Should you trust your cravings?

Cravings are what drive habits. And figuring out how to spark a craving makes creating a new habit easier. – Charlies Duhigg

Cravings are part of human nature. None of us escapes them and for a good reason. Cravings can be a catalyst for the growth of good things and the birth of new habits. 

The question is not should we trust your cravings, but how do we use our cravings for good? 

Inside today’s podcast, we dive into the three forms of cravings, how you can learn to trust your cravings and use them for good. 

The clear note we have to take into account is that cravings aren’t something we should work to avoid or run away from – but they are a key aspect of living a healthy life. To crave healthy living. 

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it’s a perspective thing

One of the big reasons health looks so different for everyone is our perspective. You can place the exact same set of rules in front of ten people, and it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll come out with ten different perspectives. 

Simply put, perspective is just a point of view. It’s subjective, not objective, which is critical to note because how we look at different situations creates the action or the craving behind them. 

Meaning that our cravings can change from good to bad, depending on how we perceive them. 

But I suppose, to trust this, you have to first trust that cravings are good. 

Using your cravings for good

Cravings have been the villain in the world of health. While I do understand why I think its best to state that it’s still a perspective thing. We’ve been taught that our cravings lead to bad action, but yet we struggle to do the right thing – even more, we struggle with desiring it. 

But let me ask you this question, what would change in your life if you craved health? 

If health spewed out of your bones, your mind and it was the very thing you desired to do? 

I’ll speak for all of us and say that would be amazing – because that would mean I’d actually enjoy it, want it so deeply that every ounce of me craves more. 

You might be laughing at this point, but bear with me – I think this was the intended purpose of life. We’re beings made to crave – we were created to crave – it’s a part of our DNA. 

Which also means it’s not something we can escape. So the question becomes, how can we use these cravings for good? While the research tells you cravings will disappear in 20 minutes, I think we fail to state how easily that craving resurfaces if not directed in the right direction. 

It’s all perspective. 

So maybe instead of suppressing your cravings, running from them until you eventually give in, you channeled your cravings for good? 

What if you understood what you craved, why you craved it, and how you could use that craving for something good? 

It can be done and in fact, its the very thing that could drive you forward in your journey of health. Because I believe we were made to crave and at the same time designed to live in health. Which must mean, we can crave health. 

Take some time to at least give this some thought – then get to know your cravings. 

know your craving

Running, it’s something I like to do. When life gets uncomfortable, or things feel too hard or uneasy, I want to run to whatever brings me comfort. You could say, I crave comfort. 

That craving for comfort can come out in eating comforting foods, doing comforting activities, and secluding myself to a safe place. 

None of this is wrong from time to time – it is important to note our actions are born from our cravings. If you find yourself like me, running to comfort foods rather than a dependable source of comfort than it’s best to take some time to understand your cravings. 

For most of us, they’re less about the unhealthy behaviors, but that has just become a part of the actual underlying craving. 

Step one put a name to your cravings. A great starting point to understand your cravings is to know what your triggers are. What leads you to crave in the beginning. 

Take note – write them down and get to know your craving. Then start to come up with solutions to use those cravings for good. 

For instance, I crave comfort, especially when I’m tired or scared or stressed. In the past, this has led to carb binges, prolonged spouts on the couch, and a lack of drive. 

But knowing my drive for comfort and the cravings that arose from them – instead of giving into what I think will bring me comfort {by the way – food will never do this} I instead have created rhythms around what will. 

My new list of healthy comforts include: 

• Taking a nap – if it’s coming from exhaustion
• Getting outside for a slow walk in the sunshine
• Retreating to read a book or spend some time alone in prayer – to just be 
• Getting a hard workout in because I’ve learned sweating can bring me comfort
• Setting up a date night with my husband 
• Buying some flowers at the store and lighting a candle when I get home
• Soaking in a bath with some Epsom salts
• Cooking a healthy comforting meal I love
• Baking cookies to give to someone else

the feeling of home

What cravings boil down to is a drive to come home. What I mean by “home” is that sense of enoughness, of belonging, of love that can only come from really knowing yourself. The more you slow down, the more you steady yourself and come back to yourself the more you’ll experience that feeling of “home” and the less likely you’ll look for it in all of the wrong places. 

fix it versus fill it

I believe the way to health is to stop trying to fix ourselves and instead look to fill. To know that you are enough just the way you are, you aren’t broken or needing to be fixed as much as you need to be filled. 

Take some time to love on yourself and love yourself enough to trust your cravings. 

the scientific approach to cravings

Of course, you’re probably wondering the scientific method to cravings – which we dive into on the podcast. Make sure you listen to the full episode to learn what your cravings mean and how you can healthily build trust. 

resources

Some of my favorite resources in healing your cravings include: 

• The Only Way to Stop Cravings
• How to Stop Cravings Without Giving Up Sugar
• 3 Food Hacks I use to Eat Healthy All Week Long
• Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desires with God, Not Food
• The Power of a Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

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