What is your craving?? Do you always get that craving for red meat? Never able to satisfy your craving for pizza? There may be a real reason for the craving! Not just because you are used to it and you want it - but maybe because you lack something that your body needs!
Here is some good information:
Sweets
If you crave sweets of almost any kind, you may be experiencing blood sugar fluctuations. Giving in to pie, candy, cake, or other goodies only makes the problem worse by causing blood sugar roller coasters that lead to more cravings.
Instead, choose a piece of fruit—preferably one that's not loaded with natural sugars when you're craving sweets. And, in general, choose more high-fiber foods like beans and legumes and complex carbohydrates like whole grains that keep your blood sugar stable.
Chocolate
Cravings for chocolate often indicate that your body may be deficient in magnesium. Many nutritionists estimate that more than 80 percent of the population is lacking in dietary magnesium, which may explain why so many of us reach for chocolate.
While chocolate can contain beneficial antioxidants, they usually come alongside plentiful amounts of sugar. If you eat chocolate, be sure to reach for dark chocolate—about 75 percent cacao or higher—which is usually lower in sugar and higher in antioxidants. Additionally, eat foods high in magnesium, such as nuts, seeds, fish, and leafy greens.
Salty Foods
Cravings for salty foods like potato chips or popcorn often mean chronic stress may be taking a toll on your adrenal glands—the two triangular glands that sit atop the kidneys and give us energy and help us to cope with stress of all kinds.
Getting on top of the stress in your life is essential. Try meditation, breathing exercises, or other stress management techniques. Research at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City showed that people who take a break to breathe deeply or meditate before reaching for salty snacks reduced their stress hormones by 25 percent and cut the bingeing in half.
Red Meat
Not surprisingly, cravings for red meat usually indicate an iron deficiency. Often people crave burgers or steaks. Menstruating women are especially vulnerable to iron deficiencies. Beans and legumes, unsulphured prunes, figs, and other dried fruits are high in iron. However, eat dried fruits in moderation, since they are high in sugar and are acid-forming foods. Too many of these foods will counteract your best weight-loss efforts.
Cheese
Cravings for cheese or pizza often indicate a fatty acid deficiency, which is common since few people get enough omega-3 fatty acids. Reach for raw walnuts, wild salmon, and flaxseed oil, and add ground flaxseeds to your diet.
Most cravings are actually signals from our bodies that we are dehydrated, but we misinterpret them as hunger pangs. By drinking a tall glass of water first, you may be giving your body exactly what it wants and alleviate the craving altogether. By some estimates, 80 percent of people are chronically dehydrated. So before you reach for food to nix your cravings, quench them with some water. Then wait half an hour. More often than not, they'll be gone.
We live in a very toxic world and we are tempted at every turn we make. We must try our best to make better choices. Lower calorie choices. Try something new each week. Remember that we crave because that is who we are. We have lived so long listening to our bodies and giving into temptation but we must not give in anymore! Remember that everything we crave is for a reason and when you start to live healthier then your body will be healthy!!
Here are some good thigns to do when you are getting that craving! :
Keep a journal
of date/time, what you are craving and how you are feeling. Get a little emotional if you want to!
Drink water!!!
Stay Hydrated!!! This is very important!!!
Check it off
On a 3x5 index card, write a check every time you successfully say no to a craving. You need to do this 15 times in a row before you’ll be able to conquer any craving. On the reverse side of the card, write down some affirmations to remind yourself why you should resist.
Have I been eating less than usual?
If you're eating fewer than 1,000 calories a day or restricting an entire food group (like carbs), you're putting your body in prime craving mode. Make sure that you are eatign the right amount of calories ( 1200 and up) and give yourself a treat here and there. You do not always have to keep everything out and in all good diets - everything is okay in moderation!Sleep!!!
Make sure you are getting enough sleep. This is essential for the body!Needless to say - do your research! There is support everywhere you turn! Let me know how you are doing, if your struggling and let me know what you have been doing good! It is HARD to do this alone and even the best of people fail once in a while! It is natural!
Take a look at this chart that I found online!
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