Change the Way You Curb Cravings

Cravings are a natural part of life and while we have ALL dealt with them at times, some of us know how to navigate them better than others. Why is this? Is it pure willpower? Self-control? Discipline? NO. It is INTUITION and the ability to listen to your body.

At its core, a craving is an intense, urgent or abnormal longing for something. When you experience a craving, your body is actually producing a series of chemical reactions that can cause it to have a powerful and amplified desire for a certain substance. Typically, we associate cravings with food, however, food represents just one example, and cravings can and often do come in many different forms.

We have two main hormones that regulate our hunger and satiety levels. Ghrelin is the body’s hunger hormone and it is released in the stomach, whereas, leptin, the body’s satiety hormone, is released by the adipose tissue (fat). Both of these hormones communicate with the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA), or thyroid, which is ultimately responsible for regulating energy signals in the body and telling us what we need. Therefore, our hormones play a big part in cravings, essentially calling on us to fuel the body properly and bring it back into balance.

Cravings are also dictated by two of our neurotransmitters; dopamine, the body’s reward-based neurotransmitter, and serotonin, a chemical that maintains mood and balance in the body. 80-90% of this chemical is actually produced in the gut, not the brain, making the gut environment, the “microbiome", critical in the production of serotonin. As a result, any gut imbalances will also disrupt the production of our neurotransmitters, leaving the body and brain more susceptible cravings.

While returning to homeostasis is paramount for reducing cravings, our endmost goal is to actually figure our what is CAUSING the imbalance in the first place.

Cravings can be part of our DNA, resulting from genetics and causing a predisposition towards a particular substance, or they can stem from hormonal imbalances. Many times, cravings arise when the body is deficient in a specific nutrient or under high amounts of stress.

A lot of cravings, whether it is hunger, alcohol, sugar, etc., can be attributed to DEHYDRATION and food or mood imbalances. Hunger and cravings are NOT the same thing. Hunger tells you when it is time to eat, whereas a craving is essentially a response that you have drilled into your brain; you have created a biochemical feedback loop in the brain so that every time there is a certain behavior, your body experiences a craving. When the body encounters this craving, food may often be the initial “go-to”, but if you take a step back you can learn to analyze it on a deeper level. Oftentimes you will uncover that there is more under the surface that is going on; that you may be compensating for something that is “missing” or “going wrong” — think relationships, home environment, feelings of loneliness or abandonment, self-doubt, or fear, lack of physical activity or sleep, the list goes on.

If you are someone who frequently experiences cravings, the first step is to STOP RESISTING them. While this may seem counterintuitive at first, you must learn to realize and acknowledge when you are experiencing a craving. Once you become aware of when these cravings are occurring, you can then begin to notice your body’s triggers and start to grasp the habitual patterns that emerge as a result.

When cravings DO arise, it is best to:

1. HYDRATE (it is important that you gauge for yourself what the appropriate amount of water is based on your body size and type)

2. NOURISH (make sure you have eaten and prioritize whole, natural foods, as they are more balanced and work to minimize cravings)

3. PAUSE (ask yourself what emotions you are feeling in that moment, if there was a particular event that may have triggered you or caused stress to surface, or if you been getting enough sleep)

4. ACT (rather than distracting yourself from the root cause, aim to be productive with it through restorative activities like meditation, journaling, listening to music, exercising, taking a bath, reading, etc.)

5. REFLECT (after you take a course of action, ask yourself what worked and what didn’t so that you can adjust and improve your process for the next time a craving comes up)

The goal here is to create awareness and be able to meet your cravings with more UNDERSTANDING rather than the shame and guilt we often have surrounding them. Cravings are NORMAL and represent an essential form of communication that is being signaled between your body and your brain; an attempt to restore BALANCE within. Offer yourself love, grace and acceptance as you go, remembering that it take time and is a gradual process to implement REAL change.

Xx,

Leah Kutsch

P.S. Keeping IIN Touch