What your cravings really mean

Welcome back to another episode of how to twenty-something. Today I’m going to be talking to you about your cravings and why they aren’t such a bad thing to have

And this was also a topic that was brought up by one of you from many many many months ago

Like I think she reached out to me when this podcast first got started and asked if I could make an episode about why she can go the whole day eating super clean and then at night it all goes out the window

And I was able to briefly answer her question through instagram DM’s but I also know that she is not alone in that experience

In fact, I feel like social media makes memes about it every other day

Of breakfast: eggs, Lunch: salad with chicken on top, Dinner: burger with fries and a milkshake to drink it all down

So I’m going to enlighten you about what’s happening when your body is aggressively nudging you to indulge, why it’s happening, and how to try your best to prevent this from being a regular occurrence in your neverending health journey

I probably don’t need to define what a craving as I’m sure if I just mentioned the word craving you would immediately picture what relates the most to you

But in general, a craving is an intense desire for specific foods, drinks, or substances that usually help provide an immediate sense of gratification or pleasure

Cravings surface for a variety of reasons from an emotion, or stressful event, or hormones, or lack of a nutrient your body needs, or even just a simple exposure to a certain sight or smell

I live near a donut factory and more mornings than not I can walk outside and have my nostrils filled with the most amazing smell of fried dough

And it instantly makes me wish I could have a donut but donuts hurt my stomach and if they aren’t the vegan kind then I am allergic to the dairy inside of them so I resist pretty easily

Donuts have hurt my stomach since going on a pretty extreme diet when I was twenty and it took me a long time to learn the lesson of the donut is not worth the stomach ache

It’s why I tell my clients it’s okay that you gave in to your mental discipline but remember the feeling afterwards.. The guilt, the stomach ache, the gross feeling in your body because when you keep reminding yourself of all the bad that comes with the 60 seconds of good then those indulges no longer become worth it

But again, it takes a lot of learning to get to that point but you do get their eventually

Actually, funny enough, as I am planning out this episode I had a session with one of my clients about the biggest thing she struggles with his her sweet tooth craving

Cravings are typically centered around high sugar, fat, or salt, and then from a substance frame of reference nicotine or alcohol

This specific clients cravings were sweet and the convenient location of dunkin donuts on her drive to work is very hard to resist

She said it’s mainly when she’s had a stressful morning or knows she’s about to have a stressful day ahead she wants to treat herself in the form of a sweet treat

So she’ll go get coffee and a donut to go with it

Now, when you’re on a weight loss and health journey, giving in to that craving right away and every time is detrimental to your progress

And depending on how you’re approaching your weight loss journey, you might be setting yourself up for failure, in terms of increasing your cravings through deprivation

So we got to have a conversation about how to give yourself space between your cravings and impulsive decisions and that’s part of what I plan on talking to you about today over the course of this episode

As I said, cravings can show up for multiple different reasons, but a the end of the day I think the reason for cravings fall into two different categories: it’s either your body’s way of communicating to you that it needs something from a nutrient perspective or it’s a coping mechanism

For this particular client, her sweet craving was a coping mechanism 

So by creating space between her and her tactics for self soothing from whatever experience she’s having in that moment we’re able to redirect her coping mechanism towards something that is more helpful for her goals and not veer her off track every time

With this client we talked about how she just made protein greek yogurt muffins for her son and had some and thought they were delicious, another option would be to get a munchkin instead of an entire donut so you’re making a better swap when you’re in the drive through line at dunkin donuts, and we talked about creating space which is the most useful way to squash a craving

This comes in the form of either tell yourself to get through the work day first and if at the end of the day you still want your donut you can get it on the way home or in that moment, or go for a walk and get some water and if you’re still craving something then go eat it

Now, I specifically told her, it’s not that you can never have a donut again it’s that we want better choices to enter the chat

Because when you tell yourself you can’t have something, all you’re going to do is think about the thing you can’t have

Which is why depriving yourself of something only increases your likelihood of failure because you will break you will give in 

And not to mention that it brings up the restrict and binge mentality of restrict restrict restrict telling yourself nope can’t have it can’t have it can’t have it and then your mental discipline wears out and you give in and over indulge

It’s like your brain hyper fixates on it because you told yourself no and your inner child wants to rebel i brought this up in an episode not too long ago when talking about where people typically get tripped up on their fat loss journey

Your mental discipline is a funny thing because it goes hand in hand with your ability to make clear and strong decisions

You reach a point in your day where you are tired of making decisions it’s really a thing called decision fatigue – so instead of making the mentally tougher decision you’re going to make the easier one

It’s something we all do

Everything you do, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep, requires you to make a decision 

So when that afternoon slump comes and you’re exhausted from the day you’ve already had and your sweet cravings creeps in.. it’s a lot harder to decide to go for a walk or get some water or save it for later and it’s much easier to respond to that craving and getting yourself a sweet treat

