Hunger is perhaps the most important piece of information we have available to work with as coaches. Here at Stay Fit Mom, we ask all of our clients to rate hunger everyday on a scale ranging from 1: NONE all the way to 5: HANGRY. We will also ask you to tell us your overall/average hunger rating for the week (just take your hunger rating scores for the week, add them up, then divide that number by 7). Let’s go over those ratings…

1 (NONE): “I’m force feeding myself all day long. This isn’t enjoyable. I am nearly physically uncomfortable having to eat this much.”

2 (LOW HUNGER): “I am not really feeling much hunger, I have to be very aware to make sure I get all of my food in.”

3 (NORMAL HUNGER): Think of this as true comfortability. This is when we feel great where we are at with our macros! We can maintain our current macros long term at 13/14 green days every two weeks for MONTHS at a time here.

4 (HIGH HUNGER): “My hunger is high and I’m ready to eat my meals and snacks when the time comes, but I am enjoying these numbers and I still feel that these numbers are sustainable long term, for 13/14 green days every two weeks.”

5 (HANGRY!): “I am HANGRY and my adherence could start to suffer if I don’t get more food built into my macro budget. I am feeling restricted. If someone put chicken and steamed broccoli in front of me, I would be grateful and eat it.”

The distinction between level 4 and level 5 hunger is the fact that level 4 hunger still allows for long term sustainability, satisfaction and enjoyment, while level 5 hunger presents active restriction and a true urgency for more food. The distinction between level 1 and level 2 hunger is that level 1 means we are truly uncomfortable, while level 2 just means we have to be more mindful to eat all our food.

Hunger cues, or lack thereof, tell us a lot about the body. All in all, healthy hunger cues are a sign that the metabolism is functioning well. Read more about that HERE. Food is to the body what gas (or electrical charge) is to our car. We have to have it to function! On the flip side of this, an absence of hunger cues can mean that the metabolism isn’t burning efficiently. Remember that the more lean muscle mass we have, the quicker the metabolism will burn food for fuel. Everyone’s metabolism has a limit, and it comes down to our activity level, our overall NEAT, our size/body type, age, genetics, hormone health and so much more. But If you’re eating far below your TDEE and you are feeling physically uncomfortable with your current macros, this can be a sign that your metabolism isn’t thriving, we have perhaps been undereating for a long time and we need to push the metabolism to burn appropriately. All in all, it’s important to all of the macros that your coach has put on the table for you in order to increase your metabolism and fix your damaged hunger cues. 

With this being said, it’s very normal for hunger to wax and wane with hormones, travel, work/life stress, grief, sadness, happiness, excitement, boredom…pretty much every emotion under the sun! A change in hunger rating, or a hunger rating being ultra-low or ultra-high may not instantly call for numbers to be reduced or increased. Other biofeedback contributes as well, such as sleep, mood/energy, fiber, vegetable intake, water intake and more. These various biofeedback categories contribute to hunger levels, so sometimes we need to put extra focus on these other categories before macros need to change. All that matters is that we communicate openly and honestly, so your coach can do the configuring! Now, as coaches, if we see in your tracker that you are regularly exceeding protein, carbs or fats, or any combination of the three, we aren’t likely going to lower them regardless of hunger ratings. Reason being, if we can’t maintain our current macro budget, we won’t intentionally make your macro budget even tighter. On the opposite end of this scenario, if we struggle to hit our protein, carbs or fats, we may not be inclined to raise any one of the three. Consistency is the most important thing every single time, in every scenario, and it’s what we will prioritize first as coaches. The best place for our macros will always be where we can be the most consistent. 

Some of us genuinely like to eat (where are my fellow foodies at?!) and some of us more or less just don’t. We have to reflect and establish where we fall on that scale, whether we need to keep our discipline and have set appropriate boundaries, or we need to get a little out of our comfort zone and eat a bit more for the sake of our metabolic health. For example, I am a bottomless pit pretty much any given day. I know this about myself, so I know that I have to pay close attention to my REAL hunger and differentiate between hunger and cravings. Cravings and hunger are totally different. If you wouldn’t eat the chicken and broccoli, but you would eat the chips out of the bag, or the peanut butter cups, hunger may not actually be at a 5, but we may just really want taste or texture. There is a difference between our actual hunger and our appetite or zest for certain foods. We also have to consider if we have a tendency of turning to food for emotional comfort, or if we tend to not eat while experiencing bigger emotions. For example, I know that when I am stressed or sad, my appetite will be low or even non-existent. However, a large portion of the population turn to treats and “fun foods” with satisfying flavors and textures when sad or stressed. It’s important to reflect and know where we individually fall. 

We also need to be mindful of our food timing. For example, if we’re eating all of our food at night and feeling HANGRY throughout the day, spacing our food out a bit more throughout the day may take that hunger level from a 5 to a 4 or even a 3. OR, if we are saving all of our food for the evening because of a busy day or stressful career, spacing our food out throughout the day could take our hunger level from a 1 to a 3, simply by spacing our food out and not overwhelming ourselves with food in the evening.

Our biofeedback in our tracker should align with our feedback in our check-in. Our weekly hunger rating in our check-in should be directly reflective of the notes and hunger ratings we are recording throughout the week. If we see that hunger was rated “low” in a client check-in, but that the clients tracker includes notes stating “high hunger after dinner,” for example, we are going to feel a bit puzzled as your coach. Often as women, we get so busy juggling all of our responsibilities and we don’t allow ourselves the time and space to sit and reflect. It’s important to pause, reflect, spend a few moments alone and evaluate where we are truly at. If we are stating level 5 hunger, but we aren’t meeting our macros, we need to question if our hunger is truly at a 5. Or, if we’re exceeding our numbers but our hunger is rated at a level 1, we need to reflect on whether or not hunger is truly at a level 1 and perhaps why we are going over numbers. All in all, if you’re feeling a bit out of touch with where hunger really is, communicate with your coach about what you’re feeling. Your coach will help you to distinguish where hunger really is. Honest biofeedback, notes and communication is all SO important for your coaching experience. *Please note: if you are walking through perimenopause, or you’re postpartum and perhaps a nursing mama, hunger is more likely to sky rocket and crash depending on sleep, stress and overall energy. This is because ghrelin and leptin become less balanced. Ghrelin is what we call the “hunger hormone,” and leptin is what we call the “satiating hormone” as it alerts the brain when the stomach is full, in a nutshell. Talk to your coach about long term sustainability and where you feel that your numbers are/could be most comfortable for you while balancing hunger levels with goals.

We want to get you comfortable with your macro totals and get you to the point where you can feel great while being ultra consistent with numbers as quickly as possible! We welcome that dialogue with each of our clients!