I have often wondered if during the initial stages of weight loss, especially for the morbidly obese, these feelings of being a bit hungrier are just fatties not knowing what hunger actually feels like. They don't allow enough time between meals to feel hunger, like actual fucking hunger. It gets to be more fun when you consider, as you mentioned, that signals of hunger and dehydration are often confused, and as Carsandsarcasm mentioned, feelings of cravings and hunger can be easily confused. Fatties who complain that 99% (not even 90-95% like they used to say!) of diets fail have stubbornly refused to put in the time to learn actual cues from their body. The utter disconnect is astounding.