Cravings are often painted as the bad guys: feelings to be controlled, subdued, and eliminated. What if I told you that cravings are actually helpful, friendly communicators that are invested in your well-being? Cravings serve to give you a little constructive feedback and, when translated properly, can help you feel better. Cravings have a number of root causes, but like most other wellness issues, you cannot address these noisy feelings as a one-size-fits-all problem with a blanket solution.
If you’re looking for a way to get rid of your cravings, you won’t find it here. If you’re interested in inviting your cravings over for tea and learning from the feedback they have to offer, read on.
Learning to embrace your cravings can help you explore some of your deeper connections—to food, your environment, and emotions. Cravings can have a number of root causes (they also often show up with the complexity of several causes occurring simultaneously). The most common root cause of cravings that I see in my work comes from people who are trying to restrict their calories. But it may also mean you have an unmet emotional need. Or you could be in need of a food’s specific nutrients. We’ll dive deeper into these in a later post, but right now let’s explore why you should embrace your cravings.
If you crave food, eat it.
When you eat the foods that you crave, begin to notice how you feel. Do you feel satisfied? Do you feel like you need more food? Did the meal or snack make you feel light and energized or heavy and lethargic? Once you begin to conversate with your cravings, you will begin to learn how to better nourish your body.
The bottom line is that cravings are a magnificent way for your body to communicate with you about its needs and desires. Eating is a dialogue with your body, and cravings are just one way that your body is able to enter into the conversation. If you try to silence the cravings, they will only become louder. Instead of slamming the door in their face, let your cravings become a window into an evolved sense of wellness that will empower you to truly connect with, love, and care for your body.
Serena Poon, CN, CHC, CHN, combines her expertise as a celebrity chef and certified nutritionist to serve her A-list clientele. Her passion for integrative health and holistic nutrition led her to create Culinary Alchemy®, a method of functional and spiritual nutrition that integrates how food affects our bodies on a physiological and energetic level. Her work approach to nutrition, wellness, and longevity from a holistic approach optimizes and heals the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of her clients. Follow her Instagram, @chefserenapoon.
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