We all know that moment. You are fine, then suddenly you are irritable, shaky, and ready to snap at anyone for food. That is not your lack of willpower. It is your biology running a ‘survival protocol‘.
Let me explain this with an example:
Think of your brain like a phone that only runs on one type of charger – GLUCOSE. When you skip a meal, the charge goes low. Your brain panics and puts you in low-battery mode. You can’t focus, small things annoy you, and you just want to eat something right now.
This is what actually happens within:
- Your stomach alarm goes off
When your stomach is empty for a while, it releases a hormone called ghrelin. We call it the hunger hormone. It travels to your brain and says “FIND FOOD NOW.” It also makes you more impulsive.
Real life example: You had only chai at 8:00 AM and now it’s 2:00 PM in office. Your stomach has been making ghrelin for 2 hours. That’s why you snapped at your colleague for no reason. - Your stress hormones rise
To keep your sugar from dropping too low, your body releases cortisol and adrenaline – the same hormones you get when you are stressed or scared. So you literally feel stressed. Shaky hands, fast heartbeat, irritability. - It’s not just sugar, it’s how you feel about hunger
New research found something interesting – low blood sugar alone doesn’t make you moody. It makes you moody ‘when you notice you are hungry’ and blame the feeling on the people around you.
Another study found that ‘hangry’ happens because of 3 things together – Biology, your Personality and your Situation.
Say if you are stuck in Mumbai local, already tired, and hungry – you will feel way more ‘hangry’ than if you are hungry at home watching TV.
Same hunger, different context.
Why some of us get more hangry?
- If your last meal was only carbs – like only white bread, biscuits, or just poha without peanuts/curd. It spikes sugar and then crashes hard.
- If you slept less than 6 hours. Poor sleep increases ghrelin.
- If you go more than 5-6 hours without eating.
How to stop it? Here are some simple tricks I give my clients:
- Don’t wait to be super hungry. Try to eat every 4-5 hours. Not a big meal, just a bridge.
- Always pair your carbs. Never eat fruit or biscuits alone. Bad pairing: Only banana. Good pairing: Banana + dry fruits, or apple + curd For lunch: Rice + dal + curd + veggies, not just rice + pickle
- Keep a rescue snack in your bag. My go – to for Mumbai clients: roasted chana, kurmura or makhana + nuts. It has both quick and slow energy.
- Morning is key. If you get hangry in the morning, your breakfast needs protein. Upma + sprouts or 2 eggs + toast or poha + peanuts + curd.
If you are already hangry right now, don’t grab chocolate or cola. It will fix you for 20 minutes and then you will crash again. Eat something with protein – like a small curd cup or a handful of roasted chana with water.
‘Hangry’ is your body’s way of saying it is hungry. This is what I tell my clients – “You are not an angry person, you are a hungry person. Feed yourself first, then fix the problem.“
