Do you ever get cravings?
I mean like, you’ve really got to have (insert craving here) or someone is going to get hurt?
I know I have and I wanted to ask you a question.
If you were able to stand face to face with your cravings, what would they be saying to you?
Thanks for that piece of chocolate? It was just what I needed?
Or would you cravings want to sit down with you and have a heart to heart?
I ask this because I believe that cravings come from one of three places.
Really, just three different options.
The first option is usually the hardest to come to grips with- it’s your head.
Cravings that come from you head are hard to describe because they can be so closely intertwined with the second place that I believe cravings reside and that is from your heart.
Let’s address the heart first.
Cravings that come from the heart can be thought to be caused by emotions or by stress. I like to think that this is where emotional eating comes from.
The “I only ate the cake because I was having a bad day and needed to cheer myself up” craving.
The “He broke up with me AGAIN and this is finally it!” gallon of ice cream.
Makes sense?
The cravings that come from you head may seem like they’re coming from your heart but there’s less emotion tied into them.
(Although let me be completely honest here, if you’ve got one, you might just have the other. Cravings are usually very social creatures; they roam in packs.)
The cravings that come from your head are usually coming from a place that is in direct opposition to what you decided to eat or drink initially.
You told yourself that you just have to eat the broccoli or the brown rice. You have to eat the plain, dry, boring piece of chicken and ignore the hamburger.
You come from a place of wanting to do right, but going too far over to leave your both room for satisfaction.
You may think that you just need it to be happier, more comfortable or more relaxed, but it’s really just coming from a place of the body needing balance.
Think about that and see how it sits.
Our final place where cravings can come from is actually coming from hunger.
This is the most simple of all. You’re hungry!
Let’s recap-
Cravings can come from your head, your heart or from your hunger.
Know the cause and you can know the solution.
Not sure what to do? Check out your challenge below!
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Your Challenge, if you choose to Accept it!
1. Keep a record of your cravings. Who, what, when, where, and how you dealt with them. Keep track for at least a week, better if you can do two. What are your patterns?
2. Make a mental or physical note of any situations that you are in regularly that cause stress and then lead to cravings. Can you change or adjust that situation so that you are in a better place to deal with or eliminate your cravings?
3. Write down the specific foods, drinks, activities that you crave. Are there healthier alternatives? If so, take some time to explore them and try them out.
