Counterregulatory eating is when your body responds to a lack of food or hunger by making you crave and eat more food than you need. Just like when you get really thirsty, you might start drinking a lot of water or when you get really tired, you might take a nap.
When we go a long time without eating, our bodies release hormones that tell us we need to eat more. These hormones make us feel hungry and our brains start to focus on finding food so we can satisfy our hunger.
Once we finally eat something, our bodies release other hormones that make us feel full and satisfied. But sometimes, when we eat too much or eat foods that are high in sugar or fat, our hormones get confused and don't make us feel full anymore. This can lead to us eating even more, even when we're not really hungry anymore.
So, counterregulatory eating is when our bodies tell us to eat more than we need to. It's our natural response to hunger and can be helpful in some situations, but it can also make it hard to control how much we eat and stay healthy.