We all have cravings at some point or some time in our lives. Most people experience daily cravings for certain foods. There can be many different reasons why you’re craving certain foods. It could be bc your body is actually missing a nutrient from food. Often times we can have emotional cravings. It’s not that we actually need a chocolate bar, but the craving is occurring alongside a particular emotion or physical feeling.
When I first heard the words, deconstructing cravings, I was a little overwhelmed. What in the heck does that mean? Hang in there, I’m going to explain.
Deconstructing cravings is a valuable method to learn and utilize on a daily basis or whenever needed. It’s about becoming aware, noticing, and being mindful about your cravings moving forward. Let’s break it down into three steps:
- acknowledge the craving
- explore the origin with nonjudgmental curiosity
- proceed from a place of empowerment
I learned these three steps from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. A lot of the times, we don’t take time to notice our cravings. We crave something sweet and the next action is to eat something sweet. But let’s first acknowledge the craving, actually take the time to stop and recognize it before you give into it. Next, explore the origin with nonjudgmental curiosity. This means that you check in with the reason why you might be having the craving. Are you stressed? Are you experiencing a particular emotion or physical feeling? Is it tied to a habit? Just notice, don’t judge. Lastly, proceed from a place of empowerment. Now that you’ve take the time to acknowledge and identify the craving, where are you going from here? This is powerful step bc we have the choice what we do here. Is it an actual craving or is our body craving another form of nourishment? When we go through these steps, it allows us to approach the craving from a place of empowerment in which cravings don’t have control over us. We can often make better food choices when we are being more mindful.
Do you have cravings? If so, how do you approach cravings?
Goodnight,
Tay
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