Cravings

: an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing

I know we have all felt this at least once in our lives. There are studies saying, "Cravings are your bodies way of telling you what it needs"  I think this is a dangerous idea. When was the last time a body needed chocolate cake? Also how can we tell the difference between what our body needs and what it is just used to having?

For example; Lets say that everyday after work you come home and eat two slices of toast with peanut butter and honey. Your body get habituated to this behavior, to the point that every time you come home you "need" to have two slices of toast with peanut butter, even if you just ate.

 Is this a physolocial (your body actually needs it) need, or a psychological (your mind thinks you need it) need?

So how do you know?

The next time a craving hits ask yourself a few simple questions;

*Is this food (or drink) good, healthy, fuel for my body?

               If you want chocolate cake and Diet Coke the answer is NO

*Do I want this out of habit?

             See the toast example above

*Is it time to eat?

              If you just had a full meal 20 minutes ago, you probably don't need a second helping of food, try some water in this instance.

Now that you have established what kind of craving you are having, what do you do next?

If it's time to actually eat, and you are craving something healthy (fresh veggies, and fruits and lean protien) then go ahead and follow through on that craving. Otherwise, we probably need to do a bit more evaluation.

Most of the time when you think you are hungry you can just grab some water and by time you have ahd a glass or so your mind will realize that you were just thirsty in the first place. 

Otherwise let's look at some good replacements for those things we so often crave;

Next time instead of reaching for the rich, creamy, sweet, salty, or fattening snack try drinking some water, and if that does not work try one of these other healthy replacement foods.

Watch your waist shrink and your health improve!

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