Hey there...I promised one of my faithful readers (Chelle) that I would write a little something about cravings and then I got busy....and a little lazy....I finally had a week off from school and I didn't feel like thinking (you ever have those days???)
Anywho...let's talk cravings. I mean we all have them. Some of us crave chocolate, some crave soda, chips, sweettarts, now and laters, caramel popcorn, chocolate covered pretzels (those last four are kinda personal lol)...but the point is that we ALL have cravings.
What is a craving? According to Merriam-Webster, a craving is an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing. Example of craving, "I had a sudden craving for french fries, so I pulled into the nearest fast-food restaurant." Yeah, we've all been there.
But what do you do with your cravings when you're on this journey to health and wellness? Well, I will say this....CRAVINGS SUCK!!! I mean they just do. Sometimes they can be so overwhelming that it makes you feel a little crazy...like OMG! I gotta have it right now. Ladies, ours can get really bad when Aunt Flo/Eve's Curse comes around (you KNOW what I'm talking about!!!! lol).
I ask again, what do you do with your cravings when you're on this journey to health and wellness? My answer is BE REALISTIC! Realize that your body is craving something that you've given it before. It's difficult to crave a french fry if a french fry has never touched your lips. First, have a little talk with yourself...you know I talked before about getting your mind right??? Yeah, well it works. I've actually said to myself before, April, I know you WANT that entire pack of Now and Laters, but you're gonna eat this greek yogurt and be satisfied. After a little while, I noticed that the craving was gone.
Butttttttttt...if all else fails (lol)...don't kill yourself. Go to the store and buy the candy bar....do I sound crazy yet? Well here is my reasoning....health and wellness is a marathon, not a sprint. In my opinion, it takes more self-control to say, "I'm only going to eat half of this candy bar and give the other half away." The bigger challenge here is teaching your body that YOU are in control...so like I said to Chelle, GIRL GO GET THE CANDY BAR! But start to train yourself to control what you choose to indulge in. Some folks try to deny the craving so much that when they do "give in" they go get 7 candy bars and eat them all and then feel like a failure. Don't do that to yourself folks!!! Tell yourself, SELF (lol), you're only getting five of these now and laters and the rest are going to be thrown away or given away....period...full stop! I make it sound simple, but take it one step at a time and I guarantee that you'll get better at it with time.
I want you to know that I appreciate you...my readers...I mean if you didn't read this blog, I would just be writing to myself! LOL! Do me favor and comment sometimes...let me know you're out there...I would love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading :)
This is a great post April. Totally agree with you. Have a little in moderation, but also think about what you're craving and why. There may be other ways to satisfy those cravings (like you having Greek yogurt instead of now&laters). You might also crave if your body is needing something. For example, sugar may cause increased absorption of the amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan helps your body make serotonin (a brain chemical that makes you feel happy and content). So sometimes craving sweet means you just need a pick me up:) Keep up the good work April, you're doing great!
ReplyDeleteThis is so great!!!!! Yes, thanks Hope :)
DeleteI love this post! You are so right about us all having cravings. Mine lately has been ice cream. I must say when it started moderation WAS NOT in my vocabulary, but then again that large bowl of turtle ice cream also got shared with two little boys who love it as much as I do, so in essence I guess you could say they help me to moderate cause with them helping you eat you're lucky to get a bite in... lol!
ReplyDeleteThank you for "giving me what I want." I really enjoyed this post. My cravings have been out of this world especially when Aunt Flo is visiting. I agree that the biggest challenge is letting your body know that you are in control. I know in the past I have told myself no to certain foods only to wind up eating them and failing in the war against them. Your advice on moderation has really helped in the craving war. I tried for a couple days and it WORKS! Thanks again!
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