What foods do you crave?

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What foods do you crave? JoAnn Guest Oct 22, 2005 19:33 PDT

 

What foods do you crave?

By Susan Marque

http://www.susanmarque.com/tipsandhints2.html

 

Cravings: Those sometimes overwhelming desires for specific foods. They

can seem like a demon has overtaken the logical mind. After the

indulgence is over a person may come out of the state they were in and

wonder how they did such a thing. Have you ever had that experience? My

clients tell me of their cravings for ice cream. They think, “Oh, I’ll

just have a couple of spoonfuls to stop the craving.” They pull out the

pint from the freezer with such well-meaning intentions. That first bite

tastes wonderful, so creamy, sweet and smooth. The second bite is still

wonderful—and then something happens. The entire carton just disappears

and the person becomes conscious again towards the end. Wondering if

they should leave the last bit. Feeling guilty and most likely stuffed

too. They finish what is left either with relish and remorse or just

quickly to eliminate the evidence of what they have done. The feeling of

guilt and pain often sets them up for more cravings.

 

Often cravings have a physical wisdom to them. I tell clients if you are

craving something specific for more than a couple of days, go have some.

A little of what you crave will suffice as long as a person stays

conscious of decisions. I also recommend taking the food out of the

container, putting it on a plate and sitting down to eat it. Sit down to

eat anything more than a taste is a good rule. I have heard it said, if

you stand up while you eat, you will gain weight in your legs. Now, I am

not sure that is more than a tale. You will however, be more present and

feel when you have eaten enough, sooner from a sitting position than

from a standing position.

 

Are you saying you do not have time to sit down and chew your food? Time

is something else you get to play with. If you take the few extra

moments to take care of yourself, you will have much more energy and

focus. You will be more productive and have even more time. It is a

small investment with a great return. There is a wonderful story I have

heard from several teachers. A man said he just did not wish to take the

time to prepare and eat whole foods. The teacher said, “that’s okay,

you’ll have plenty of time to learn when you are in the hospital.” If

you spend the time to eat balanced whole foods, you will create a

wonderful healthy and food-craving free life with more time and energy

for all you love.

 

In the beginning, it is common for folks to ping pong between sweet and

salty foods as they search for middle ground.

 

Sweets………………….........…Overly salty foods

 

Whole Grains

Beans

Vegetables

Fruit

Fish

 

To Eliminate Sweet Cravings:

 

1. Cut out the sugar.

Sugar is concentrated. It takes 3 feet of sugar cane to make one

teaspoon of sugar. As soon as it gets on your tongue, it goes right into

your bloodstream creating a “high.” This all feels great until the low

kicks in. What do you crave now? Yep, more sugar to get that high again.

 

 

2. Do eat more whole foods.

Whole grains, beans, vegetables, etc. will keep you satisfied and

energized all day long. Incorporate sweet vegetables (carrots, onion,

winter squash, cabbage, etc.) and indulge in milder treats made with

whole fruits, amasake, rice syrup and barley malt. Go easy on maple

syrup as it too is highly concentrated, (40 gallons of sap to make 1

gallon of syrup.) honey is also a highly concentrated substance, use

little honey if at all.

 

3. Get plenty of sleep.

If your feeling tired you will want something to pick you up and keep

you going. Or feel you need a treat to make you happy. Cravings are

sneaky sometimes. I have seen sweet or liquid refreshment cravings

greatly reduced just from getting better rest. Meditation is also known

to work wonders.

 

4. Get some exercise.

There is a difference between being weary and being tired. Tired as I am

defining it here is from inadequate rest. Weary is from too much sitting

around. Like when you travel all day, sitting in a car, plane or train

for hours and hours makes one weary. Often a short 20-minute walk will

make you feel so much better. It gets the blood moving, the oxygen

flowing. You’re job may require that you are on your feet and moving

around as in being a waitress or flight attendant, but that doesn’t do

the same things as exercise. Shopping does not count as exercise. Again,

here is another one of those times when you take time to take care of

your body and you will have more time to enjoy the rest of your life. I

recommend moderate exercise five or six days a week. Find something you

like to do, with people you like. Risk experiencing something you’ve

never done before. Yoga is extremely healing as it focuses on deep

breathing, stretching and gaining strength. Find what you are happy to

do and incorporate into your life.

 

5. Sit and chew.

As mentioned earlier: Sit down while you eat, and chew, chew, chew! The

more you chew the more energy you will have. Digestion is the number one

energy drain for many people.

 

6. Handle Emotional Triggers.

Are you eating from anger, upset, stress or anything other than hunger?

Hire a *life coach to teach you how to unhook yourself from triggers

that no longer serve you.

 

7. Drink enough water.

Often people think they are hungry when they are actually thirsty. Be

careful of drinking juice drinks or carbonated beverages that will

increase your acidity.

 

8. Remember the bean foods.

If you are eating a whole-foods diet, it's important to include beans.

Without any bean foods, you will constantly be hungry and craving

various other foods.

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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