Hello friends,
Have you ever mindlessly polished off a bag of chips when you weren’t even hungry? Do you seek out chocolate every night after dinner? Desperate for a glass of wine after a long, stressful day? These are all examples of cravings. We all have cravings, but what they are and how we respond to them vary greatly from person-to-person.
In this two-part series we will explore WHAT cravings are and HOW we can respond to them in a positive, loving manner. In Part 1 we’ll explore when cravings may indicate a physical need or imbalance and in Part 2 we’ll dive deeper into the emotional reasons behind cravings. My goal is to help you better understand your cravings and arm you with the tools and knowledge to enter 2021 with a renewed and empowered perspective.
Before we dive into what cravings are on a physical level, l want to share my philosophy on approaching cravings. Have you ever heard the quote from Carl Jung, “What you resist, persists.” Wonder how this applies to cravings? Well, so often in life when we are faced with an uncomfortable situation, we turn away from it and try to ignore it. This holds true for cravings.
So many of us, rather than try to understand what the craving is trying to tell us, either turn away from it (and it comes back to us with a vengeance at a later date) or we succumb to it mindlessly. But there is a better way, and I am pleased to share it with you.
Often, when I work with my clients – we look at a situation and try to reframe it. Let’s do that now with cravings. You can either look at cravings as a human failing and try to ignore them and stuff them down, OR you can choose to see a craving as a loving sign from your body as something that you need to pay attention to.
Let me restate that because this isn’t easy to grasp the first time you hear it. YES, I’m suggesting that you embrace cravings as your friend and try to understand what they are telling you. Cravings often indicate a physical or emotional need, or BOTH. I don’t think that you can truly address cravings without considering BOTH the physical and emotional reasons that you are experiencing a craving.
Some people can reduce their cravings purely by addressing the physical reasons behind the craving, but many people must also or ONLY consider the emotional reasons. In Part 1, we’ll address the physical need or imbalance so let’s jump in!
First, let’s start with when cravings signal a PHYSICAL need or imbalance and look at how this shows up. The most basic explanation for a craving is – you are hungry! We will address solutions more in-depth shortly, but this is the reason why it is important to eat nourishing meals at regular intervals. If you allow your blood sugar to drop from not eating a meal, this can cause a craving and often for a food that is higher in sugar and/or fat.
Second, you could be experiencing a nutritional deficiency. Do you often find yourself craving salty snacks? Well the body needs salt for optimal health. And you can obtain salt in a healthy manner by adding sea salt to your foods vs. from eating a bag of chips. Or, you may crave a steak, that may indicate that you need protein.
More common and likely more familiar are your insatiable cravings for sugar and sweets. This craving is often to the level of addiction – we must have the sugar to function. And there is science behind being satisfied. Sugar or anything that turns to sugar (i.e. chips, cookies, bread, candy, fast food, soda and even diet soda) drive your cravings.
But, we CAN rewire our mind so that your cravings let go of you! Yes, I said so the CRAVINGS LET GO OF YOU. How?
Well, now that we understand a bit more about what cravings are and how to handle them (by confronting them directly), let’s discuss some tips for how you can get cravings to release you, on a physical level.
Number 1: Reduce your sugar intake.
But where do you start if you are really addicted to sugar? We could spend an entire blog post on how to detox from sugar, but I’ll share a few tips now:
- Bring awareness to the situation and admit that you are addicted to sugar.
- Slowly reduce your sugar intake. For example, if you have three teaspoons of sugar in your coffee, reduce it to 2 teaspoons one week, then 1 teaspoon the next week and zero the following. Use cinnamon, natural vanilla extract, or nutmeg to add flavor to your coffee if needed.
- Next, read labels. Begin noticing the added sugar in foods such as tomato sauces, ketchup, yogurt, and most packaged goods and try to reduce your consumption of these.
Or, if you are really committed, another method is to quit sugar cold turkey. This will likely be painful for a few days, but it is the quickest way to rewire your taste buds. I’d be happy to coach you through this (book a free exploratory session 50-minute here)
Number 2: Eat nourishing meals on a regular schedule so you don’t allow your blood sugar to crash, leading you to reach for the first food available.
Number 3: Incorporate lots of leafy greens (kale, spinach), healthy fats (extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil) and high-quality proteins (pasture raised meat, wild salmon etc.) into your meals to decrease cravings.
Number 4: Drink water! If you feel a craving the first step is to drink a glass of water, you may just be thirsty. Then wait 10 minutes.
Number 5: Listen to your body. As mentioned previously, when you have a craving your body is trying to tell you something. Are you craving sugar? Try eating sweet vegetables such as sweet potatoes, beets, carrots or incorporating more fruit into your diet. Are you craving salt? Try adding a sprinkle of sea salt to your food or even adding a bit of salt to your water with lemon. Adding a healthy dose of salt here may prevent you from digging into a bag of chips or bowl of pretzels later.
Is this cravings business beginning to make a bit more sense? Well, stay tuned for installment two where we’ll address how emotions play into what we crave.
Craving a deeper dive and don’t want to wait? Click here to book a free, 50-minute session with me and start on your journey to wellness.
Wishing you a peaceful holiday season.
Yours in wellness,
Mandy