Hunger Pains, Hormones and Cravings OH MY!

Hunger Pains, Hormones and Cravings… OH MY!

(**Caution** pictures used in this article may actually CAUSE cravings…) (grin)

Have you caught yourself wandering to the fridge over and over throughout one evening, wondering why you can’t seem to get full? Is it boredom or hormones? You may catch yourself thinking …is it that time of the month?? In hopes to have a good excuse for these silly cravings.

I will have a nice long run of eating clean and feeling amazing then all of a sudden I will hit a wall of bad choices in my diet and it usually starts with craving chocolate… then the cycle begins…

In all honesty my dear ladies… your body IS trying to tell you something and emotional eating and cravings  aren’t  always just about emotions.

There is actually some science to these silly roller coaster of cravings.

During the week prior to my monthly “mother nature visit”, I DO tend to eat more, as if I’m a grumpy momma bear planning to hibernate soon.

The science and biology of what is going on is this:

Cravings are usually associated with your blood sugar and deficiencies that your body is trying to communicate to you. This is where my fascination for natural health kicks into high gear. Isn’t it amazing how we have been designed? How can you not be in awe? When you crave chocolate, your body is most likely telling you that you’re low on magnesium. This is a hard mineral to get into our daily diet. You may want to add that to your daily supplements, and yes…you’re allowed dark chocolate once in a while.

Unbalanced blood sugar will also cause you to raid your refrigerator in desperation looking for whatever will appease your craving at the time. Your body is also telling you something is off… you’re low on nutrients. This is where I ask you to calmly evaluate what you’ve eaten that day and ask yourself if it was rich in micro-nutrients or did you grab whatever was available at the time? Your body will continue to feel hungry as long as it’s starving for nature filled vitamins. I always enhance my daily diet with supplements rich in micro-nutrients, which helps aid my daily diet and helps curb cravings.

Another challenge can be low serotonin around that time of the month. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter your body produces from certain amino acids to help you feel relaxed. If you are deficient in these amino acids you cannot produce enough serotonin, and you may be experiencing strong cravings for high carb foods, such as potato chips, bread, French fries, cookies…etc. Although these empty calorie items can elevate your mood temporarily it will cause a vicious cycle of cravings. To avoid this roller coaster ride you will need to eat more protein rich foods that have tryptophan (yea!!- bring on more Thanksgiving Turkey!). Tryptophan is found in animal protein as well as soy protein for vegetarians to boost your serotonin.

So next time that you find yourself creating a path from your couch to the kitchen…remember my words.

“Karie said that my body is trying to communicate something to me…so what is it saying?” Where are you deficient …and how can I curb this craving instead of adding more inches to my waistline? You will also find that when you have a solid food routine that has a combination of fruits/vegetables/healthy fats, cravings won’t be an issue for you anymore. When you become a client of mine, I can guide you more one on one with strategic advice that will work personally for you and your life routine.

If you’re currently working on losing weight or want to just maintain your beautiful figure and health, then be sure to not let those hormonal cravings keep you from your goal. Also be sure to notice if your food habits revolve around emotions and psychological habits. That was my challenge in my weight gain. There is a way to control your mindset in everything that we do,  eat, relate to others. Hiring an expert, such as a wellness coach will help you identify where you are sabotaging your health and life and we will do whatever it takes to get you the life you want to achieve.

Feel free to leave me a comment below or ask me more questions in these regards. Happy to create more clarity on the science and biology of our beautiful bodies that carry us through our life…

Wishing you health and prosperity!
Karie Millspaugh
Your Wellness Coach