Cravings 101….we’ve all been there; wondering why you’re craving something that you don’t think you should have.

You need to understand that your body is a super computer and never makes mistakes. Your lungs don’t miss a breath. Your heart doesn’t miss a beat. So when the body is craving sweets, chocolate, or alcohol, it’s probably not making a mistake either. It’s trying to create balance for something that’s out of sync in the system. Maybe your lifestyle is not working for you.  Maybe you’re unhappy in your career, maybe you need more spirituality in your life, maybe you need to improve your relationships, or maybe you need to exercise. An improvement in any of these four areas can reduce those cravings.

However, sometimes a craving can be something you’re missing in your diet so see if you can find a healthier way to have this food, ie: if you’re craving sugar, see if having beets, carrots or any other sweet vegetable will reduce your sugar craving. I like to have goji berries which is a super food that has so many health benefits and satisfies my sugar craving.

Some additional things to think about when a craving comes on…
1. Are you hydrated? Try drinking water and see if the craving disappears.
2. Your diet may be out of balance. Eating too many raw foods can make you crave heavily cooked foods; eating too many sweet foods can make you crave meat or saltier foods.
3. Are you reminiscing about a childhood food or thinking of a recent food you had? Try to find a healthier version of that.
4. Are things going extremely well for you in your life? If yes, sometimes self sabotage can happen when things are perfect, creating cravings to balance yourself.

Food is really important! It creates our cells, tissues, blood, organs, hair, skin our thoughts, our feelings and our future. But even more important than food is having satisfaction in other areas of your life as mentioned above: career, relationships, spirituality and exercise.

Fulfillment holds the key to eliminate your cravings. Everyone can feel the difference between emptiness and fullness. It is this experience that allows us to make better lifestyle choices. When you give yourself what you really want and need, unhealthy habits such as overeating cease to be a problem. Instead of fighting against a habit that always fights back, ask yourself, “What am I really hungry for right now?” then seek to satisfy that hunger directly. Often, when we feel we’re lacking something, we seem to fill that emptiness by reacting without thought or consideration. So we eat, we drink, we indulge and over work. And truth is, that’s being human. Everyone experiences this. But if we seek to understand what we lack instead of reacting to those feelings of lack, we can begin to fill ourselves with real comfort and strength.

And lastly, if you have a craving that just won’t go away even by trying healthier substitutes, or balancing areas of fulfillment in your life, then go ahead and have it!!! Nothing will happen; in fact, it’ll bring more balance to your body if you eat mostly healthy. Having something unhealthy once in a while won’t kill ya, so yes, listen to your body and have what you think you need to have. It’s all about mindfulness and being in tune to Your body and Your lifestyle.

Tip for the week:
See how you can deal with your cravings better so that they don’t keep following you and wreak havoc on your body.