not on the more subtle signals of nourishment. Now, some people, when they are under stress, their hunger signals go the other way. Instead of the body suppressing hunger signals, they send out even more to try to manage, deal, cope with the stress. And if that is you, be sure to check out last week's episode on physical versus emotional hunger. So here's something else that can affect hunger signals, certain medications, also medical conditions like thyroid issues or diabetes. And if you have persistent issues with hunger signals and you're working on rebuilding trust with your body, but you're not seeing changes, it might be worth consulting with a healthcare provider just to check and see if there's anything else going on in your system. Irregular sleep patterns can disrupt hunger hormones, also. Your body's hunger and fullness signals are connected to your circadian rhythm. So when that is off, your hunger signals can be affected. Now, for a lot of people, irregular sleep and a lack of sleep leads to more hunger, the body seeking more energy. If I'm not getting the energy that I need from rest, maybe I can get it from more food. But here's another one that might surprise you that suppresses hunger. High caffeine intake. Some people intentionally drink coffee all morning, specifically so they won't get hungry. And if this is you, I want you to get really curious about this pattern. Are you using caffeine as an appetite suppressant? There's no judgment here. It's just awareness, curiosity. Understanding your intention can help you make conscious choices rather than unconscious ones. Now, here's something else that's really important to understand. Many people think that they have no hunger signals, but what they actually experience is hunger signals only at the extremes. They only know when they are beyond full or beyond hungry, but they don't have a good sense of what satisfied feels like or what comfortably hungry feels like. They can only feel when they're ravenous, and by that point, they eat far more food than their body needs at that moment, leading them to feel extra full and bloated. Now, it's also important to distinguish between not hungry and can't feel hunger. Some people mistake the absence of signals for not needing food. But your body always needs regular nourishment, even if it's not clearly communicating that need. So here's what I see happen. When people can only feel hunger at the extremes, when they're ravenous, they end up in this cycle where they don't eat much during the day because they don't feel hungry. And then at night, they're suddenly starving and they eat everything in sight or they feel like they can't stop eating. Does this sound familiar? This happens because your body doesn't know that food is coming regularly and faithfully. Right now, your body doesn't know when the next period of restriction might start. So when food is available, it tries to get as much as it can because it doesn't know when this opportunity will present itself again. Think back to March of 2020 and how you felt when you found a store that had a big stock of toilet paper. You probably bought more than you immediately needed because you didn't know when you would find it again, right? I still remember we had a neighbor. We were walking around the neighborhood. This neighbor had their garage door open, and it was probably April of 2020. And I remember seeing their garage. They had stacks upon stacks upon stacks of toilet paper in their garage. They bought so much more than they needed because they didn't know when they would find it again. They didn't know when or if toilet paper would be limited again. Your body does the same thing with food when it has learned that food availability is unpredictable. Let's stock up now. So, what is the solution? We need to teach your body that food is coming frequently and consistently, and that these long periods without food are a thing of the past. My philosophy is to start sending your body signals that it will be fed regularly and faithfully, rather than trying to rely on hunger signals that may not be clear right now. This means creating guidelines where you eat at more regular intervals throughout the day. This can be done with windows of time for eating, like eating something every three to four hours, or by setting a time frame of not going more than a certain number of hours between meals or snacks. Now, I know what some of you might be thinking. Many people actually like not feeling hunger signals because they think it means they don't need to eat. So they can control their intake and their body size. But here's what often happens: they don't feel anything for hours, and then all of a sudden they're ravenous. They didn't even realize how hungry they had become, which sets up this binge restrict cycle that keeps you feeling out of control. Now I also understand the fears that come up around eating on a schedule rather than waiting for hunger. One fear might be eating when you're not hungry and gaining weight. Another might be not knowing how much to eat if you don't have a good connection with your hunger and fullness signals. Some people worry that eating regularly will somehow make them lose control or eat more than they need. All of these fears make sense, but here's what I want you to understand. Eating consistently throughout the day actually helps prevent the extreme hunger that leads to overeating. When your body trusts that food is coming regularly, it doesn't need to panic and grab everything it can when food is finally available. Let me share a story about a client of mine who had decades of restrictive eating history. She had a lot of fear around food. She really didn't get physical hunger