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Hormones and Hunger

When You're Not Hungry In the Morning

December 19, 20242 min read

Hormonal Causes and How to Fix It

Manage Stress and Hormones

Why Skipping Breakfast Isn’t Always a Good Thing

Are you someone who never feels hungry in the morning?

While it may seem convenient to skip breakfast, your body could be sending you a message about your hormonal health. Appetite—or the lack of it—can reveal a lot about how well your hormones, digestion, and overall energy systems are functioning.

In todays JAMSesh Fitness and Health - Health and Wellness Tip, we’re diving into what it really means when morning hunger is missing.

From stress and sleep to blood sugar balance and thyroid health, we’ll explore the key players behind those suppressed hunger signals and share actionable steps to help you restore balance.

If you’ve been skipping breakfast out of habit or necessity, it might be time to rethink your morning routine.

If you aren't hungry in the morning, it can often indicate hormonal imbalances or lifestyle factors affecting their natural rhythms.

Here are some potential explanations:

  1. Elevated Cortisol Levels

    • Cortisol, a stress hormone, peaks in the morning as part of the body’s natural wake-up response. However, if cortisol is chronically elevated or dysregulated, it can suppress appetite.

  2. Low Stomach Acid or Poor Digestion

    • If the digestive system isn’t functioning optimally, hunger signals can be suppressed. Low stomach acid, often tied to stress or poor nutrition, can hinder appetite and nutrient absorption.

  3. Blood Sugar Imbalance

    • If blood sugar was poorly regulated the night before (e.g., from eating too late or consuming sugary foods), morning hunger cues might be diminished. This is often a sign of insulin resistance or other blood sugar issues.

  4. Imbalanced Ghrelin and Leptin

    • Ghrelin (hunger hormone) and leptin (satiety hormone) regulate appetite. If these hormones are dysregulated, you may not feel hungry when you should.

  5. Adrenal Dysfunction

    • Chronic stress or poor sleep can disrupt the adrenal glands, leading to issues like low morning cortisol (opposite of normal patterns), further suppressing morning hunger.

  6. Thyroid Dysfunction

    • Hypothyroidism, which slows metabolism, can also decrease appetite in the morning as the body’s energy demands are reduced.

  7. Eating Patterns and Circadian Rhythm

    • If someone eats a large meal late at night, their body may not be ready for food in the morning, disrupting their natural hunger signals.

  8. Habitual Suppression

    • If someone has ignored or skipped breakfast for an extended period, their body may down-regulate hunger cues in the morning as a learned behavior.

Encouraging a consistent eating schedule, balancing blood sugar, and managing stress can help restore normal hunger cues. For those with more persistent issues, checking hormones like cortisol, insulin, and thyroid levels might provide deeper insights.

If you would like to learn the step-by-step plan to help restore your natural morning hunger cues and balance your hormones - click here and I will email you a Step-by-Step Plan

Stress ManagementHormone Balance
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Julie-Anne Cox

A Certified Personal Trainer and Health Coach, hTMA Expert Practitioner

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