Got Cravings? How to Stop Them Controlling Your Life

craving (Krey-ving)
- noun
great or eager desire; yearning

……….sound familiar???

Almost everyone I know seems to be on a diet. They are changing their eating habits and making a concerted effort to cut out the bad things which were habitual and eat all the healthy things that they have read will make them thinner. This can be torturous, I know from past experience. When you love eating something and then suddenly it’s not allowed it seems unfair and that can turn into a craving. Dieters are focused on what they should or shouldn’t be eating and avoiding those naughty “X” foods. There is a abundance of confusing and seemingly contradictory advice out there too, it can be hard to know what to eat and when to eat it. I propose that the question we should be asking ourselves relating to food before the what, the when and the how ….……is the WHY???

WHY DO WE REALLY EAT??

Have you ever thought WHY you love food “X” so much?? Take a moment and actually consider;

WHY DO YOU EAT?
How do you see eating?
Why do you eat what you do?
What purpose does it serve?

For some reason these questions are actually quite difficult for a lot of people to answer. Eating is something we do several times a day, it’s part of our daily routine and is constantly on our minds at some level and yet very rarely do we consider the actual WHY? behind eating.

ATTITUDES TO EATING

Well if we go back to basics then the reason we eat is to survive. Food on a primeval level gave us the energy we needed to live. That transferred to a modern day context means that food gets us through our day and if we do it right then it keeps us alert, energetic and ready to take on any challenge. Somewhere along the line that attitude changed. Food is now seen as a pleasure giver and something that we can indulge ourselves in. It provides instant gratification and a feel good factor, be it only for a short amount of time. Food has been developed, augmented, processed and heavily marketed to accentuate that image too.

HOW TO STOP THAT CRAVING CYCLE

Here is an alternative view on food that harks back that primeval level and can help revolutionise your attitude to food and change your diet for the better. Consider food as a fuel that is used to build and support your body which houses your very soul and being.
You have one chance at life and your body is the vessel which will take you through it. There isn’t the option to just treat it badly, throw it away and buy a new one like you might a set of clothes. If you respect and love yourself then you must treat your body to reflect that attitude by feeding it the essential nutrients it needs to function correctly.

Basically we must change our attitude to eating to one that considers what we put in our body and whether it is going to be beneficial to our health. Be true to this philosophy and your cravings will seem irrelevant and will stop dominating your thoughts. The craving will turn from a forbidden fruit into a perfectly justifiable occasional treat and the gratification you get from creating a healthy, fit body will far out-weigh the temporary pleasure of indulging in that craving. Food “X” will turn into food “WHY?” and a healthier, happier YOU will be the result.

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