3 Things Your Food Cravings Are Trying to Tell You
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When we have a food craving, we instantly try to find ways to kill the craving without actually satisfying the craving. When we crave ice cream, we try to find every other solution for reducing our craving besides actually eating ice cream.
But, what if instead of trying to find ways to reduce our cravings, we stopped and wondered why we are having these cravings in the first place?
I think the best way to develop a healthy relationship with our body is to truly understand our body and what it’s trying to tell us. So in this episode, I share three possible things your food cravings are trying to tell you. When you start to listen to your food cravings, they will stop having so much control of you and you will experience them less and less.
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get it. Let's go.
Hello and welcome back to the Embrace Your Real podcast. I am so grateful that you are taking a moment of your day to spend with me. I am honored and I'm just going to dive into today's episode, because it's an important one. We're going to talk all about food cravings, so just give me a couple moments of your time, because I really think that this perspective shift will help you the next time you have food cravings. I know oftentimes, when we have cravings, we instantly try to find ways to kill the craving instead of actually finding the solution as to why we're having the cravings in the first place. And I think that that's the best way to develop a healthy relationship with your body, is to truly understand what your body is telling you and why it's telling you that.
So, in today's episode I'm going to be talking about three possible reasons why you might be having food cravings. Keep in mind there are tons of other reasons out there. I'm just going to focus on three main ones, and hopefully this will shed a new perspective in your life on this topic.
Number one, your food cravings could be telling you that you need more rest. Oftentimes when we have food cravings, it's because we're placing too much stress on our bodies. Because when you're stressed, you trigger your adrenal glands to release your stress hormone cortisol. And when your body is constantly under stress, you chronically have high levels of cortisol in your body, and that causes a domino effect on other hormonal imbalances as well that can increase your appetite.
So some things that could place more stress on your body, it could be you are really absolutely killing your workouts, you're taking into the next level, but you're not prioritizing rest and recovery. You're just going, going, going, going, going, and you're not allowing your body rest. Remember that rest and recovery is just as important, because our body is a machine. Think about a car, right? A car can go, go, go, go, go for 7,000 plus miles in my case, I have a Subaru, and with the synthetic oil, it can go 7,000 plus miles, but it has to at some point go to the shop to just get repaired, and so that it can go back on the road and be stronger. So just remember that. It's the same concept with your body.
And this could not only just be exercise. This could be you working on your computer. I know a lot of us in quarantine, we're working at our computer a lot, and even though we're not physically moving our body a lot, mentally, we're putting a lot of stress in our body through work or just not prioritizing things that are actually allowing us to rest and recover. If you're going straight from a 12-hour work day, you're not really moving your body, and then you're going straight into Netflix. That's not allowing your body and your mind to rest, and as a result, you are going to be continuously putting your body in the state of stress, which can create that domino effect of other hormonal imbalances that can increase your appetite. So make sure that you are resting. That is key, key, key.
Number two, you might not be eating enough. I know if you're constantly craving certain things, it really could mean that you need more food. I know when I previously was not eating enough, even after eating a meal, which I thought was a reasonable amount of meal, because I was not eating enough throughout the day, I was hungry right after the meal. And so, it's really just learning about the amount of protein, carbs, and fats, which is why I'm a huge believer in counting macros, simply because fueling your body optimally is so important, but it's really important that you're eating enough so that you are nourishing your body and you're giving your body what it needs so that it can feel full and satisfied for hours, right?
Sometimes, maybe when you're having food cravings, it actually means that you need to eat more food. Again, it's really important that you're eating enough of the right food, meaning the amount of protein, the amount of carbs, the amount of fats that your body needs to function optimally. So, I encourage you to learn more about that. I do have a free ebook that will guide you through macro counting and how to figure out your customized macros and things like that. So I will link that in the show notes, but really important to make sure you are eating enough.
Number three, it could just be that you need to actually eat the food that you're craving. I know for me, for so long, I was craving ice cream. I wouldn't allow myself to eat ice cream. And as human beings, when we are told or telling ourselves that we can't have something that we want, it ends up that we want it more. Right?
And so it's really important that you actually just satisfy what you want. And here's the thing about that. I believe when you are eating things in moderation, when you know how much you your body needs to function at its optimum, you are able to fit your favorite foods in moderation into your daily allotment, which allows you to feel satisfied. For example, if I'm craving ice cream, yeah, I could go for the entire tub of ice cream, or I could get the Yasso bars, which are ice cream bars, and I can have one of those and satisfy the craving for ice cream by having an ice cream bar instead of the entire container. So, there's definitely certain ways to do that. And like I said, just figuring out foods and eating them in moderation is really important.
Think about this. If you get a craving for ice cream on Monday and you battle that craving all week long, most likely by Friday, you'll take out the entire 12 to 16 serving container and eat the whole thing, just because you didn't satisfy your craving on Monday. So keep that in mind. It's really, really important that you just allow yourself the freedom and flexibility to satisfy the craving.
If you're struggling with food cravings, remember the three things that I just said. Number one, you might not be having enough rest. That is so, so, important, rest and recovery. Number two could possibly be that you're not eating enough. Make sure that you're eating enough of what your body needs to function optimally. Again, checking out that free ebook if you need it. It will be linked in the show notes below. And number three is that you just need to eat the food that you're craving, and it's all about moderation and balance and learning how to fit those foods in moderation into your daily intake.
I hope that this message encouraged you. I want to see you practicing these things. If you end up downloading the ebooks, take a selfie of yourself with it or screenshot it and tag me, Julie Ledbetter. I would love to hear what comes from the ebook or this podcast episode. If you have a friend or you've been talking to a family member that's like, "Man, I've just been eating everything in sight. I can't control my cravings," send them this podcast. It could help them, and I will talk to you guys in the next episode.
All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you're not already following me on the 'gram, be sure to do so, JulieALedbetter ... Yes, it's with an A in the middle ... for that daily, post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world, and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface, so go out there and embrace your real, because you're worth it.