NUTRITION - Deconstructing Cravings

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Summary - 

We’re all familiar with how it feels to crave a specific food or drink but did you know that whilst most people view cravings as a “weakness”, they’re often important messages from the body to guide you in maintaining balance. In this episode, we dive deep into the many different reasons we experience cravings because surprisingly, most cravings have very little to do with food. 

Things I Mention - 

  • How mindfulness plays a big role in being able to control your cravings. 

  • Tips to help you dismiss or fulfil a craving from a place of empowerment. 

  • How to identify the root cause of strong food or drink cravings. 

PLUS, I share the 7 most common causes of cravings. 

Links & Helpful Resources - 

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Now let’s try and get through this episode without developing a craving because you know what they say - what you focus on multiplies.

Ok, I want to tell you something … 

Your body doesn’t make mistakes – IT IS A SUPER BIOCOMPUTER! 

Your body maintains a healthy temperature, your heart never misses a beat, your lungs never forget to breathe, your body repairs itself when injured and your body breaks down food into usable energy and nutrients. 

So having said this, if your body is craving something, generally it is craving something for a reason. It’s at this point, where you need to stop, slow down and listen to your body. This way, it will be much easier to adopt healthy ways to satisfy those cravings before they begin to work against you. 

Many people view cravings as weaknesses, but often, they’re important messages from the body to guide you in maintaining balance/ homeostasis. When you experience a craving, I feel that the most important thing you can do is aim to deconstruct it by asking yourself - “What is my body trying to tell me?” because oddly enough, often our cravings have very little to do with food. 

There are many causes of strong cravings for particular foods or flavours but navigating cravings with mindfulness can help you make some very powerful and informed decisions. Here’s how it’s done – 

ACKNOWLEDGE CRAVINGS AS THEY ARISE

Ignoring cravings often makes them seem stronger and more powerful. If cravings arise, acknowledge them for what they are – your body is trying to tell you something. 

EXPLORE THE ORIGIN

Trying to determine the root cause of each craving, isn’t super easy but the more you tune in, the easier it will get. You want to try and work out - 

  • Is this craving attached to a particular emotion or physical feeling?

  • Is this craving for a highly palatable food that was designed by manufacturers to be craved? (eg. sugary foods, processed foods). 

  • Is this craving tied to a habit that I’ve developed? 

  • Is this craving steering me towards something that would actually support my health or well-being that I’m currently neglecting?

From here, you want to - 

PROCEED FROM A PLACE OF EMPOWERMENT 

Once acknowledged and the origin has been explored and understood, you can now choose to either dismiss or fulfil the craving from a place of empowerment, rather than feeling controlled by your cravings. 

If it’s a sugary treat you are craving because you’ve been indulging in sugary treats after dinner most nights, then you’ll know that this craving is a combination of a). the food having been designed to be craved and b). the fact that you’ve developed a habit each night. With this in mind, you can either continue to fuel the fire just one last time but put some actionable steps into place to make sure that you are working towards kicking this habit or you can dismiss the craving cold-turkey and decide on a healthier alternative that will work with you and your health goals. 

A lot of the time the cause of a craving is more to do with a lack of primary food which is you remember back to Episode #3 - primary foods are the things that nourish us off the plate. Eg - our career, creativity, relationships, social life etc. 

Being dissatisfied with a relationship, feeling lonely, bored, stressed or uninspired all cause emotional reasons to eat. In this instance, food can be a form of temporary relief from these feelings but they won’t fix the problem at hand. A few common causes are - 

DEHYDRATION

Staying hydrated is a great way to reduce cravings. Try a glass of water before eating. 

YIN-YANG IMBALANCE

Traditional Chinese Medicine states that regularly eating foods that are either too yin or too yang may lead you to crave the opposite (eg. eating foods rich in sugar (yin) may cause a craving for meat (yang) and eating too many raw foods (yin) may cause cravings for heavily cooked foods (yang).

FAMILIARITY

The taste of recently eaten foods lingers in your mouth for up to 3 days so if you’ve just indulged in a particular food, chances are you’ll continue to want that same food for the next few days. 

SEASONAL

The body often craves food in accordance with the weather. In Summer, people often crave light, fresh foods and in Winter, people tend to crave heavier, cooked foods.

LACK OF NUTRIENTS

If the body is lacking nutrients, it may produce odd cravings to fulfil the nutrient void. 

HORMONAL

Fluctuating testosterone and oestrogen levels may cause unique cravings.

DE-EVOLUTION

Believe it or not, any big changes that you make dietary or otherwise, may cause self-sabotage in the form of eating to throw you off track.

For most foods, there is a healthier alternative available which I encourage you to consider first. Yes, they may take a little more effort and time to whip up, but they will certainly work to satisfy and kick a particular craving and fortunately, not at the cost of your health.

If it’s PIZZA you’re craving -  try making your own at home with toppings galore. In my opinion, you can go nuts with the toppings if it means that you are eating a meal that is home-made. CHOCOLATE – choose a raw or organic brand. ICE CREAM – make “nice-cream” instead or buy a dairy-free alternative. PASTA – choose buckwheat, mung-bean or zucchini pasta. FRIED CHICKEN – make up a big batch of crispy chicken wings or crumb your own schnitzels, then use the leftovers for lunch the next day too - cook once, eat twice!

Elisha CasagrandeBrisbane Personal Trainer, Brisbane Health Coach, FEEL BE LOOK, Womens Confidence, Confidence, IIN Health Coach, Womens Health, Diets, Womens Weight Loss, Fat Loss, Cravings, Deconstructing Cravings, Sugar Cravings, Salty Cravings, Womens Cravings