They haunt me. They keep me up at night. They follow my every move. They are my constant – unwanted – companions. No, not poltergeists — my cravings!
Today, I had the unfortunate luck to have a meeting at Panera just as my carb cravings are reaching an all-time high. As I walked into the coffee shop, I averted my eyes from the pastry case despite the smell of fresh-baked muffins and just cooked eggs wafting into my nostrils. I sipped my green juice and munched my almonds with a fierce intensity, as if chewing and slurping would frighten the smells away.
Last night when I got home from yoga at The Bindu, my mind was fixated on chocolate. As I opened the pantry to feed my sweet tooth with dates and figs, they confronted me: an unopened, pristine bag of dark chocolate peanut M&Ms – my nemesis. You know those little M&M fellahs on TV? Well, at that moment, they called to me, LOUDLY! As I quickly grabbed my dried fruit, I slammed the pantry door, only to hear their little muffled voices cry out, “Just take one of us! No one has to know! You know you want to!!!!”
I am happy to report that in both close calls, my willpower was the victor! But what’s most interesting is that the instigator of these cravings is not my stomach, but my brain. My poor stomach has no say in what my brain commands it to digest; it just has to deal with the aftermath. So, how do we turn off the impulses for sugar, salt and fat? I suppose conditioning like anything else. Conditioning yourself to remember that fruit really is sweet. Conditioning yourself to step away when you’re not even really hungry. Conditioning yourself that treating yourself well isn’t about dessert but about foods that taste good and are good for you.
Conditioning aside, the battle with our cravings continue to escalate. We eagerly discuss what we will eat in a few short days. But all of that is tempered by the incredible progress that we’ve made.
I feel like we should develop some specific strategies about how we will eat after this is over. I fear that if we don’t, old patterns will come back with a vengeance, only to lose everything we have gained.
Anyone out there have any pointers???
Here’s what I consumed the last two days (you’ll notice no M&Ms in the list 🙂 ):
Breakfast
- Mango, pineapple, apple, orange, ginger, celery juice
- Grapefruit, banana, mango, apple, spirulina juice
- Almonds
- Licorice tea
Lunch
- Corn & bean salsa in a wrap
- Roasted veggies over brown rice
- Watermelon and cantaloupe
Dinner
- Spinach, grapefruit, lime, cucumber juice
- Spaghetti squash & tomatoes
- Dates & figs
