Hungry But Nothing Sounds Good? Here's why and what to do about it.
Written by Isabel Vasquez RD, LDN
Feeling some telltale signs of hunger but can’t pinpoint anything that sounds good? Maybe you’ve made the trip to your kitchen and are staring at your fridge with a blank expression. A full fridge, but nothing appealing inside.
If so, you’re not alone. We’ve all been there at one point or another, and it can be super frustrating! In this post, I’ll share why this happens, whether to eat something anyway and a few ideas for what to eat when nothing sounds good.
Why am I hungry but nothing sounds good?
There are a bunch of different reasons why you may experience hunger but have no appetite, including a mental health issue like depression, disordered eating, or a nutrient deficiency. Here are six reasons why you may be hungry but can’t find anything that sounds good to eat:
Mental health issues
Mental health ailments like depression or anxiety can stunt your appetite, leading you to feel hungry but without an appealing food option. Even when you’re stressed in the short term—say, about an upcoming presentation—you may notice feeling hungry but not having an appetite for anything.
For those with eating disorders, another mental health disorder, who are working towards a more consistent eating pattern, it’s very common to lack an appetite or to feel like nothing sounds good.
For isolated, short-term incidents, it may not be a huge deal to lack an appetite, but for chronic mental health issues, this can pose a bigger challenge.
Even when it’s tough, eating enough is so important for mental health conditions since hunger can increase irritability and worsen mood. For those with eating disorders, establishing a consistent, adequate eating pattern is central to recovery.
Repetitive meals and snacks
If you find yourself eating the same meals or snacks on repeat without much variety, you may be more likely to feel like nothing sounds good anymore.
When people only eat a limited variety of foods, which happens often with children or those with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), food jags are common. This happens when you are super reliant on a certain food or meal for a few days, weeks, or months, and then eliminate it from your rotation entirely.
For example, let’s say your breakfast is the same oatmeal bowl every day. You love it and you have it every day, with no variation. After a few weeks, you may be over it and unable to stomach the thought of oatmeal for months.
Even if you’re not experiencing a full-blown food jag, you may still struggle to find something appealing to eat if you have repetitive meals. Many people have a rotation of meals they eat every week or two, but if you haven’t mixed it up in a while, you may be tired of your current menu.
Limited idea of what you’re allowed to eat
Diet culture makes us believe that we should only eat certain foods it labels “good” and that we should avoid others it deems “bad”. As a result, you may find yourself eating foods you don’t like for the sake of diet culture’s definition of health or following strict food rules.
In reality, you can absolutely incorporate nutrition without sacrificing the satisfaction and enjoyment of food. Too many times, people think food that tastes good must be bad for you, and that is so counter to our approach here at Your Latina Nutrition.
Especially from a cultural lens, flavorful food is key, especially for Latines. We love bold, strong flavors! This is true for many other cultures as well, each with unique flavor profiles.
There’s nothing wrong with finding pleasure and joy in food; in fact, this may be what you’re missing if you can’t find anything that sounds good.
Expanding your horizons and healing your relationship with food helps open the door to the endless possibilities of what you could incorporate into your meals.
While being confined to a diet’s rigid rules for what you can and can’t eat greatly limits your meal options, practicing a non-diet approach like intuitive eating allows you to tune in to what would satisfy your body in the given moment and honor that (to the extent you can) without judgment.
Physical health issues or medication
Certain physical health issues or medications can stunt your appetite or hinder your ability to find something satisfying to eat. Some examples of appetite-suppressing medications are stimulant drugs like Adderall for ADHD and Ozempic for diabetes management (although this is now irresponsibly being prescribed for weight loss).
Medical conditions like hypothyroidism or conditions that cause nausea like irritable bowel syndrome or pregnancy-related morning sickness can also stunt your appetite.
Nutrient deficiencies
Certain nutrient deficiencies, including zinc, vitamin B12, and magnesium, can cause reduced appetite. These deficiencies are not super common but can occur from eating a limited range of foods, taking certain medications (like metformin), or following a vegan diet without supplementation with B12.
High standards for meals
Another subtle reason that you may feel hungry but can’t find anything that sounds good is that you have really high standards for what a meal should look and taste like. This is a little different from another reason I listed above—when you have a limited idea of what you’re allowed to eat due to diet culture.
In this case, you may be a foodie or pride yourself on cooking incredible, labor-intensive meals. Maybe you enjoy eating out and indulging in meals with a beautiful presentation. Plus, we all know that salads and sandwiches always taste better when someone else makes them!
However, these high standards for presentation, taste, and ingredients may get in the way of finding something appealing to eat, especially if you’re low on energy. Sometimes, finding something good enough to satisfy you without it being spectacular is all you need.
Should I eat when nothing sounds good?
