Eat the ice cream and don't look back!
In fact, the more afraid you are of the food, the more power you are giving to the food, and the more likely you will be to have unhealthy or excessive cravings around it.
The thing that most diets promise, (besides beauty, youth, happiness, health, and confidence…) is a better relationship with food.
In fact, most diets try to tell us that the cravings we experience are unhealthy and need to be eliminated. We’ve been taught that we shouldn’t be experiencing cravings at all. But! If we follow their scientific eating plan, our cravings will be healed.
They tell us that, if we follow their diet, we will never have cravings again.
We will become craving-less, angelic beings who just float around being beautiful, and only occasionally needing to eat some greens, chia seeds, and coconut oil for fuel.
We are taught that cravings equal unhealthy and no cravings equal healthy.
But guess what? I am here to tell you that you will never get rid of your cravings, and that it’s fully OK!
Not only that, but dieting, restricting, and denying your cravings will only make them physically and psychologically worse, stronger, and feel even more out of control.
The more you fear and deny your cravings, the more powerful and monstrous they will become.
Here is the other thing about cravings: They aren’t bad. They’re actually pretty freaking wise. And since accepting that philosophy, my eating has become so incredibly normal and balanced. By truly indulging cravings, every day, they have become just a healthy and easy part of my appetite.
Cravings generally happen for two reasons:
One is food intuition. It’s your body steering you towards certain foods, minerals, or nutrients. It may be subtle or intense, but it is often food intuition piping up for us to hear and follow. For instance, you’ll crave chocolate if you need magnesium, or citrus if you need vitamin C. Also, on a low-carb diet, you will crave carbs, because we need carbs.
The other reason cravings happen is that we are denying certain foods. When you restrict, fear, or deny food, your mind and body will give that food way more power than it needs to have. Then, if and when you crave that food but decide to deny the craving, the craving’s power will grow and become even stronger.
So here are some tips on indulging your cravings:
You will be afraid of your cravings at first because we’ve been told that if we indulge them, they’ll get worse. But it’s actually the opposite. Indulge them knowing that it will help the craving lose its power.
I have started seeing cravings as genuine intuition. I recommend you start looking at cravings as really strong intuition, because that’s actually what they are.
Don’t worry about eating a lot of the food you are craving. Sometimes you need to go full-out with your craving a few times before a craving will die down and get less powerful.
True indulging and allowing the food you are craving is key here. If you are stingy, or afraid to really eat as much as you want, it’s still going to feel like it’s not really allowed, and might end up in a binge.
If you’re really afraid of the food you are craving, it is important you do some investigative work on that. Why are you so scared? It’s just food. What beliefs do you have about that food that are giving it so much power?
In fact, the more afraid you are of the food, the more power you are giving to the food, and the more likely you will be to have unhealthy or excessive cravings around it.
The truth is, your body is brilliant. It is not going to lead you down a path of ultimate destruction if you are truly willing to listen, indulge it, and befriend it. Go eat what you crave and enjoy it. You’ve got this!
