I have weird hunger problems, I'm not sure if I can tell when I'm hungry or not? Is there any tips for recognizing hunger in the body?
Ohhhh this is so common! It can be a symptom of various chronic illnesses or neurotypes, but also, even in the absence of other issues, lots of feature of our environment actively work to disrupt our internal hunger and satiety cues.
Advertisement are often trying to artificially instigate our appetite (the desire for food).
Meanwhile most mainstream dieting advice is encouraging you to straight up ignore our hunger signals (the physiological need for food)
It's wildly outside of my depth to speculate on why you specifically are experiencing these issues, but I can absolutely give you a big list of signs to pay attention to that may help you tune in to your body's hunger signals.
Firstly though, while you're are learning to recognize hunger, you might consider relying on Time instead. Literally just pay attention to the time when you eat a meal and aim to eat again within the next 3-5 hours. Try to eat breakfast within the first hour of waking up if possible.
Hunger signals to watch out for:
Sudden mood changes, usually irritability or sadness, but it can be lots of different things. If your mood suddenly shifts for no obvious reason, consider eating something.
What I'm going to describe as a Weirdness™ in your tummy. Might feel like pain or cramps, it might feel like more of a "hollow/empty" or perhaps sort of tingling sensation.
Brain fog/confusion/mild disorientation. If you feel like you've suddenly hit a wall and just can't think straight, consider eating.
You feel shaky or lightheaded
Occasionally and counterintuitively, hunger can show up as nausea
You may not have an appetite, which again is the desire for food, but you can likely learn over time to recognize how your body physically feels when you're hungry, whether or not it's accompanied by an active desire for food.