Topic 2: Understanding Cravings

Our brains are designed to react to food not only for nourishment, but also for comfort. Whenever the brain experiences pleasure – whether it’s derived from drugs, a romantic encounter, or a satisfying meal – the brain releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine. We feel good whenever dopamine is activated in the precise amount.

Couple that with carbohydrate’s signal for the brain to produce serotonin – the hormone that makes us feel warm, calmed, and satisfied – and we have a hormone high that screams for a sugar fix! When we consistently use food to trigger these brain chemicals, it can have negative health consequences like needing more of said food to feel satisfied.

 

Another common cause of cravings is going too long in between meals. When your blood sugar drops, your brain will turn on your cravings  in a desperate attempt to get your blood sugar levels back up. It also turns on the fat storage systems to prepare for long periods of no food! If you don't put anything, your body won't put anything out.

 

A Proactive Eater will have planned his or her eating for the day. There won’t be long stretches without food, and there will be a smart combination of protein and vegetables for both excellent nutrition and to keep blood sugar levels stable. It can be that easy – Plan ahead, then follow the plan!

A Stress Eater doesn’t bring healthy food to work. She leaves herself at the mercy of whatever’s in the break room, usually danishes and coffee. Snacking on sugar causes a big spike of insulin, followed by a predictable crash a few hours later. Exhausted, she grabs some more junk food in a desperate attempt to perk herself up.

 

The fact that she’s stressed about her project “means” (falsely) that she is unable and doesn't have the time to think about food choices and must eat garbage. Whaaaat?

Do you know what you’ll have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks? If not, stop and write out a smart meal plan for the rest of the day right now! Do tomorrow’s too, while you’re at it. 

 

To daunting of a task right now. Respond to this email with "MEALS" in the subject to get a free 1 day custom meal plan

 

Cravings Can Be Just A Habit

People are creatures of habit. If you start to look for patterns in your cravings for food, you’ll probably notice that when certain things happen, your brain turns on the craving center. Next time you have an unhealthy craving, look at the circumstances that preceded it. Here are some situations that commonly precede stress eating:

• When you don’t sleep well

• When you feel overwhelmed at work

• When you feel unloved by your spouse

• When you feel out of control about a family situation

• When you haven’t eaten for a several hours

• When you haven’t had enough water

• After you’ve eaten too many carbs and not enough protein and fat
• When you’re worried or anxious about something

• When you can’t find anything interesting to think about or to create
• When you feel like you want to reward yourself

If you notice a consistent pattern of cravings after one or more of these situations, change or attend to the trigger instead of trying to willpower your way through a craving. It’s much easier to stop stress eating when you fix the situations that trigger it in the first place!