Discipline works in the same way because your mental discipline is your decision to refrain from an old habit and habits are tough things to break

But when you know where this craving is coming from you can start minimize its appearance or your weakness to it

Remember how I said your craving primarily originates for two reasons: your body needs something from you or you’re self soothing

And it flip flops as to what’s going on in your life

Well we’re going to dive into why your cravings are probably surfacing so you can start to listen to them as a message and not take them for what they are by giving in to what you want in that exact moment

My fun fact for you is if you’re a female who’s listening and you crave chocolate when you’re close to getting your period or while on your period that actually means you’re low in magnesium

Dark chocolate has good magnesium content so your brain is telling you hey I’m low in magnesium and I need some right now and that right now appears in the form of craving dark chocolate

I said this is one of the earlier episodes but almost the entire human population is low in magnesium and should be supplementing with at least 250mg

There are no negative effects to taking magnesium even if you aren’t low, just make sure you’re taking the brain and sleep kind which I believe is magnesium glycinate and not magnesium citrate as that one will act as a laxative

And actually because you’re improving your sleep by taking magnesium you’ll experience less cravings that surface due to poor sleep

Your body is searching for high calorie high carb foods for an energy boost to offset it’s fatigue from poor sleep

See how everything always comes back to the importance of sleep?

I’ll be doing an episode all about supplements in the very near future but for now stick with magnesium

Similarly, your afternoon slump and want for something sweet is actually your body telling you you haven’t moved enough that day

So it’s communicating to you to get something sweet that gives you that sugar rush or splurge of energy that would otherwise come from movement

Most of you listening have a desk job and we now live in a world where we sit for most of the day so you have to be more mindful on getting your movement both in the form of going to the gym and working out but also by getting up and walking around throughout the day

It’s been a minute since I brought this up but when I had my corporate job I would have my coworkers go for walking breaks 3-5 times a day.. Just a quick little 7-10 minute walk around a nearby pond to get some blood flowing and not stare at a computer screen for 8.5 hours straight

And even the job I had before that made me take a 30min lunch break everyday so during that time I would go for a 30 minute walk and then eat my lunch while I was working

Your body craves movement, it is not meant to be sedentary for that long which is why your brain is itching for you to reach for something sugary to give you that boost to get you moving

If you’re dehydrated then your body is going to tell you to eat something salty.. Why? So you can then reach for some water afterwards

This is also the case if you’re working out a lot or sweating a lot you’re going to crave salty foods because your body wants to be able to hold onto any amount of water you’re going to give it after consuming the salt

And finally, where the topic for this episode surfaced.. If you’re not eating enough full nutrients and just not eating enough in general your body is going to tell you it really needs food by the end of the day

And that’s where your “I don’t understand how I can be so good during the day but by nighttime it all goes out the window” feeling comes from

You’re so focused on eating foods you’ve deemed as good but not necessarily the content of those whole foods that you’re accidentally starving your body or depriving it of a lot of the nutrients it needs or you’ve accidentally cut your calories too much and your body is freaking out that it’s starving

This is where eating your body weight in grams of protein becomes super beneficial to your overall health and then with your weight loss and fat loss journey and of course your cravings

If you are not actively tracking your protein and you’re not a gym feen who knows how to hit their protein intake through mostly whole foods, then you are undereating protein

100% guaranteed

I know this because even though it is all over the internet.. Every nutrition client I work with is severely undereating protein

I was on the phone with my mom one time while I was meal prepping and I had to measure out my ingredients and made a comment that oh wow this meal has 34 grams of protein in each serving

My mom responded with 34 that’s what I eat in an entire day

And I yelled at her because that is not enough especially as you age

Protein keeps you full, regulates your blood sugar levels, and helps you build muscle all of which help minimize your cravings

So don’t be like Pam, eat your bodyweight in grams of protein

All of my clients are shocked that when we go to increase their protein intake they 1. Can’t believe how hard it is to hit those goals because they get so full and 2. They realize they don’t have crazy cravings all the time anymore

Like wild how that works!

Not to mention the healthy fat content from your protein sources are also really important when it comes to properly feeding your body

Our bodies are smart they’re going to tell us exactly what we need, we just need to learn how to listen to it properly and not go for the easiest fix of reaching for that donut

Some of these causes for cravings have easy fixes

Like get good, adequate sleep, eat full meals throughout the day, no more girl dinners, keep yourself hydrated, move your body, don’t go too long without eating, and plan ahead

Know when you’re going to eat and what you’ll be eating so you don’t let your cravings take over simply because you’re too hungry

The second part of where your craving comes from is your coping mechanisms and habits

This one is dangerous yet oh so common

I remember growing up I had a neighbor who was a bit heavy and her parents would give her food to shut her up

In high school she went to fat camp, I’m not kidding that’s what it’s called, and had to unlearn the habit of using food as a coping mechanism as that was her parent’s coping mechanism instilled into her

