"hangry"

It's one of those made-up words that just fits. Those moments when you get so hungry it instills irrational anger from deep within... A hunger that causes intense cravings and situations where a Snickers bar could keep you from strangling someone. A fine line to be walked. Luckily for those around me, I have learned to master this hangriness. First line of defense: Eat at least every 3.5-4 hours. Any more than 4 hours and you might as well hand cuff me to the dinner table and tape my mouth shut until food arrives. Second line of defense: Drink a ton of water. Seriously, have your water bottle as handy (if not handier) than your cell phone. Wake up, drink water. Before meals, drink water. Feeling slightly froggy, drink water. I'm telling you- minus my recent caffeine withdrawal headaches, MOST of the time I can cure dizziness or headaches by closing my eyes for 5 minutes and hydrating. I am one of the lucky few now days that doesn't suffer from migraines and thank God for that. Moving on... Third line of defense and last resort: Recognize your hunger and impending hangriness and tell/warn the people you are currently sharing your time with. My husband has quickly learned when I say something along the lines of 'Babe, if I don't get something to eat soon, I'm going to get grumpy.' that he needs to feed me ASAP. He has also caught on that asking me what I am hungry for, is not only viewed as a cruel and torturous question but will also launch my hunger-induced anger if I'm close enough to the edge. Lol, I'm making myself sound like a monster but really, I am not myself when I'm hungry and it hasn't always been like this. Just these last 2 years or so. Maybe I have some underlying medical condition or something. Maybe it is something that happens at infant-hood and reoccurs when you've stopped growing. It could possibly be due to the amount of energy I expel daily. When I exercise harder and more frequently, I definitely need more nourishment. In any case, this last month I haven't been on top of my game. Starting right now....I AM BACK!