Hunger Is Fat Leaving Your Body
Billy asked me, “Is hunger okay?”
I told him, “Heck yeah it is. It means fat is burning off your body.”
Now, that’s not exactly true. But as Chris Williamson likes to say: literally false, functionally true.
It’s one of those ideas that captures how a statement can be wrong in a technical sense, but still useful in practice. For example: Porcupines can’t throw their quills—but you’re better off acting like they can.
“Hunger means fat is burning” isn’t biologically precise, but it’s a useful mindset. It helps you push through mild hunger instead of panicking about it. It reframes hunger from something “bad” into something that signals progress.
Because here’s what is literally true: Most people are too afraid of a little hunger—and it’s killing their fat loss.
Let’s fix that.
In this article, we’ll break down:
Why hunger feels so uncomfortable
Why a little hunger is a good thing
How to handle hunger without losing your mind.
Why hunger feels so uncomfortable.
I write about this a lot because it matters—and most people never think about it.
Your fear of hunger is hardwired. For most of human history, hunger meant danger. No food, no survival. So your brain learned to treat it like an emergency. Now? You’re surrounded by food 24/7. But the signal still feels just as urgent—even when it’s not.
And hunger doesn’t just come from your stomach. It’s a full-body broadcast driven by hormones like:
Ghrelin: rises before meals to say “feed me.”
Leptin: made by fat cells to tell your brain you’ve got enough energy stored.
Insulin: controls blood sugar, but when it crashes (like after a sugary meal), it can make you feel hungry again—even if you just ate.
These signals were life-saving when food was scarce. Now, they can feel dramatic and overblown—even when you’re not in danger.
Hunger is normal. It’s not a crisis—it’s just feedback.
Why a little hunger is a good thing.
In today’s world, it’s far easier to overeat than undereat.
Most food is engineered to be hyper-palatable, i.e. nearly impossible to stop eating. It’s not built to nourish you; it’s built to keep you coming back. That design messes with your internal signals. When every bite floods your brain with dopamine, your natural sense of hunger and fullness gets scrambled.
For most people, “hungry” now just means “not currently eating.”
So if you’re trying to lose fat but never feel hungry? You’re probably not in much of a calorie deficit.
A little hunger here and there—before a meal, late at night, between lunch and dinner—isn’t a bad thing. It means your body is using stored energy, which is exactly the point.
For me, that mild hunger beats being 50 pounds overweight and leaving future me to deal with that mess in 30 years.
How to handle hunger without losing your mind.
Even though hunger can be useful feedback, it’s still not fun. Here’s how to keep it in check without derailing your progress or turning into a snack goblin:
1. Eat more protein.
Protein is the most filling macronutrient, hands down. A high-protein meal—eggs, chicken, Greek yogurt, whatever your style—keeps you satisfied without racking up calories.
2. Load up on fiber.
Veggies, fruits, lentils, oats—all slow digestion and take up space in your stomach. Translation: you stay full longer, with fewer calories.
3. Drink more water.
It’s not magic, but it helps. Thirst often disguises itself as hunger. Sometimes you’re not starving—you’re just dehydrated and bored.
4. Slow down.
You don’t have to chew every bite 32 times like Grandma said, but give your body a chance to register fullness. A slower meal usually means a smaller meal.
5. Keep meals structured.
Random grazing keeps hunger signals firing all day. Stick to real meals—three solid ones and maybe a snack—instead of eating every 45 minutes like a baby goat.
Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
A little hunger—say, a 3 to 5 out of 10 on the “I could eat” scale—is often a sign you’re in a calorie deficit.
Your body is tapping into stored energy. That’s exactly what you want if fat loss is the goal. So don’t panic every time your stomach growls!
If you’ve spent decades grabbing a snack at the first hint of hunger, it’ll take time to rewire that habit. You won’t master it overnight—but with a few weeks (or months) of practice, you’ll stop treating every craving like an emergency.
You’ll learn to ride the wave instead of fighting it. And that’s where the real progress happens! Because hunger isn’t the enemy. It’s the signal that change is happening.
And once you stop fearing it—you’ll finally be free to build the leaner, healthier body you’ve wanted all along.
Best,
John
P.S. On a flight to Atlanta for wedding 4/4 in 5 weeks and need to crank these articles out quick so no P.S. Well, I guess this is sorta a P.S. Gotta keep it moving!
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