Cravings – How They Can Actually Help You

Today’s blog topic is about cravings – why you’re having them, plus a real solution that offers our unique approach most fitness professionals fail to recognize.

Have you ever felt that any time you follow a weight loss plan that is too restrictive that after a while you start to have non-stop cravings that drive you insane? I get it. It’s like your body is a car that has a broken gas gauge – the needle is always showing empty, but you know you recently filled it up. Still, you give in, and against your better judgement you head back to the gas station – your refrigerator. And that can surely sabotage your ability to lose weight.

3 Big Reasons Why Cravings Happen

There are reasons why cravings sometimes interfere, and today I’ll touch on three of the one’s I feel our clients have struggled with the most. The information is key here because many studies have been done to back it up.

1. The first reason cravings can creep up on us is that we are accustomed to eating higher calorie dense foods to satisfy our energy needs. These foods can trigger the brain to release feel-good chemicals dopamine and serotonin, and from time to time the sudden “need” for those higher calorie foods is just that chemical reaction at play here.
   
2. The second reason is cultural conditioning. Remember the Russian scientist Pavlov from high school? Using food as a stimuli, he conditioned his dog to salivate every time he rang his bell because he associated it with feeding time. Western culture does this to us through not only media, but social settings too like automatically eating popcorn at the movies, for example.
   
3. The third big reason is that we tend to try the “cold turkey” approach and cut too much out too quickly, not leaving an adjustment period to ease into a new program.

The bottom line is that all three can sabotage your weight loss efforts at any given time. So, I’m going to go a little deeper with a technique that will no doubt be new to you. My goal today is to put YOU in CONTROL of providing what your body needs to lose weight and also avoid weight rebound.

Scarcity V.S Sufficiency

You see most programs keep you in Scarcity Mode which promotes the idea that you need to eat less to lose weight. We want you to be in Sufficiency Mode so you can fuel your body with what it needs for it to run efficiently. Think about the typical car analogy I used in the beginning and how you need to fuel it properly to run efficiently...

So here it is… cravings can be viewed as actually being a good experience, not a bad one! To find that happy medium between eating what you love and eating a healthy, well-rounded nutrition plan, we have a somewhat counterintuitive suggestion: indulge that craving! I know, it’s not your typical take on this topic. However, by taking this mindset we have been able to optimize nutrition programs for individual client needs by making the specific adjustments THEY personally need.

So, in other words, when you are aware of the process you will be able to pay better attention and record these details, ultimately assisting yourself in streamlining your ideal nutrition plan.

Embracing New Lifestyle Changes

We learn things about ourselves all of the time, right? Those who are most successful incorporate the changes necessary for success. And determining your most suitable weight loss plan is no different.

Most often we try to fix the symptom, never addressing the root of the problem. So, as a result the symptom keeps presenting itself and often it can get worse. The cravings and behaviors you are experiencing all have a positive intention for you. They’re not bad at all. In fact, they’re just trying to help you even if it doesn’t feel like they are. They are simply subtle messengers telling you that your current way of living is no longer working for you. Listen to your body, because if something is out of alignment it will ask for change.

Giving yourself permission to eat what you crave often leads to a balanced diet without food fixation. Our bodies enjoy a wide variety of foods. We want you to think about having a healthy relationship with food, as opposed to trying to eat only healthy or “clean foods” in fear of never reaching your goal. And when you learn to eat what you crave without guilt, you’ll probably discover what our clients have – cravings for unhealthy foods become way less intense over time.

Habituation

When you eat what you want to, and the sense of restriction or scarcity ceases to exist, you’re able to tune into your body and actually decide if you really want a certain food or not. And eventually you’ll get to the point where you don’t have intense cravings.

It has to do with the science of habituation: The more you are exposed to a food, the less interested you become in it. It’s just like when you hear the same popular songs every day as you drive to work, at lunch, and then on the way home.

You can’t get enough in the beginning. But then you start hearing it every single time you get into your car, at the supermarket, and your favorite restaurant. You’re feeling pretty bland about those foods a week later, right? Habituation kind of works like that: when presented with a food often enough, a person generally ends up eating less of it over time.

So basically, if you regularly incorporate into your diet a food that you typically crave, over time you’re less likely to have an issue with it because it won’t be so novel to you anymore.

So, to wrap things up, go easy on yourself. Be kind to your body and in turn it will be kind to you – not to mention letting you know exactly what it needs to be happy. That’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed this, and I look forward to you checking out my new blog post next week.