For a long time, my day began with fruit. Usually just a large portion of fruit salad. Even though my stomach often started growling again after a short time, it never occurred to me to question this habit. Instead, I attributed the hunger to myself and saw it as a sign of lack of restraint, not as a signal from my body.

Why I didn’t question my breakfast for a long time

The idea of starting the day with a light meal did not come out of nowhere. In my family, diets were tried again and again in an attempt to fight excess weight. Fruit was considered healthy, low in calories, and therefore the right choice, especially in the morning. I adopted this belief early and made it my own. For a long time, I too was caught in diet thinking and believed I was doing everything right with my breakfast.

Only when I began to take hunger seriously as a signal did something change.

Not because I was looking for a new way of eating, but because I started listening to my body again. I engaged with the principles of intuitive eating, with the distinction between physical and emotional hunger, and with the question of why food had been so emotionally charged for me for so many years. In this context, I gradually became aware of how much I had been eating what I believed I should eat, while ignoring the actual needs of my body.

With this new awareness, I noticed something crucial. After waking up, I did not long for something light, but for a real meal that would truly make me feel satisfied. Despite old beliefs telling me otherwise, I decided to follow this impulse and take it seriously.

Being full is not the same as being satisfied

Looking back, I realised that my former breakfast filled me, but did not satisfy me. I ate large amounts of fruit, felt full, and was still hungry again after a short time. My thoughts circled around food early in the day, often accompanied by inner restlessness. For a long time, I interpreted this as part of my eating disorder and believed that something was wrong with me.

Today, I know that my body simply was not getting what it needed. Being full does not automatically mean being satisfied. Satiety does not necessarily arise from large quantities, but from the body receiving what it actually needs.

Now I eat differently in the mornings. Not according to fixed rules, but oriented toward what gives me stability and carries me through the morning. Sometimes it is something savoury, sometimes something sweet. What matters less is the form than the feeling afterwards. Since then, the start of my day feels calmer, my thoughts revolve less around food, and my body feels more balanced.

Fruit still has its place. However, no longer as a meal on its own, but embedded in something more sustaining. I like to combine fruit with complex carbohydrates and sufficient protein. Not out of nutritional rules, but because my body clearly shows me that this keeps me satisfied for longer.

Not every craving is emotional. But every craving is a signal that wants to be understood.

When hunger is physical, but feels confusing

Since I have been engaging more deeply with emotional hunger, one thing has become especially important to me. Not every craving is an expression of emotional lack. In my case, breakfast played a central role. Fruit in the morning led to a rapid rise and subsequent drop in blood sugar, accompanied by inner restlessness, concentration difficulties, and strong hunger. These physical processes intensified the urge to eat, without it being emotional hunger.

More difficult than the craving itself was the cycle that developed from it. I ate again early, often in large amounts, then fell into an energy low and felt exhausted and unmotivated in the afternoon. Only when I began to truly nourish my body in the morning did this cycle slowly begin to dissolve.

It is important for me to clearly state the following. This experience is not a recommendation and not a universal rule. It is an example of how differently hunger can be experienced and how important it is to view eating impulses in a differentiated way. Sometimes the cause lies in emotional themes, sometimes in the nervous system, and sometimes simply in the fact that the body is not sufficiently nourished.

For me today, healing does not mean enduring hunger or disciplining away food pressure, but understanding where they come from. Only when we begin to separate these levels does the possibility arise to experience food again as what it can be. A form of nourishment instead of a constant struggle.

If you like, feel free to share your thoughts or experiences in the comments.