Should You Listen To Your Cravings?

Practical Aspect Of Mind-Body Connection

A lot of people think that if they really start listening to their body and doing what it asks, they would sit on the couch with a bucket of ice cream and chips. We think that our body is lazy, fat slob who doesn’t want to do anything but eat sweets.

Really? Do you really think this way about yourself?

In reality, as any animal, our body wants to be healthy and balanced. It doesn’t like to feel heavy, bloated, constipated, or sick in any way.

If we took away the emotions and the thoughts, our body would know when and what it needs, just like a wild animals does.

Your body craves what it knows. If it knows cakes and cookies, it craves them when it needs nourishment. If it knows greens and juices, it craves greens and juices. It can’t crave greens if it never has them. If something is unknown or poorly known, it is not in the regular toolbox.

When you have a headache you might be reaching for advil because this is what you know. There might be another much better medicine for pain but if you don’t know about it or don’t have it in your cupboard so there is no way you would even think about it! The same thing is true for our body.

Good cravings need to be nurtured and overtime bad cravings will be substituted for good. It doesn’t take long to rebuild cravings and tastes.

While I was writing the book this week, a friend sent a basket with really fancy french macaroons. 24 of them! Being at home in front of the computer, I was drawn to the fridge with the yummy treat more than I usually would be. Instead of wasting time and willpower on fighting the craving or dealing with what was behind it, I chose to just have a few and keep writing. In my head I justified it with the fact that my brain was working really intensely and needed more carbs than usual. Thankfully, my body reacted quite well to the fancy treat. I didn’t notice post-sugar dip or any changes in my digestion.

However, after writing a chapter on sugar and its inflammatory properties, I really didn’t want more sugar in my body. While I was still drawn to the fridge the next day, I decided to just watch the craving and talk to my body. What else could satisfy the need to nourishment that I needed to keep working? I knew my brain and body were tired of sitting for 10 hours a day at the computer. I promised to my body that as soon as we are done, we are relaxing outside.

I also knew that the need for a nourishing ‘sweet’ taste ayurvedically could be fulfilled with grains, root vegetables, and protein. Proteins are considered ‘sweet’ in ayurveda.

This ancient science never stops surprising me with its depth of understanding of human physiology. My body and I decided together that the best way to address the craving would be to have a bit more protein than I usually have in my diet which is predominantly greens and veggies right now. After I added some wild salmon and 2 egg whites per day, the cravings for sweets were gone. Just like that. They evaporated.

I didn’t have to push through cravings or try to eliminate them. I acknowledged it and asked my body if there was anything else that would fulfill the need. As soon as the need was met, the craving disappeared. My body got what it needed and stopped yelling to me that it needed something.

It’s amazing how our body works!

So the answer to the question ‘Should You Listen To Your Cravings?’ is YES!

Whether cravings are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ your body is communicating a real need, emotional or physical! If you take time to ask your body how you can satisfy the need besides cookies, you will get an answer.

To get you started, I interviewed one of my friends and an amazing medical intuitive Robin Lee, the founder of www.intuitionheals.com on how to listen to the body.

In the video we talk about:

• Why you might not be hearing your body if you try to talk to it?
• How to get enough confidence to trust our body wisdom?
• How to learn to understand the dialogue between YOU and your body?
• Why you might be having a hard time understanding your body’s voice?
• What is the right way to start listening to your body?
• What to do if your body tells you to eat cookies and sit on the couch all day?
• One main thing you must do if you want to build a better dialogue between you and your body

In the comments, let me know: What does your body need now and how does this need show up in your life through cravings?

More info about Robin Lee at www.intuitionheals.com