Cravings: Why You Have Them & What To Do About It

Do you have a love-hate relationship with food?  Love chocolate cake when you see a mouth-watering piece of it – hate it when you feel like you gained 5 pounds by eating it?

Do you wish meal time wasn’t so stressful?

Do you want to end your obsession with how much to eat and what to eat?

Do you wonder how you could possibly eat dessert without feeling guilty?!

I did too.  That’s why I am sharing these life-changing tips with you.

If you feel stuck in a cycle of emotional eating, the first thing you need to do is know WHY YOU HAVE CRAVINGS.  Then you need to know WHAT actually triggers you to eat, and then I’ll show you some ACTION MOVES that will get you out of this love-hate relationship you have with food.  Starting right now.

Why You Have Cravings

The traditional way to figure out how much you should eat is based on numbers and scientifically proven principles.  While there’s nothing wrong with that, it doesn’t always work (by itself). The reality is that we eat for many reasons – to satisfy our hunger, out of boredom or anxiety, because of our environment, etc.

Environmentally triggered eating is a huge challenge for several reasons:

1. We were made to eat when food is available.
2. We were made to desire high fat and high carbohydrate food when it is available.
3. We live in an environment we weren’t made for.

From a survival perspective, our bodies relies on a steady supply of food for energy and bodily processes.  We are also made to store energy in the form of fat, so we have a reserve when there is no food.  The problem is: if you’re reading this article you probably live in an environment where there is a steady supply of food ALL THE TIME.

So what do you do?  You do what you were made to do – eat, store, sleep, repeat.  The missing part to our modern equation is the USE IT part.  We eat more than we need, we store it as fat for times of starvation, and we continue to eat.  The result?  Overfat, imbalances and disease.

Simplify Eating

To simplify emotionally and environmentally triggered eating, I’m going to share something that was a tremendous breakthrough for me – it’s called mindful eating.

Mindful eating is an awareness of emotionally & environmentally triggered eating, hunger and fullness, and the process of eating.  Although the roots of mindfulness may be found in Eastern religions, I encourage you to conceptualize mindfulness as a tool you can use independently of any religious belief system.

Mindfulness is about noticing when your mind wanders and returning it gently to the present moment, or by observing bodily sensations or emotional states as they arise. To eat mindfully, try bringing an attitude of curiosity and acceptance, rather than self-criticism or judgment.   So, instead of trying to ignore your chocolate craving, simply observe the sensation as it comes and goes.  Rather than telling yourself you are “bad” for eating too much, be mindful of how you are feeling physically and emotionally. Know what triggers you to eat – food characteristics, events, and emotional states. Don’t ignore it.

How to Eat Mindfully.

1. Make a favorite food list.  Sample your top 3 favorite foods or dishes – what makes it your favorite?  How does eating it make you feel? What is a common theme? (e.g. texture, flavor, enjoyment?)
2. Keep a cravings, mood, and energy journal for the week.  Notice and track highs and lows of these three.  Use these questions to guide your discoveries.

• What are you thinking about when you have a craving?
• What mood are you in?
• Who are you with?
• What do you crave most often and why?

3. Meditate on what you discovered and look for connections.  Do you crave chocolate or something late at night when you’re tired but resist going to bed?  Do you crave salty foods when you watch TV?

Reflecting on the way you eat means becoming aware of why you do what you do.

Awareness is empowering because it helps you realize that a craving is a just a craving. 

It’s part of your hard-wired survival instinct as a human, but so is freedom and decision-making.  You have the ability to override your cravings by practicing mindfulness.  Move now!