CRAVINGS: What they mean and how to curb them

All rights reserved by The Indigo Bunting

What is it about chocolate that makes everything seem perfect? If only it was low calorie, low fat, high protein, filled with complex carbs, and fortified with vitamins….

I was chatting with my mom this morning about how her office put in a popcorn machine – the kryptonite to sticking to her diet. There just seems to be some foods that no matter what have the power to lasso you by your shoulders and drag you head first into splurge overload. For her – it’s popcorn. Never mind the containers of Gardetto’s or peanut butter pretzels in the kitchen (yep I would have been a goner there) – but the overwhelming smell of freshly popped popcorn swirling out of her office everyday and seemingly beckoning her name is overkill.

We joked that she should wear nose plugs because breathing is overrated – right?

You guys – I get it… no one said there wasn’t going to be treats and temptations and roadblocks on your journey to healthy.  My biggest temptation is sweets. I don’t discriminate either. I’m into ice cream, chocolate bars, cake, cupcakes, cookies, pie, M&M’s, hot chocolate, donuts…

Speaking of donuts I got one of my first clients while stuffing my face with donuts. It was a Sunday… Nick wanted to check out a new gourmet donut shop down the street in Chicago…. and it didn’t take much convincing to get me to go 🙂 Two bites into my gooey chocolate donut (bonus – chocolate and donut – double dessert madness) I looked up to see an old coworker of mine equally shocked to see me eating a donut. I think my donut eating abilities really won her over because the next week we were training together at 6:30 AM!!

… back to the story here…

Everyone has that one thing that they will always feel vulnerable about while trying to change their eating habits – that’s ok!! As long as you are not eating that “thing” the majority of the time – you’ll be fine. Unless you are getting up on stage to compete in a bodybuilding or swimsuit competition (which 99% of people do not do) – then what you really need to learn is to love your body inside and out (and yes that might come with a little bit of cellulite because all women have it unless you are a teenager or you’ve downloaded a photo app and that’s just cheating)…

A few tips to helping you monitor your cravings:

1. Halve your kryptonite foods: Whatever you have the hardest time controlling – divide it in half right away. It’s easy to say “just don’t eat it, don’t order it, don’t look at it” – but guess what… you’re going to want to eat those things even more. Sometimes if you just have a bite of what you’re craving you can suppress your food hunger craving.

2. Don’t keep your trigger foods in your house. For me, I cannot keep desserts in my fridge, cupboard, or freezer – they’ll be gone by end of day. If I want ice cream,  it’s an event. I literally have to get dressed, put my shoes on, get in my car – the whole process. Sometimes after I’m done getting ready I don’t even want it anymore.

3. If you’re craving something your body might be telling you something… sometimes. Sometimes a craving is just a craving. You might just have seen a commercial on TV, you might be feeling emotional, you might have had a good meal last night and want the same food again – or sometimes… your body might be telling you something. I’ve included a chart below to help, but it’s nothing you haven’t heard before. We need to be fueling our body with whole foods (unprocessed). Treat your body right and it’ll treat you right in return.

Stepintomygreenworld.com

– DBB

THE LATEST ON INSTAGRAM