Instead of giving their child 5 minutes of their attention they shut her up with food

Then the media, whether it’s tv or movies or other people’s conversations or the way you grew up highlights this junk food or alcohol to help you unwind from a stressful day or emotional moment

While yes, sometimes it is okay to indulge or even reward yourself with some junk food and wine, it should not be an every time you had a rough moment occurrence 

Life is always going to be stressful, shitty moments are going to come and go and some shitty moments last a lot longer than others

So you better learn now how to cope in a healthier way that isn’t centered around food or substances

Last year I had 6 months straight of feeling emotional and shitty and depressed and if I had the coping mechanism of eat or drink my feelings then I would be severely overweight

Luckily, I practice what I preach and knew that the best way to get out of this slump was to continue to take care of myself

Which meant eat healthy, get sunlight, sleep, and move my body

But if you keep using your life circumstances as an excuse to indulge then you’re not going to get anywhere with your health goals

So I want you to really think about your life, your habits, your coping mechanisms and identify how you choose to self soothe, to make yourself feel better, to numb or mask what you’re currently feeling or going through and now come up with a different tactic that is actually beneficial to your life

I mentioned this in the alcohol episode the other week, this is where your nourishment menu comes in handy

You need to come up with your own list of forward thinking activities that you can do that still serves you in a way your indulgent would

To reiterate what I said at the beginning of the episode, your cravings aren’t a bad thing, they are there to help you and are telling you that something in your life needs to be nourished

Whether it’s your actual body needing a nutrient or movement, or attention from a loved one or a job you hate going to so at the end of every day you need to pop open a cold one to relax because Leslie from HR was up your butt again

Think of your craving as a signal that something needs to be changed

Not that you’re weak or lack discipline.. Your craving is telling you something is up and it’s time to take notice

The challenging part is that the craving surfaces in the form of a poor habit you’ve already established

So it’s on you to start to recognize that and ask yourself what could this craving also mean

In the coaching world we love helping you change your frame from a place of judgment and ridicule to a place of curiosity 

That curious nature opens the conversation and thought processes to think about what else could be possible

So come from a curious mind rather than a berating one the next time your craving surfaces

The final tip I want to leave you with to help with your late night cravings more than anything is to stop buying it at the store

Or if you do buy it at the store make sure it’s a single serving and not an amount to feed a family of four when you live alone

Basically, don’t bring your impulse buy home with you

Which also means don’t buy a family pack and eat it all in the car in one sitting so you don’t bring it home.. Buy the single serving 

I’m not saying you can never have it but it’s much easier to not give in to your craving when it’s sitting on a shelf in the store and not on a shelf in your pantry 

If you get to a point in the evening when all you can do is think about your craving and no amount of healthy coping mechanisms can satisfy you, then yes put on some shoes and go to the store and again buy one serving

Because what happens more times than not is it’s not worth it to get dressed and drive to the store and get out and make the purchase

Instead what you’ll do is find ways to satisfy your craving with the healthier options you already have at home

I know i mentioned this example in an earlier episode

I’m not perfect, I have my cravings just like the next person and I love chocolate

I’m dairy free and trader joes has the most affordable and best tasting chocolate chips but my rule is once that goes then I need to wait until I need multiple things from trader joes to go rebuy the chocolate chips

And what happens is my dessert becomes a rice cake with peanut butter and jelly and my mid afternoon sweet tooth turns to toast with honey

Better options that still satisfy my sweet tooth in the way that I need

But when those chocolate chips are within arms reach and five steps away from me at all times, then you bet your ass I’m going to choose that over a rice cake with peanut butter

I also notice that after a week of no chocolate chips, I stop thinking about them as in i don’t desire them as much because I’ve redirected my attention to other sweet-ish things

And it’s not within arms reach

It’s a whole drive to the store with a hectic parking lot no matter what day or time of day you go, away

So to reiterate how you can best mitigate your cravings is with solid sleep, hitting your protein goals, moving your body, staying hydrated, and planning your food out ahead of time

Isn’t it funny that that’s also the recipe to living a healthy and sustainable lifestyle

But let this episode help you welcome your cravings with open arms so you can start to put on your scientific cap and hypothesize the reason for this craving and a new option for how you can best support yourself

Find out what your cravings really mean

And you know that if this is something you really struggle with, that I am always one call or email away

Both of which are always in the show notes for you to access oh and thank you Jade for recommending this as an episode topic almost a year ago, sorry it took so long but hopefully this helps you, and everyone else listening, better understand what’s going on 

Lastly, if you liked what you heard, learned something new, know someone with a terrible craving that surfaces more days than not, then please share this episode

Send it to a friend, post in on social media and tag me at coach.jessdiamond when you do

Otherwise, this concludes another episode of how to twenty-something and I can’t wait to be in your headphones again next week with another brand new one