signals until she was ravenous. Interestingly, she had a lot of emotional hunger and a lot of preoccupation with food, which are often signs that there isn't enough overall food consumption happening. So we started her eating on a schedule with enough flexibility that it didn't trigger her all or nothing thinking. At first, she was worried she would eat too much, especially starting to eat earlier in the day. But within a couple of weeks, something amazing happened. Her hunger signals came back. She was eating more consistently throughout the day, and as that happened, her nighttime pantry raids became a thing of the past. She simply wasn't eating enough during the day. So her body was forcing the extra food at night through high calorie, high flavor, easy-to-eat foods. This is so common. When you don't eat enough during the day, your body will find a way to get what it needs, often in ways that feel chaotic or out of control. So, how do you start rebuilding these signals? First, commit to eating something every three to four hours during the day, whether you feel hungry or not. Include a balance of protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates to give your body steady energy and satisfaction. Pay attention to variety and adequate nutrition. Sometimes people eat regularly but very restrictively, like just salads or just protein bars, which can still suppress hunger signals because the body isn't getting what it truly needs. And you have to be patient with the process. How long it takes for hunger signals to return really varies. And it depends on your ability to be consistent with your actions. Some people will commit for a week or two and then they get scared by the process and they go back to suppressing their hunger. And that will not allow the natural signals to return. Consistency over time is key. So when hunger signals first start returning, they might feel intense or unpredictable at first. And this is normal. Your body is relearning how to communicate with you. And like any communication that has been disrupted, it might feel awkward or intense at first. I also invite you to get curious about your caffeine habits. If you are drinking coffee all morning to suppress appetite, consider spacing it out or reducing the amount to see how your natural hunger signals emerge. Focus on regular sleep patterns when possible, as this also supports your body's natural hunger rhythms. And remember, this process requires you to want to work with your body, not against it. And if you are still trying to use this information to control or manipulate your body's size or food intake, your body will sense that and may not feel safe enough to start communicating clearly again. Your body wants to send you signals. It wants to communicate with you about what it needs and when it needs it. And if those signals have gone quiet, it's because your body learned that those communications weren't being honored. But bodies are amazingly adaptable. When you start consistently showing your body that you're listening, that you are going to provide regular nourishment, those signals can and will return. Think of this as rebuilding trust in a relationship. If someone had repeatedly ignored your attempts to communicate, you would be cautious about opening up again, right? Your body feels the same way, but with consistent, caring actions. That trust can be rebuilt. So this week, I invite you to experiment with eating something every three to four hours, whether you feel hungry or not, and notice what comes up for you. Notice any resistance, any fears, any judgments. Notice if you find yourself wanting to skip meals or use caffeine to suppress your appetite. This isn't about perfection. It's about consistency and patience. Your hunger signals didn't disappear overnight and they won't return overnight, but they can return. And when they do, you will have this amazing internal guidance system that can help you nourish your body in a way that feels natural and sustainable. Your body is always trying to communicate with you. Sometimes that communication gets quiet, but it is never gone forever. With patience, consistency, and a genuine desire to work with your body rather than against it, you can rebuild this vital connection. And if this feels like something you want to do, but you don't know how. I need help. I need support through this. Please reach out, schedule a breakthrough call, and we can talk about what that will look like for you. We can talk about how I can support you through this process. Your relationship with hunger, your reconnection with hunger can be complicated. It can take time. And sometimes it takes support, it takes guidance, it takes somebody else walking through this journey with you. There is nothing wrong with that. It is beautiful to try to get support so that you can rebuild this incredible natural communication signal that your body has and wants to speak to you with. So next week, we're gonna explore why ignoring hunger backfires and what to do instead. And until then, remember every time you nourish your body consistently, you are sending the message that it is safe to start communicating again. I'll see you next week. If you've been trying to stop binge eating and nothing has worked, there's a reason. I created the binge breakthrough mini-series to help you finally understand what's driving your binge eating beneath the surface so that you can actually start to change it. Each video is short and they're designed to give you the clarity and direction you've been missing. So you can stop feeling stuck and start finding your way out. Start watching now at janepilger.com forward slash mini. That's janepilger.com forward slash mini. M I M I.