Conquering Your Cravings

Craving sweets? You’re NOT alone! But how do you kick those cravings?

As defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a craving is an “intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing for an item, food, or experience”.

Intense? Yes. Urgent? Yes. Abnormal? Heck no.

Craving’s occur all the time. You may crave chocolate after dinner or a cookie with lunch. For some of us, this means that you eat a portion, and then you move on. But what about when those craving start consuming your thoughts? Or when you feel you can’t honor your hunger without overindulging? Here’s my suggestion:

First we need to identify why we’re having such intense cravings.

Imagine this, you’re at a holiday party. You see the dessert table and want a brownie. But you decide against it, not because you feel full, but because you consider it a ‘bad food’.

The next day, you’re in a coffee shop. You order a coffee, black, and the barista asks if you would like a bakery treat on the side. You want to say yes, but you decline for the same reason as the night before. And so the cycle continues. The longer you deny your cravings the more intense they become.

You finally decide to indulge. You make a batch of brownies, cut them into 9 squares and serve yourself one. It’s delicious, the chocolate melts in your mouth. You go back for another, and then a third. And pretty soon, half the tray is gone.

You’re not alone, this occurs more often than you may think.

Why does this happen? When we continuously deny our cravings, they build up until we can’t hold them back. Think about putting Mentos in a bottle of soda. As the pressure builds, the soda explodes. The result of denying food cravings? Overindulging. Guilt takes over and sweets now have a negative connotation attached to them.

So how do we change this?

Honor your cravings and allow yourself food freedom. Yes, it’s okay to eat that slice of cake. But portion size is key!

Of course, this is easier said than done. When starting to honor your cravings, begin by acknowledging that there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods. Allow yourself freedom to recognize your cravings and enjoy them in moderation!

At first, your body may not feel satisfied with a smaller serving. This goes back to primal survival skills. When food supply was limited, it was normal to overindulge when food became plentiful as it may not be available again in the near future. When you deny your craving, this same concept occurs.

Your body must relearn that these foods are available when you want them, in moderation, and not just when you finally give in to your cravings. When you learn to honor your cravings, and defy food rules, you’ll start to be able to enjoy all foods without guilt or overindulging.

Eventually, your body will trust that your cravings will be satisfied with a small piece of chocolate or cake. You won’t feel the need to eat the entire tray of brownies and cravings will become a source of enjoyment instead of stress.

Moral of the story: The more you deny your cravings, the more uncontrollable they become. Allow yourself to eat dessert, to have a cookie with lunch, or ice cream on a hot day. Leave behind your food rules and focus on listening to your body!