HOW TO MANAGE CRAVINGS

BY: FITZ-GEORGE RATTRAY

Cravings are the scourge of the weight loss dieter, aggressively present, demanding attention, night or day, disrupting your peace of mind, health and weight goals.

WHAT ARE CRAVINGS?

Let us put aside what cravings are NOT. Cravings are NOT starvation.  Starvation is a very specific process, brought about by insufficient nutrients, which, if continued will end in death. Saying “I’m Starving!” is an insult to the millions of fellow humans who are actually enduring this painful and debilitating reality every day.

Cravings is not necessarily true hunger, you can have a complete family holiday dinner and still be craving pie and ice-cream (or whatever you will), although one minute ago you couldn’t manage another bite. 

Whether you are stuffed or moderately fed, you can have a mild to extreme craving.  Craving is simply a response to a desire for a food item or particular foods.

Cravings are a part of your primitive coding, a craving is seldom your friend. In our society cravings cripple and kill by the millions.

RECOGNIZING THE TYPE OF CRAVINGS

There are two main types of craving: Psychological/emotional and Physiological.

Psychological cravings are triggered by several reasons including:

• Stress, anger or disappointments
• loneliness, boredom or frustrations
• perceived denial of gratification
• lack of sleep, overwork and tiredness
• habituations and old routines
• family and peer eating
• advertisements and signs

Physiological cravings may be brought on by:

• An ongoing insufficiency of a nutrient, for example, in the case of chocolate craving that could mean a magnesium deficiency. All deficiencies can be filled by healthier source, magnesium for instance can be found in nuts, dark green leafy vegetables, beans and seeds. But our minds more often go straight to the high calorie quick and easy sources
• Imbalances in our gut microbiome, i.e. poor gut health. Your microbiome is supremely important
• Habituation / routine. If eating at a specific time or place has become a routine, then your body will release a hormone which triggers feelings of hunger (ghrelin), the resultant craving is a product of your own mind
• Addiction. Food and other addictions are a growing scourge in modern societies. Being aware that your craving may be a part of an addictive cycle, can go a long way towards management
• Poor hydration
• Illnesses
• Blood sugar issues

IDENTIFYING YOUR CRAVING TYPE

Identifying the cause of your craving can be important in its management.

Psychological / emotional cravings:

• Is sudden and intense
• Creates a desire for a specific, or specific type of food
• Demands instant attention
• Will often result in feelings of guilt

Physiological cravings:

• Builds over time
• Can be quelled by available foods
• Feels like it can be satisfied at a later point
• May or may not cause guilt

HOW TO MANAGE CRAVINGS

As overwhelming as cravings can feel in the moment, they ARE MANAGEABLE.  It is true that they are difficult to manage, as is evidenced by the current levels of overweight in many developing and developed countries, but you do not have to be a victim of them.

Planning your regular meals, or having them planned for you, can help reduce the regularity of cravings, knowing what and when your next meal will be and exactly where it is coming from is invaluable in curbing how frequent and extreme your cravings are.

• Ensure that you have a balanced diet filled with
  • clean proteins,
  • vegetables,
  • berries
  • nuts, seeds, lentils and peas
  • fiber and probiotics and
  • prebiotics
• Have regular meals.
• Be careful of extreme low carb diets, vegetable based carbs and complex carbs, such as sweet potatoes to help to regulate blood sugar levels and reduce cravings
• Season with spices, especially hot and sweet spices, including cinnamon, cayenne, garlic and cumin.
• Generally, reduce processed foods. Refined foods and refined carbs boost cravings and damage you healthy gut bacteria
• Be conscious of what you have eaten, and plan to eat, understand that it is all the nutrition you need
• Don’t keep unhealthy empty calorie foods in your environment, keep healthy foods around you
• Learn to enjoy relaxing safe options like teas
• Control nighttime eating. Eating within a couple hours of lying down can present potential health risks. Focus on your first meal of the next day. Remember people do not usually wake up hungry, if sleeping is the real issue speak with your physician.

PLANNED INDULGENCES

Delayed or denied gratification can magnify a craving to extreme heights.  If you have accepted eliminating unhealthy craving foods or over portioning from your new lifestyle in the way that a committed vegan accepts only eating plant-based foods, then there is no unfulfilled gratification.  But if you are having cravings counter to your goals and wellness then this is a major problem. 

The InteKai Eating System, for example, encourages members to discuss and take part in some, planned, special occasion eating and “indulgences” into their meal blueprints, some even have weekly planned indulgences.

Cheating sends the worst messages to us, and if you do have cravings, total denial has been shown to result in numerous problems; so planning indulgences which are included in your new lifestyle, can be key to short term success and long-term management.

Enjoy these allowed meals thoroughly and mindfully, look forward to them, and make the most of it; Perhaps integrate it with a special occasion, meeting with family or a friend or make it your own personal outing. 

Eventually you will experience less temptations from emotional changes, triggers, passing fast food joints and ads and the random foods people are eating around you. Eventually make better and better indulgence choices, until you learn how to choose healthy options altogether.

AVOID PLACEHOLDERS

If you are having an indulgence, go for the real thing. Placeholders, that is, something like the real food but modified in some way, ultimately do not help.  The non-fat, artificial sweetener versions of foods are known to be as unhealthy, and ultimately as fat inducing as their regular counterparts.  If you are having cookies, ice cream, burgers, have the real one. In fact have the best one, and enjoy it, but only as planned and when planned.  If you have access to a diet/nutrition coach, make use of the service.

Whatever you chose, know that is planned, enjoy it, savor it slowly, and know that there is no need for guilt.

ACTIVITIES

Most issues spring from our minds; see if you can manage your moods without fulfilling your cravings and threatening your wellbeing. Find alternate activities which are enhancing instead, consider:

• Even very mild exercise or activity is highly beneficial in hormone, mood, pressure and pain management. Consider weights, calisthenics, stretching, yoga, a sport
• Bubble bath
• Listen to music, even make it your hobby, music is highly accessible and too often ignored
• A hobby
• Light reading
• Going for a walk
• Treating yourself to an outing, beach. Spa etc.
• Visit or speak with a friend/family
• Volunteer
• Church/group activities
• Plan and prepare your environment for conscious deep breathing, relaxation, meditation and sleep

Taking care of your body and mind is as important as taking care of your nutrition

SUPPORT

Contact your wellness coach freely and readily for advice and support, or/and. let friends, family members and even trusted coworkers know what your goals are. Support and answerability are key.

MINDSET

Make a practical sustainable decision and stick with it. Your mind is a powerful thing. You can make it work for you, or it will work against you, run it, or it will ruin you.  Once you mindlessly bend to your cravings it will easily snowball into a lifetime of suffering.

Think about why and when you are feeling a craving, ask yourself; what am I feeling? What triggered this? Stress? Loneliness? Boredom? Unfulfillment? Something else? Then decide if the food item will fix the underlying issue; spoiler, it will not.  If depression, stress, anxiety is triggering your comfort eating cravings, you should readily investigate and accept counselling. Do not waste time attempting to hide from your solutions,  speak with your coach and  physician.

You can’t truly control your future until you control your thoughts. Your thoughts direct your life, control your thoughts and control your life. Decide in advance to classify that feeling as a craving, and as you go through your day, say no to cravings.  Set your mind’s narrative, THIS IS ONLY A CRAVING, I will not fall for it.

Now you know why, don’t let it rule you. Focus on your next planned meal. It’s not about a diet, it’s not about weight loss, it’s about taking and keeping control of yourself, your wellness and your future.