Peanut Butter Monster Trail Mix.
Cookie Dough.
Marshmallows.
My 3 biggest cravings in life.
Now, every now and then I’ll crave some salty tortilla chips or a good old-fashioned pepperoni pizza, but chocolate is my weakness.
To some degree, I blame my mom (Sorry, Mom) for being such a chocolate lover when I was growing up.
But I’ve lived on my own for some time now, so can I REALLY blame her anymore?
For the longest time, I labeled my cravings as the reason I couldn’t lose body fat.
No matter how many calories I ate, I craved chocolate.
No matter how much protein I ate, I was screaming for chocolate.
No matter how much fruits, veggies, water, and water it was all the same.
The cravings were just too frequent and too strong for me to ACTUALLY see success.
Then something changed…
To this day, I’m still not sure what lead me to dig further into my cravings but I’ve learned SO MUCH, but the 2 most important things are:
- It’s NOT my mom’s fault.
- It’s NOT the reason I couldn’t lose body fat.
In all that I’ve learned about cravings it led me to dig deeper into the question – Are cravings good or bad?
Maybe it’s just my personality type or lens, but I believe there’s a valuable lesson in EVERYTHING…
Which means I think cravings are GOOD – here’s why.
You’re In Tune With Biofeedback.
Believe it or not your body is EXCELLENT at communicating its needs.
Unfortunately, your body is a lot like your husband, it just doesn’t always listen.
I apologize for my gross generalization, but I’m just speaking from experience. Prior to writing this, I had an entire conversation with myself because the other set of ears in the room couldn’t hear me over the chewing of chips and MY favorite television show.
The messages your body sends to you in my world are called Biofeedback measures.
There are A LOT of Biofeedback Measures one can look at, but here are the ones I find most valuable:
- Training Performance
- Recovery & Soreness
- Sleep Quality & Quantity
- Hunger Levels
- Craving Levels
- Energy Levels
- Fatigue
- Stress Levels
- Motivation Levels
Your awareness of cravings means you’re HEARING the messages your body’s communicating!
THAT. IS. AWESOME.
Too many struggles with body composition and weight gain come as a result of mindlessness.
Do you ever wake up and before you know it or can catch your breath find that the day is nearly over?
Do you ever grab just a couple chips and before you know find the bag EMPTY?
Do you ever find 1 cookie turns into 5? (Okay, let’s be honest an entire row of Oreos).
Those are moments of mindlessness. In these moments you’re ignoring your body’s messages.
If you’re recognizing cravings, THAT’S GOOD!
AWARENESS is a GREAT thing!
Without awareness we get NO WHERE because you’ll never be able to see or know the action or event leading to the resulting craving.
With awareness you can change your response, which is exactly how you get results!
Your Body Is Telling You What It Needs.
Awareness of your body’s messages is one thing but deciphering and understanding is another.
Your body is such a complex organism…
Add to that the worldwide advancements in science and medicine, and we have the tendency to do 1 of 2 things:
- Pretend that message means NOTHING.
- Assume that message means the WORST (AKA you looked it up on WebMD).
Let me tell you WebMD has terribly inaccurate reasonings and solutions for cravings…
There’s a reason behind EVERY craving.
In reality, whatever you crave is your body’s way of telling you what it needs.
It might be sleep, a vitamin, a mineral, a food group, or more food overall – whatever it is, the craving doesn’t just happen without reason.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a tool for deciphering? Stay tuned, friends 😉
A Craving Is NOT an Action.
Believe it or not, the craving is NOT the bad thing!
It’s just a feeling or sensation, and last I checked, feeling a certain way or sensing something doesn’t have any calories.
The cool part about cravings is that it’s not actually an action, so you can have them all you want and they don’t actually lead to any weight gain.
Acting on them does…
It’s no easy task to resist them, but it is actually possible NOT to act on them.
So how can you avoid acting on your cravings?
Step 1 – Build Awareness – Start by recognizing WHERE & WHEN you’re experiencing these cravings.
Step 2 – Self Assess – Take a moment to assess the following:
- What is it you’re craving?
- When’s the last time you eat?
- When are you planning to eat next?
- How are you feeling physically?
- How are you feeling emotionally?
- What’s readily available for you to eat or drink?
Step 3 – Set an Action Plan – Find an action or food item to distract you from the craving!
Keep it simple, the more complex you make it trying to avoid your craving, the more you stress your mind and find it difficult to resist your cravings.
You Can More Easily Identify a Solution.
A craving is more than just a craving.
It’s a secret.
It’s a clue into what your body needs, wants, or has in excess.
If you understand your cravings you can SIMPLY identify a solution.
Now, it takes education and practice to identify the meaning behind your craving.
BUT, it also takes an immense amount of practice to act on the simple solution INSTEAD OF your craving.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a simple tool designed to help you beat any craving at any time?
Hmm…
I’ve got something big cooking for you to help you do just that ready to drop in the next few days.
Want the inside scoop?
Set up a free Strategy Call HERE and I’ll show you how it works!
You Can Beat It.
Just as cravings aren’t an ACTUAL action.
Just as cravings have a SIMPLE solution.
You can also beat any craving at any time.
If you’re lucky, you can beat them before they even start.
All of my clients are encouraged to do 3 simple things to minimize cravings:
- Identify & Include Non-Negotiables
- Eat in an Individualized Caloric & Macronutrient Prescription
- Hydrate (With Water)
Unfortunately, those things don’t always happen (come on, we’re ALL guilty).
Then, what?
Well, we go back to the AAA method (which I actually laid out for you earlier).
Step 1 – Acknowledge & Build Awareness
Step 2 – Assess & Create a Solution
Step 3 – Achieve Success by Taking Action
Cravings are NOT a bad thing.
Cravings just need to be better understood and attacked!
About The Author
Jordan Davies is the Co-Owner of Complete Performance. Jordan has her B.S. in Exercise Science and Psychology, and her M.A. in Holistic Health Studies. She is a CSCS certified strength and conditioning coach, and a PN-1 and NCI-1 certified nutrition coach. She loves to study how the human body needs to be moved and nourished and making that fit to your unique lifestyle. Click Here Now to Apply for Coaching with Jordan.
