Forgetting to Eat: Uncovering the Hidden Reasons
Have you ever gone hours—or even the whole day—without eating, only to realize you’ve completely forgotten to have a meal? Forgetting to eat is more common than you might think, and the reasons behind it can go deeper than just a busy schedule.
As a somatically integrated dietitian, I help clients understand how their body, nervous system, and past patterns influence their relationship with food. Many of the reasons people forget to eat are due to survival mechanisms, chronic stress, or disconnection from their body’s cues—but it doesn’t have to stay that way.
In this post, we’ll break down why you might be forgetting to eat, what it means for your body, and how to stay nourished even when hunger doesn’t seem to show up. Let’s dive in!
*This post contains affiliate links, clearly marked with an asterisk (*). If you click on these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission.
Table of contents
- Why Am I Forgetting to Eat?
- Why Am I Not Hungry in the Morning?
- Why Breakfast Matters (Even When You’re Not Hungry)
- Can Anxiety Make You Lose Your Appetite?
- Symptoms of Not Eating Enough:
- What to Eat When Nothing Sounds Good
- Final Thoughts: Breaking the Habit of Forgetting to Eat
- If you liked this post about Forgetting to Eat, you might also like:
Why Am I Forgetting to Eat?
Forgetting to eat often occurs when your body’s natural hunger signals become harder to notice. Here are some common reasons why this might happen:
1. Your Hunger Cues Are Suppressed
Long-term restriction, whether from chronic dieting or an eating disorder, can dull your hunger cues over time. When you don’t eat regularly, your body adapts by lowering the signals it sends to let you know it’s time to eat. This can make it hard to recognize when your body actually needs fuel.
Illnesses like cancer can also reduce appetite. This happens because the body’s energy is focused on healing, making digestion feel like a lower priority.
2. You’re Disconnected from Your Body
If you’re not aware of your body’s internal sensations, it’s easy to miss hunger. This often stems from conditions such as:
- ADHD or Autism: Neurodivergent individuals may have difficulty noticing or responding to interoceptive cues, the signals that tell us we’re hungry, thirsty, or tired. (Check out this blog post to learn more about ADHD and eating).
- Chronic Pain: Conditions like scoliosis, arthritis, or past injuries can create a disconnect from the body’s needs. Over time, this dissociation can lead to ignoring hunger cues.
- Trauma: Experiencing a traumatic event that involves your body might lead to disconnecting and dissociating from your body, including hunger cues.
3. Your Past Influences Your Present
Growing up in a food-insecure household can impact how you respond to hunger as an adult. If meals weren’t guaranteed, your body might have learned to suppress hunger cues because there was no way to meet them. Even if food is now accessible, those patterns can linger.
4. Your Nervous System and the Brain-Gut Connection
Stress plays a significant role in appetite. During stressful situations, your body goes into survival mode via the sympathetic nervous system. You might have heard of fight or flight mode (aka survival). When this happens, the communication between your brain and gut can be disrupted. Sympathetic nervous system activation (stress/anxiety/fear) can make you feel like you’re not hungry, even if your body needs food.
The good news? Hunger cues can return with consistent nourishment and gentle practices to reconnect with your body. Forgetting to eat doesn’t have to be a forever struggle.
Why Am I Not Hungry in the Morning?
The most common meal my clients tend to skip is breakfast, often because they don’t feel hungry enough to eat in the morning.
If you’re someone who skips breakfast because you’re just not hungry, here are some reasons why this might happen:
1. Morning Anxiety
Even low levels of anxiety about work, school, or the day ahead can suppress your appetite. You might not even recognize it as anxiety because it is your “norm”.
I often hear this from clients who used to get sick before school when they were kids. Some nervous systems are more sensitive than others, and that’s okay! It can be a superpower when you learn how to listen to it.
2. A Long Standing Habit of Skipping Breakfast
If you’ve been skipping breakfast for years, your body has adapted to that. Over time, it stops sending hunger signals in the morning because it “knows” you’re not going to eat. This can happen due to having an eating disorder or chronic dieting.
