There is a lot of “nutrition advice” online offering up a wide variety of reasons & solutions for your cravings. If you’re willing to try X hack, diet, detox, method, you’ll successfully “manage” or “curb” or “deal with” them!
I want to invite you today to think about your cravings differently.
Let’s first make clear what I mean when I say “cravings”. I’ll define a craving as a powerful desire for something specific (in this case, food), urgent/abnormal in nature.
First, why do we get cravings??? The answer here is complex and different for everyone! It could be:
- Physiological (low blood glucose, low energy availability, nutrient deficiency, hormonal),
- Neurological/Social (emotional, habitual, upbringing, environmental cues, mental restriction of certain foods)
- Reward/Dopamine Response (simple fact that some foods are very enjoyable and we are pleasure-seeking creatures)
So, sugar detox??? Not so fast.
If you are struggling with intense sugar cravings, for example, it’s best to take an inclusive approach before you go cold turkey on all sweets/processed food.
Remember, with any approach to nutrition we want to ask, “could I do this forever?”
So, first…
Are we getting enough of each nutrient? Macros? Micros? Enough food in general? Are we hydrated? Are we sleeping well/managing stress? Where are we in our cycle & are we actively trying to support ourselves through it? What’s going on emotionally, and is sugar our go-to tool for emotional regulation?
Beyond any of that… maybe you are eating enough, you’re not physically or mentally restricting, you’re sleeping well, your stress levels are managed, you’re hydrated… and you STILL get cravings. ….??????!!!!!!!!!!!
Sometimes, you’re just a human being who wants a treat. It’s that simple. You don’t need to pathologize your cravings and make them mean more than they do. This can create a lot of internal friction with food, which is the opposite of what we want.
Take a minute to reflect:
- Are your cravings really a problem?
- Or are you just making them out to be a problem?
- What do your cravings mean to you?
- What does the voice in your head say to you/about you when you notice a craving come up?
- If you are craving something, what is your initial response? – honor it? Or try to suppress it/manage it/shut it down?
- What is the fear around honoring it? What do you think will happen?
- Why do you think that?
What is it that’s blocking your unconditional permission to eat and enjoy food?
Allowing yourself to have something mindfully and move on will reduce food preoccupation, which is better for your health, life, mind, career, etc. (more mental energy to do things that matter).
All that said, just because you have a craving, doesn’t mean you need to act on it.
Yes, unconditional permission to eat! AND also the ability to make a decision w/ context about whether or not eating something is a good decision for you OVERALL (you now, you an hour from now, you tomorrow, etc.) – How will all these versions of you feel? Let the jury vote.
But most importantly, try to change how you talk/think about your cravings/mental hunger. Do you view it as hunger that “shouldn’t be there”? As gluttony? Desire for “too much”? Shame?
Rather than judging or fighting or shaming your cravings, try to have a curious conversation with them:
- What’s going on for me right now?
- What are my needs and are they being met?
- How am I speaking to myself?
- What is the empowering choice for me to make right now? (empowering does not equal punishing)
Peace & Love,
Sofia Huston