Beating Cravings

Hey, woah! Let me guess, you just started a diet and one week in you are already thinking about all the things you know you can't have?

… Been there! I am there, right now.

Today’s blog aims to help you understand ‘’What is a craving?, “Why is it affecting me?” and “How do I stop it?”

WHAT IS A CRAVING?

A craving is defined as a “powerful desire for something”. But what does science tell us?

A craving starts in our brain at the Hippocampus. The Hippocampus is responsible for learning and memory. As human beings, we always seek safety and comfort and one way we experience this is through food. Although a primal response, our brain sees food and eating as a sign that we are safe from death. (1)

At different points in our life, we experience happiness through food, often from a repeated habit.

For example:

Every Thursday night when I was little, it was grocery night. I remember Dad would talk to everyone in the store so it took forever to get it done. On the way home we would get take-away as our weekly treat. More than likely this would be KFC.

I along with my Mother, Brother, would sneak chips whilst Dad had to drive home. It became a game to get home and sneak as many chips as we could and later on hear Dad blow up about there not being many chips left. It was our main family night due to other commitments from us all, So naturally, it felt really special. We would watch Home and Away, Sabrina, Jag, Third Rock from the Sun and Charmed before I had to go to bed as it was a school night.

The feeling Thursday nights gave me was safety, happiness and comfort. But as an adult, now the smell of KFC triggers these feelings. Often when I am feeling sad or overwhelmed or unsafe, I will crave KFC because my brain thinks it’s at risk of death. It doesn't know the difference between stress from work or the stress our ancestors faced from being chased by a predator. It only knows stress as life threatening and it must be protected through either Fighting or Fleeing and then relieved through comfort. My brain doesn’t know it’s not ideal for my goals, all it knows is that it’s a feeling embedded deep into my memory and tries to take me back to this moment.

What do you crave when you are overwhelmed, stressed and feeling unsafe?

WHY IS IT AFFECTING ME?

There are two types of desire to eat.

Hunger- which is a physical response from your stomach that you need to eat. Your stomach will growl or sometimes be in pain.

Appetite - this comes on suddenly when triggered by walking past something, a smell or a memory.

There are 3 reasons why this can affect you.

When a craving is triggered, we usually have to fix it by consuming what we are craving. When we fulfill the craving, our brain releases Dopamine, (the happy hormone) which lights up the brain's pleasure center.

The above then gets added to our ‘Happy Memory Bank’ and next time we feel a bit down, we seek out times where we felt great to remedy this.

Often diets can be a bit boring and overly restricted If you don’t know how to make them exciting. The thing we told ourselves we CAN'T or SHOULDN'T do, is now satisfied if we give in to the craving.

To clear something up. There is nothing wrong with craving foods, or getting foods we enjoy to fit our diet. Where the issue lies is consuming too much of them or creating negative habits that go against your goal.

When hungry or full we have two main hormones that control this process. Ghrelin and Leptin.

Ghrelin releases into the body to tell you that you are hungry. Once we finish eating, Leptin is released to slow down the production of Ghrelin and tell us we are Satisfied and should be less interested in food. (2)

However. when we consume foods that release Dopamine, these other two hormones often don't work as fast as we end up eating until we feel sick.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP IT?

Know the difference between Hunger and Appetite. Have some water, tea or a low calorie drink or snack to see if it goes away. Then ask yourself

Does your stomach hurt?
Is it growling?
Is it time to eat?
Do we just need to hold out a little longer?

Drinking plenty of water whilst you eat helps keep you full and digest what you are eating.

Eat your protein. Protein is highly satiating which helps keep hunger at bay a little longer. Eat fibrous foods like fruits and vegetables. These are low calorie and often keep you fuller for longer. Eat slow-releasing carbs like sweet potato, white potato, rice or pasta and whole grains. (in amounts that serve your goal). The mindless snacking on high calorie, low vitamin and mineral food, will leave you wanting more.

Tracking your intake using Twelve20 Coachings’ range of methods can often give you a guide on how much you can have. Maybe you can fit in that snack you really want? Often our clients tell us they have never eaten so much, whilst still losing weight. Keep the food tasty and enjoyable.

Have a timeline. Diets should be a phase not a lifestyle. Set a deadline and set days where you will relax a bit. Having a checkpoint in mind often helps you stay focussed and not give in to cravings.

The language you use with yourself can often be the thing that reduces triggers. As Simon Sinek says - “if I tell you not to think of an Elephant, what are you now thinking of?”. If you say “I can’t have chocolate, I'm on a diet”, what do you now think about? If we change that sentence to “I can have it, but I am choosing not to right now” or “I can have it, but I will save it for next Saturday when I have my higher calorie day”, our mindset shifts. The way we talk to ourselves is extremely important. (3)