3. A Big Dinner the Night Before
Eating a large or late-night meal can delay your morning hunger cues. Your body might still be digesting when you wake up, making food less appealing. (This doesn’t mean that skipping breakfast is a good idea though).
If you’ve been skipping breakfast for most of your life, I can understand why it might not feel like a big deal or too much of a headache to change. But, forgetting to eat in the morning can have more of an impact than you realize.
Why Breakfast Matters (Even When You’re Not Hungry)
Even if you’re not hungry, eating or drinking something in the morning is really important. After fasting all night, your body needs fuel to replenish energy, regulate blood sugar, and kickstart your metabolism. Research even shows that eating breakfast is linked to better overall nutrition and a lower risk of conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
And remember: something is always better than nothing. If the idea of a full meal feels impossible, start small with:
*These are my affiliate links, which means that I will earn a percentage of any sales, at no extra cost to you.
- Bars: Perfect Bar, Clif Builder Bar, Larabar, Kind Bar
- Drinks: Orange juice, apple juice, Ensure Clear, Premier Protein shake, Core Power Protein, milk, or chocolate milk
The key is to give your body some nutrients, even if it’s just a little.
Skipping breakfast doesn’t make you a bad person—it’s simply a habit your body has adapted to.
That’s the cool thing about our bodies, they’re always adapting. Which means it’s never too late to start creating new habits that are supportive.
Can Anxiety Make You Lose Your Appetite?
Absolutely. Anxiety can directly impact your appetite because it is a sign that your nervous system is activated. When this happens, digestion slows down, and hunger cues can disappear. Even low levels of anxiety can have this effect, which is why it’s important to eat regularly, even if you’re not feeling hungry.
These are normal responses to stress or trauma. Oftentimes when your sympathetic nervous system is activated (survival mode), your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest/vagus nerve) isn’t. This can make it nearly impossible for your body to signal hunger cues or digest food.
Which makes sense because your body’s energy is focused on survival, not digestion. If your body feels threatened, it’s not prioritizing your next meal. And remember, feeling threatened doesn’t necessarily have to mean your life is in danger.
The sympathetic nervous system can be activated whether you’re feeling threatened by a work deadline, nervous about a social event, or encounter a bear while hiking.
Working with a somatically integrated dietitian (hi, it’s me!), can help you identify when you’re feeling activated and give you techniques to support yourself through the activation. This will help you reconnect with your hunger cues so that forgetting to eat isn’t happening as often.
Symptoms of Not Eating Enough:
When you don’t eat enough, because of forgetting to eat or other reasons, your body and brain let you know in different ways. You might experience:
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Thinning hair
- Dizziness or lightheadedness, especially when standing
- Irritability
- Brain fog and difficulty concentrating
- Shakiness
These symptoms are your body’s way of saying it needs consistent nourishment. I like to call these “subtle” hunger cues because they don’t come from your stomach. Even if you don’t feel hungry in your stomach, eating regularly can help prevent these effects.
What to Eat When Nothing Sounds Good
Sometimes, even when you know you need to eat, nothing sounds appealing and the thought of eating feels like a chore. That’s okay. Here are some ideas to try:
- Simple options: Crackers and cheese, toast with peanut butter, or a handful of nuts.
- Warm and soothing: A bowl of soup or oatmeal.
- Smoothies: Blend fruits, yogurt, and cows milk or soy milk for a nutrient-packed drink.
The goal isn’t to have a perfect meal but to provide your body with the energy it needs.
Remember, eating something—even if it’s small or “imperfect”—is an act of support toward your body. There’s no such thing as a “wrong” choice.
Final Thoughts: Breaking the Habit of Forgetting to Eat
Forgetting to eat or not feeling hungry doesn’t mean you’re broken or doing something wrong. It’s often your body’s way of coping with past experiences, current stress, or lack of interoceptive awareness.
The important thing is that becoming more in tune with your hunger cues is possible.
Start small, focus on consistency, and remember—your body deserves nourishment, even when it doesn’t feel like it’s asking for it. If you’re looking for personalized support, I’d love to help you on your journey to a healthier relationship with food.
