Does your mouth start to water every time you see a gigantic cheeseburger with bacon?
Weird, mine doesn’t. Why?
I practice eating foods that nourish my body, give me energy and help me achieve optimal health on a daily basis. It’s interesting that when you do this you actually crave real, nourishing foods instead of gut bombs like this burger. ⠀
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BUT, KNOW THAT THERE ARE THOSE TIMES….⠀
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Those times that all I can think about is ice cream, pizza and french fries. ⠀
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This is the reason for this blog! There are times and situations when I know this will happen and I wanted to share this with you….⠀
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BE AWARE OF CRAVINGS WHEN….⠀
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1. You are lacking sleep or are exhausted.⠀
Sleep deprivation increases cravings! Your body starts producing a hormone that tells your brain you’re hungry in larger amounts than usual. So when you’ve been running on empty all day (or all week!) and you’re feeling like all you want to do is grab snacks left in right, check in with yourself and consider creating time for some rest.
2. You are overly hungry and would eat anything. ⠀
Think of your hunger on a scale of 1-10. “1” is when you feel completely satiated and “10” is when you would literally eat a piece of paper to feel better. Often times as busy and ambitious women, we are in go-go-go mode all the time. That means, we only ever really notice we are hungry when we are HUNGRY. Try monitoring your hunger especially around lunchtime or dinner. If you know that you are going to need to go get lunch outside of the office or if the dinner you’re making is going to take some time, consider getting a headstart on that before you are starving. Try the rule of thumb to not let your hunger get past a “7” because that’s when poor food choices are made.
3. You are stressed and use food to numb. ⠀
Is life going 100 miles an hour for you? Are you working on trying to meet a deadline?
During these times, it’s easy to reach for a bag of chips or something sweet without even really being hungry. So next time you get the urge to snack check in with yourself. Take a step back from whatever you’re doing and ask yourself, “Am I really hungry? Or am I stressed out?” Pause and listen to your body at that moment and you’ll know what to do.
4. You are bored and use food to numb. ⠀
In moments of idleness, it’s super easy to try to eat or snack in order to pass the time. I can’t tell you how many times in the past I’ve been waiting on my husband to finish getting ready before we go somewhere and I found myself wanting to rummage through our pantry. In general, try filling the empty time blocks in your life with an activity! Read a book, go for a walk, or do some stretching.
5. You allow others eating shitty food to be your excuse for you to do the same- you have to be polite. (BS!)⠀
Nope. This isn’t a valid excuse. You have to take a stand for yourself despite what other people might be doing. Do you know that your colleagues go to a fast food place for lunch several times a week and always invite you? In these moments you have to choose… and you have to choose you first. Take your lunch to work and honor the time you took to assemble it by actually eating it! If you absolutely must partake in eating out for an event, you can always do your best by asking your waiter to have your food prepared a certain way like not putting butter on your vegetables or swapping fries for a salad.
Email me at carmen@carmenohling.com and let me know how you deal with your food cravings. Need a little help in this area? Shoot me a message and we can figure out a plan that works best for you.
For some, my Clean Eating Transformation plan is what works best for them. You can learn more about it here.
Wishing you a ton of light and love,
Carmen
