Photo by Pablo Merchán Montes on Unsplash
In short: Not every hunger comes from your stomach. Your eyes, nose, mouth, stomach, body, mind and heart can each feel “hungry” in their own way, and each one is asking for something different. This simple tasting exercise helps you hear them one by one, so you can eat more mindfully and understand what you’re really hungry for.
Have you ever finished a meal, felt perfectly full, and still wanted “a little something”? Or walked past a bakery and suddenly felt starving, although you’d eaten an hour before? That’s because hunger is more than one thing. Your stomach is only one of the voices asking to be fed.
This exercise is one of my favourites. It’s inspired by the work of Jan Chozen Bays, a doctor and Zen teacher who wrote beautifully about mindful eating, and I love sharing it in my own way. It slows you down, brings back the pleasure of eating, and teaches you to listen to your body’s messages again.
How do you focus all your attention on eating mindfully?
This way of eating mindfully asks you to listen to the messages of your body: through your senses (sight, smell, taste), through the sensations in your stomach, and through the deeper needs of your body, your mind and your heart.
The tasting exercise takes practice, of course. But it slows down the rhythm of your eating, helps you notice when you’re satisfied, and renews your relationship with food and with your body’s signals.
I invite you to choose one food: a slice of apple, a walnut, a square of chocolate, a piece of cheese. Sit down somewhere quiet. Take a slow breath. And taste it using your seven kinds of hunger. Get your eyes, nose, mouth, stomach, body, mind and heart ready!
The seven kinds of hunger: a tasting exercise
1. Hunger of the eyes
Take the time to look at your food: its colour, its shape, its texture. What appeals to your eyes about it? How much hunger does simply seeing this food stir up in you?
2. Hunger of the nose
Smell your food once. Wait a little while. Then smell it again. What does the smell bring up in your body? A memory, a feeling, watering in your mouth? How much hunger does the smell of this food stir up?
3. Hunger of the mouth
Place the food in your mouth, but don’t chew it yet. Move it around with your tongue. Then chew it once. Does your mouth want to repeat the experience? How much hunger does your mouth feel?
4. Hunger of the stomach
Now chew slowly, noticing how the texture and taste change in your mouth. Swallow. Is your stomach satisfied? How much more does your stomach actually want?
5. Hunger of the body
This is sometimes called the hunger of the cells: your body’s real need for nourishment. You can’t feel food being absorbed, but you can notice how your body responds over the next hour or so. Do you feel steady, warm, energised, satisfied? Or tired, restless, still searching? Ask yourself: is this what my body needs right now? Over time, you’ll recognise the foods that truly nourish you.
6. Hunger of the mind
Listen to what your mind is saying about this food. This inner voice often starts with “you should” or “you shouldn’t”, depending on what has been feeding your mind: rules, diets, things you’ve read or heard. How much does your mind want you to eat more of this food, or less?
7. Hunger of the heart
Take a moment to look at your food with kindness. How does your heart feel? How much comfort does this food give you? Does your heart wish you’d eat more of it, and if so, what is it really longing for?
“Every moment nature is serving fresh dishes with items of happiness. It is our choice to recognise and taste it.” (Amit Ray)
What is each kind of hunger really asking for?
Here’s what I find so helpful about this exercise. When you know which hunger is speaking, you can answer it with what it actually needs. Sometimes that’s food. Sometimes it isn’t.
Eyes and nose: often hungry for beauty and pleasure. A pretty plate, flowers on the table, the smell of soup on the stove can feed them too.
Mouth: often hungry for texture and sensation, crunchy, creamy, warm. Sometimes it simply wants something to do, especially when you’re bored or tense.
Stomach: this is the hunger that wants a meal. Feed it properly and regularly.
Body: hungry for nourishment, and sometimes for rest, water, warmth or fresh air rather than food.
Mind: hungry for permission and peace. It needs fewer rules, and more trust in your own body.
Heart: hungry for comfort, company, love, a little quiet, sometimes a good cry. Food can soothe it for a moment, but what it really wants is care.
So the next time you find yourself reaching for food, pause for one breath and ask: where do I feel this hunger? In my stomach? In my mouth? In my head, or in my heart? There’s no wrong answer. The question alone gives you a little space to choose. If the answer is often “my heart”, you might like my article on how to overcome emotional eating, and why that hunger gets louder in autumn in Comfort eating in autumn. And if a slow breath would help that pause, I shared a few simple practices in Breathe your way to mindfulness.
How often should I practise the tasting exercise?
This exercise takes practice. That’s why I invite you to repeat it with other foods, both familiar and unfamiliar. Take the time to notice the seven kinds of hunger separately. The pleasure is in the quality of the food, not the quantity.
Over time, you’ll develop a skill and a confidence that will renew and balance your relationship with food. You’ll be able to nourish your body, your mind and your heart, and to eat mindfully. I wrote more about listening to your body in Beyond dieting: pay attention to your body’s hunger cues, and answered common questions in my mindful eating FAQs. And because we’re all made differently, your hungers won’t sound exactly like anyone else’s: that’s bio-individuality in practice.
P.S. If anyone sees you sniffing a slice of apple with great concentration, just tell them you’re practising mindful eating!
Frequently asked questions
What are the seven kinds of hunger?
Hunger of the eyes, nose, mouth, stomach, body, mind and heart. Each one responds to something different, and only some of them are truly asking for food.
How can I tell physical hunger from emotional hunger?
Physical hunger builds slowly, is felt in the stomach, and almost any food will satisfy it. Emotional hunger, the hunger of the heart or mind, arrives suddenly, wants one particular food, and often stays even when you’re full.
Do I have to eat this slowly at every meal?
Not at all. The tasting exercise is practice. Once or twice a week is plenty, and little by little you’ll find yourself noticing your hungers at ordinary meals too.
When should I talk to my doctor?
If you often feel out of control around food, if you eat until you feel unwell, if you’ve lost your appetite for a while, or if thoughts about food and your body take up a lot of your day, please talk to your doctor. You deserve proper support.
Would you like some help?
Listening to your hungers is one of the things we practise together in my group programmes in nutrition and health, such as Six Tuesdays in Montignac. If you’d like to hear when the next group opens, write to me at hello@catherinepolet.coach.
If you’d like to understand your own hungers one to one, online, book a free 20-minute call. I’d love to hear what you’re really hungry for.
About Catherine
I’m Catherine Polet, a holistic nutrition health coach, yoga and autogenic training teacher for more than 30 years, author and speaker. I help people find a way of eating and living that suits their own body, online in English, French, Spanish and German, and in person in Southwest France.