Before I address what to eat when nothing sounds good, I have to address whether you even should eat in this case. The answer is a resounding YES!
Your body is communicating physical hunger to you. Maybe taste hunger isn’t present (where you’re craving a specific flavor), but you’re feeling physical hunger cues. Some common signs of physical hunger are:
Thinking about food
Fatigue
Irritation
Stomach feeling empty
Difficulty concentrating
Stomach growling
Headache
This may be a time when you honor practical hunger—when you eat because this is when you have time to eat. It may not be that you have a big appetite, but your body is giving you signs of physical hunger and you know that you need the energy to fuel you through the rest of your day.
Eating regularly, especially when you feel physically hungry, is important to maintain stable energy, blood sugar, and concentration levels. It also helps prevent irritability (we’ve all been hangry at some point!), extreme hunger, and binge eating.
What to eat when you're hungry but nothing sounds good
Comfort food
What constitutes comfort food will be different for everyone. For me, Latine cultural foods like rice and beans with avocado are simple meals that I can almost always stomach.
For you, comfort foods may include your unique cultural foods, foods your family made when you were a child, your favorite foods, or food from your favorite restaurant.
Lean into these when nothing sounds good and try not to be hard on yourself if these foods don’t align perfectly with what you consider a “healthy meal”.
Different cuisines
Sometimes, you just need to expand your horizons and mix up your meal rotation. Incorporating foods from different cultural cuisines is one way to do this. Maybe you pick up a new cookbook or look up new recipes that incorporate different flavor profiles from what you’re used to.
It may even mean that the next time you go grocery shopping, you carve out a little more time than normal to browse aisles in-depth for new finds. Just one new ingredient can serve as inspiration for a whole new meal.
For example, I love buying marinades that change up the flavor of a dish without adding a lot more work.
Takeout
Especially if you’re low on energy and drained at the thought of putting together a meal, takeout is a great option if you have the means to do so. A lot of times, when you’re staring at the fridge, wandering around the kitchen looking for something to eat, the work of putting a meal together seems like too much effort.
This is the perfect time to order takeout so you can nourish yourself without having to labor in the kitchen. Maybe you even order a big meal so you have leftovers for tomorrow!
Smoothies
In my work with clients with eating disorders, I’ve learned that liquids are often easier to tolerate when your appetite is low and nothing sounds good. For that reason, smoothies are a great way to get in a lot of nutrition conveniently.
For a well-rounded smoothie, consider adding:
Fiber and carbs through fruits, veggies, and oats
Fat through nuts, seeds, and/or full-fat dairy
Protein through yogurt or protein powder
Other tips
Practice gentle nutrition
If you’re experiencing hunger without appetite often, you may get in a rut of eating snack foods or meals that lack nutritional variety. While there’s nothing wrong with doing so, having nutritionally well-rounded meals can help you to feel more energized and satisfied.
Instead of following a rigid, restrictive meal plan, practice gentle nutrition by blending satisfaction, pleasure, and health into your food choices (we have a whole blog post on gentle nutrition here!). We like to think of it as adding nutrition, rather than cutting out foods.
Eat with others
Eating a meal with others may boost your drive to eat. Sharing a meal is a form of connection, and it can be a welcome experience, especially if you live alone.
If you’re in eating disorder treatment or recovery, eating with others can also help provide accountability and support. It may also serve as a form of distraction from the overwhelming eating disorder thoughts.
Use the three T’s
The three T’s are taste, texture, and temperature. Considering these can help you to connect with what would be satisfying to eat. They’re commonly discussed in intuitive eating because they help promote satisfaction.
Consider the taste profile you’re in the mood for or that you could best tolerate right now. Savory? Sweet? Sour?
Next, consider the texture you’d like. Crunchy? Soft? Mushy? Dense? A combination of those?
Lastly, consider the temperature of food that sounds best. Do you want a cold meal or a hot one?
Considering these qualities of food can help you pinpoint the type of meal that would sound most appealing. Again, it doesn’t have to sound like the most appetizing thing in the world, but something you can tolerate at the given moment.
Final Thoughts
Feeling hungry but not knowing what to eat can be a frustrating experience. That aimless wandering through the kitchen can be caused by a wide variety of factors including stress, medications, rigid food rules, and even nutrient deficiencies.
However, it’s important to eat when you notice signs of physical hunger, even if you have a low appetite, because it helps prevent irritability and binge eating. Eating comfort foods, different cuisines, smoothies, or takeout are great options to boost interest and appetite.
For more support, we offer a 3-part registered dietitian-led masterclass on intuitive eating to help you improve your relationship with food, your body, and movement.
If you liked this post, you may also like:
What is Gentle Nutrition? Plus 3 Tips to Get Started
