How to Beat Cravings
Cravings...Ugh.
Cravings can be so powerful, and they can totally derail us from all of the good intentions we've set for our day.
Letting go of sugar, coffee, and wine are three of the biggest challenges that come up for a lot of people in going through this detox. I am quick to tell people that this program isn’t forever, and that taking a break from these substances for 14 days has MAJOR health benefits and definitely resets our cellular aging clock.
Sugar, especially high doses of sugar regularly, can kill our metabolism.
Coffee is a pretty strong stimulant that provides temporary energy, but that can be depleting overall. We often use the temporary energy we get from coffee to push ourselves to do more, rather than to rest. Often, what our bodies really need is rest. When taking a break from coffee, swap it out with some extra time for yourself.
The nightly beverages we enjoy to unwind, like wine, beer, cocktails, aren’t necessarily bad for us in moderation. However, when we find ourselves in a situation where we feel we need them to unwind (which happens a LOT in burnout: coffee all day, a drink or two every night), this can signal a less than healthy relationship. And alcohol in excess causes liver issues, early aging by increasing our free radical load, sleep problems, digestive issues (alcohol in excess contributes to leaky gut), mood issues.
Problem is, we live in a world where these cravings are SO easily satisfied.
It takes energy, planning, and commitment to take a break from them. What I’d like to do is help you come up with a plan that will work for you, when inevitable cravings arise. Because taking a break from sugar, wine, and coffee has serious health benefits and you really won’t want to miss out on those.
WHY DO WE CRAVE?
This seems like a pretty big question, right? But let's keep it to food and drink for now. ;~)
Cravings can start in your body or in your mind.
Those that start in your body are often caused by chemicals like hormones or neurotransmitters (brain chemicals). An interesting example is craving salt: if you've ever noticed that you crave salty snacks when you're stressed, that's probably because your adrenal glands (which create hormones that regulate our sodium balance) have become imbalanced in their hormone production (too much stress hormone, not enough salt-balancing hormone).
Alternately, you may crave salt after a big workout because you just lost so much salt through sweat.
Psychological cravings, or those that start in the mind, may happen because you have an emotional relationship with a certain food. If you'd like to explore this, consider the following questions (if not, skip down to the next section):
what's your favorite comfort food?
how does it make you feel when you think about eating it? When you actually eat it?
when did you start loving that food?
were there any major events linked in your mind with that food?
Sometimes cravings happen because we are genuinely deficient in a particular vitamin, mineral, or nutrient. An example of this is pica, which often happens in pregnancy when iron-deficient women crave ice (or maybe chalk or dirt).
In the medical community we're starting to talk about how we can actually become addicted to some foods: caffeine and sugar are big offenders here. We can actually understand the biochemical processes behind this, so these addictions are very real. Interestingly, we're also seeing now that even gluten and dairy products can have similar effects.
This does make cleaning up your diet a challenge: step one is to detox your body of the foods that you may be addicted to. There will be a period of time where this is really challenging, especially if your body is used to having them (say, for example, nixing the 3 pm cookie and coffee you take to get through your mid-afternoon energy slump).
This is really hard; I know because for me, giving up caffeine and sugar means drudging through that awful 3 pm slump until my body gets used to going without coffee and sugar again.
As for sugar cravings: sugar cravings can start in the body or in the mind, but they are often closely and intimately related. Not only is there the addictive factor of sugar, but sugar can also feed "bad" gut bacteria and a fungus known as candida. This shouldn't live inside of us but it often creeps into our digestive system, where it thrives in the presence of sugar and processed foods. When these "bad" bugs (and by "bad" I mean that they are not healthy for us: they promote inflammation, release toxins, and promote other bacteria who are also "bad" for us) and candida are allowed to thrive inside of us, they--Get this--actually release chemicals into our bloodstream that make us crave sugar even more!
So kicking the sugar habit may also mean saying goodbye to these "bad" guys.
This can make the transition time even harder: not only does your body want sugar badly, but these guys do too, and they're sending signals to your brain that only make your cravings worse. Not only that, but these signals can also make you feel even more tired, sluggish and moody.
To top it all off, you might get bloated, gassy, and constipated during this time, too.
This is why the beginning of a detox or cleanse, especially a no-sugar detox, can be so challenging. You're up against major cravings, no energy, plus bloating?
It's worth it, though.
So what can you do to get through the hard part?
Read on...
HOW TO MANAGE CRAVINGS
1. Eat regular meals: don't let low blood sugar add to this hellish mix! Carry snacks with you like nuts, fruit, cut veggies, nut butters, smoothies, etc. to keep your blood sugar from dipping too low and making you want to quit this amazing thing you're doing!
2. A Varied Diet: eating a wide variety of healthy, nutrient-dense food provides your body with the nutrients it needs to minimize the risk of nutrient deficiency exacerbating cravings.
3. Sleep, and Rest: as much as possible, give your body a time-out so that it can work out all of what it's trying to do: regulate your energy, support your liver's detox systems, and manage any side-effects of unhealthy gut bacteria.
4. Probiotics: replenish your healthy gut bacteria with fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, unsweetened vegan kefir, etc. Probiotics are also widely available as supplements, and I recommend that my patients source their probiotics from reputable companies and use only refrigerated products that have between 10-25 billion organisms or CFU per serving for general health.
5. Find reasonable replacements for what you're missing: for example, if you crave chips, try salted nuts. If it's sugar, try sweet fruits like mango or banana. Stevia is another great replacement that tastes very sweet but actually supports healthy blood sugar! A little bit of stevia goes a long way; too much becomes bitter. Another trick is to build some healthy carbs into your diet: foods like sweet potato, black or brown rice, quinoa, squash all provide healthy carbs that nix the sugar cravings before they happen. When eating sweet potatoes, make sure to eat the skin as well for added nutrients that help beat cravings!
6. Set a goal, and reward yourself for meeting it: can you treat yourself to something special after a long week away from foods you've craved? A movie, a manicure, a massage, a walk in the park, time by the water, time with a friend or loved one...Rewarding yourself for good work is SO important!
7. As for coffee: this can be a tough one, especially if you are someone who gets headaches without it. Make the switch to black tea (I love the flavor of Earl Gray tea) for a morning beverage, especially if your body is used to daily coffee hits. Drinking green tea throughout the day provides a bit of caffeine as well, along with mood-enhancing theanine, which is an amino acid that helps take the edge of anxiety, insomnia, and irritability. Green tea also supports the liver, is an antiaging superfood, and provides energy without the jitters of coffee.
Whatever you need healthier boundaries with in your life, go for it. And celebrate your successes in the process of letting go, because
YOU ARE WORTH THE THINGS YOU WANT IN YOUR LIFE.
And please, always remember,
YOU'RE ALREADY AMAZING.