Can’t tell whether I’m hungry or not?

If I am unsure I sometimes also look at some food to see if I am in mood or I might have a taste (if feasible). I also sometimes find that it helps if I nibble on some carrots or fruit to see if I am hungry- that can sometimes kickstart my appetite for some proper food 

Hi, I can relate to this. I also struggle to tell when I am hungry and I can find it very difficult to tell apart hunger, stress, nausea and fullness... At the moment my hunger cues are very unreliable. I often rely on more subtle signs for example if I am constantly thinking of food but do not feel hungry, I might actually be hungry. Or if I am feeling weak or tired, I might be hungry. But those signs on their own are not enough (for example I could just be tired because I had little sleep and it could have nothing to do with eating), so I also try to look at the context eg. when did I last eat etc. At the moment I just try to eat regularly and do my best in figuring out what is hunger, nausea or fullness. It's difficult to know and I want to gain weight so eating if in doubt would be sensible for me but I also have IBS so I also have to be mindful of not setting the IBS off. 

I can also relate to feeling hungry but full at the same time. This can be due to several reasons in my case. I often experience this sensation when my digestion is upset and I am very bloated- the bloatedness and air creates a feeling of pressure and fullness and when I then get hungry/ need food that can create a weird mixture of messages. I also have had the issue where I don't really feel hungry when I start eating (but I just know that I need food), but then afterwards I am more hungry than before- it's almost as though eating somehow then triggers my appetite/need for more food. But as I also get full very quickly, that then again can lead to a feeling of hunger and fullness at the same time. I think when underweight it is worse as my body wants/needs a lot of food, but that outstrips the capacity of my stomach and digestive system. Finally I think if you eat something that isn't high in protein, it is less likely to fill you up and that can also result in the mixed hunger/fullness signals. I find it helps to have balanced meals with plenty of protein, some whole grains and fruit/veg. 

The other thing I have noticed is that when you don't act on hunger cues, then they go away/ become even more unreliable. So I would say it's important to eat when hungry even if that is at night. Things will normalise over time in my experience. It's important to eat when you do feel that physical hunger- when I do that then the signals get more reliable over time. If I don't act on the hunger (eg. as busy or not home etc) it often goes away and I feel even less able to eat. 

Finally stress/ anxiety can completely mess up hunger signals as well as digestion. At least for me. 

I know that at the moment I cannot solely rely on my hunger signals to tell me when to eat (especially as I need to gain weight), so I also make sure to have regular small meals/ snacks (as smaller but more frequent meals work best for me). 

I’m getting better at realising when, but it’s worse when I’ve already eaten. For instance, when I’ve woke up, had breakfast or lunch (sometimes I don’t bother with the first one), I then find myself stuck a few hours later trying to decide whether or not I actually want food, or whether it’ll end up being abandoned halfway through eating it  

Let me put it this way: when I'm at work and have set times for break and lunch, things go okay.  On my days off, I will get to 2 or 3 in the afternoon and wonder why I'm feeling tired and headachey, and realise that I haven't actually eaten yet.

So for me, making meals a part of the routine helps. Having other people remind me to eat also helps.

Sometimes I do notice I'm hungry, but it's not consistent enough to be reliable.

I’ve got no answers, food has always had a  rough ride with me. I just find it all a big faff. I forget to drink, let alone eat. If a pill ever becomes available to replace eating, I would gladly take it. One less thing to think about.

It's not as bad as you think! But could be worth getting an allergy test. 

there are so many foods on the planet. An interesting discovery I've made is my perfect diet (would've never discovered this) is probably what my ancestors ate: sea things, nuts, berries, daisy family leaves and tubers. And because I've cut out most grains, legumes and brassicas, I can digest milk. I eat all meat. But I don't really miss anything. I sometimes wish I could go anywhere and let the chef make whatever, but just one luxury I'll have to forgo in life haha

Oh, I’ve never really considered that before. That said, I really hope it isn’t that! I don’t eat a great range of foods anyway, so I would hate to have to cut anything out 

My initial thought is this could be the result of unknown allergies. I had this feeling before I cut out gluten from my diet, but as I then discovered, my father had issues as did my great grandfather. 

I have heard that the bodies inability to digest something properly will mean an added inability to properly distribute nutrition to where it needs to go. You may be left with a feeling of being malnourished yet being 'full'. I sometimes think of our gut like a distribution centre, sending things off for conversion and such. So, unmanned there's just a back load of packages going nowhere and then not really broken apart and sent off to where they need to be.