Yeah, the most prominent is actually thirsty.

More often than not when I feel like I want some kind of unhealthy throwaway snack I'm actually just thirsty and the craving goes away if I drink water.

Hunger and thirst are very easily confused.

Yeah I often get specific cravings. They're usually in the following categories:

• sweets (not too often but when I do, I usually hit chocolate)

• fruits (sometimes I crave sweeter, sometimes acidic) I think the water and fiber here plays a role because when I crave these the chocolate doesn't fix it, and isn't enjoyable

• protein ( eggs or any meat, dairy doesn't cut it)

• fatty stuff (here I'll go for cheese, butter, peanut butter, perhaps canned kippers if I got some or if the only thing available is chocolate I'll take it)

• very salty stuff ( green olives, prosciutto, rarely chips, I get what I can)

Nuts are sometimes good at quenching protein and fat cravings but many times it won't work.

Yes, mostly learned through endurance sports and multi-day backpacking trips that make it easier to sense during normal activity days. Hunger for sugars and salts is very different from hunger for protein.

I also know bodies are dirty liars. No amount of craving means my body needs another ice cream sandwich.

I occasionally get into a state where I feel hungry but the thought of eating almost any food, including foods I usually like, is disgusting. I end up eating something really bland, like raw tofu.

Also, I didn't have any cravings after I became a vegetarian. I was never seriously tempted to eat meat. However, I did eat a lot of cheese and now that I eat very little if it, I want cheese all the time. I'm not even hungry right now and I'm still salivating because I'm thinking about cheese.

Honestly I think it's more of just becoming responsible as you age and your body's requirements get more specific. When I was young, I could eat anything and anything. Now, dairy is fully off the table, breads and carbs in general need to be of a minimum quality, and volume of consumption absolutely cannot be what it used to be. I think the key of it is to just be cognizant of what works and what doesn't, and have the self control to direct yourself to the right choices (especially when options are limited). It certainly comes with experience that aging provides. I'm sure there are some people that are so well tapped into their bodies that it's automatic like muscle memory, but for the rest of us it's definitely learned and steered.

My one trick to not get hungry is to eat a teaspoon of olive oil before I go to work or after meals. The best diet to not get hungry on is the high fat low carb diet, so a spoonful of olive oil is a good fat to keep you from getting hungry. I do not recommend keto (true keto for some rare forms of epilepsy and lifestyle keto are not one and the same and it's not good for your vascular system), but a high fat and low carb diet is the best way to go.

This started happening to me more and more after I hit my 30s, and it stopped happening once I started taking a daily multivitamin.

You are spot on!

I had to hire a nutrionist who specializes in it to help identify hunger cues ane what they meant. I had an eating disorder growing up and Adhd on top of it so I could go days without food and not notice and also binge uncontrollably until I made myself sick.

She showed me how to navigate and I will be forever grateful.

I specifically was craving protein last night, but not my usual junk food drive-thru "protein" on a bun. So I went out and got stuff to make a nice little meat sauce for some pasta at home, and damn did it hit the spot.

Sometimes I’ll crave specific meats, or diary, but I never feel fruit cravings. I have a weird aura where I crave iced tea before a migraine, but cola will help block the migraine or reduce its intensity (and I know it’s the same caffeine, just with extra stuff).

The question is, then, if you could, what's your current diet as a roadie? Given the options available, I predict it's VERY hard to stick to a diet that's not only not going to kill you this year, but actually maintains something like health. The options just can't be there while you're working on the road.

Edit: by 'roadie', I've assumed your job is road crew with a touring rock band or similar touring group. If you work for a regional transportation entity maintaining roads, that's of course a different kind of roadie. Sorry for the assumption.

Yes, my wife is always amazed or puzzled by how I know exactly what I'm missing. Like it will be I need peanuts, or greens, etc. Once I have those I instantly feel full and satisfied. If we don't have the specific Item my body signals I'm hungry and will nag me for food all day (i assume it hopes quantity will bring in the nutrients needed) There was recent science about the gut nerve signaling your brain when it needs things, and not a one way nerve from brain to gut like they previosuly thought

Not really, no. Was an anorexic teen, so kind of like you but in the other direction, then so poor we just ate what we could, at this point in my life I am at a healthy weight and can certainly tell physical hunger from wanting to eat, and can tell the difference between not hungry and lack of appetite from anxiety around eating (the latter is very infrequent now). May have broken it in all the years I had water when hungry.

I don't have a repetitive diet though, and don't do endurance sport so maybe don't have the specific cravings. And try not to ever eat too much. And women in general do carry more reserves even when lean, I don't know if that makes a difference.

I've been doing IF and fasting for a few years and this parallels my experience with hunger and food.

Now that my diet is protein heavy I crave that. Before it was carbs.

I crave salads and fresh veg every few months. Mostly I eat shakes tho.

Seems like it's happening to me, too. Don't know how accurate it is, but I do seem to be craving certain types of food.

I couldn't tell you the actual mineral/vitamin or whatever most of the time but I definitely get cravings when I'm missing something

Quite often just go eat a raw bread roll from the supermarket when I'm low on carbs and flagging, fixes me right up

Yeah. I never considered that this wouldn't be normal, though. I kinda always had a "healthier than average" palate throughout my childhood as well as doing physical activities, and maybe the discernment comes from that as you're suggesting.

Is there anyone in particular you've spoken to that doesn't have this sense?