Conquering Cravings

The Weight & Wellness Way

®

2weightandwellness.com

You keep telling your friends and family that you are trying to lose weight, but every time you get started you give into your cravings, and you just can’t stay on the program. You keep asking yourself, “What is wrong with me? Why do cravings control my life? Am I just a weak person?” Other people are successful, but when I drive by a Dairy Queen®, see a bag of chips or stroll past a bakery, I just have to get a treat. Cravings are controlling my life. I really want to be healthy, but I need help controlling my cravings.

So what can you do if you feel out of control with cravings? That is a question we are hoping to answer for you in straight-forward, jargon-free language. Finally you will be able to shut your cravings down, once and for all.

Cravings Are Not Your FaultAs a nutrition company that has worked with clients experiencing out-of-control cravings for over 25 years, we have some well-tested solutions. First, you have to understand that cravings are usually the result of a complex biochemical response – not a lack of willpower. Most people lack the understanding about how food impacts their biochemistry. Research conducted during World War II found that when young, healthy men followed a low-calorie diet for several weeks, they experienced cravings, especially for food loaded with sugar. Sound familiar? These cravings were a new experience for them, and sadly, some of these men struggled with cravings the rest of their lives. After this, nutritionists and many doctors began to realize that the low-calorie diets often recommended for weight loss actually set people up with the opposite problem, a biochemical reaction resulting in cravings. These cravings are usually for food that is high in sugar or items like bread or chips, which, unbeknownst to many, turn into sugar once eaten.

So think of yourself. Have you been on a low- calorie diet to lose weight? Did you start to experience cravings for sugar and high sugar foods like the recruits on a low-calorie diet? Why did that happen? Perhaps neither you nor the recruits in the WWII study received enough nutrients to support your brain health. Low-calorie, starvation-type diets are usually deficient in brain nutrition and often cause your blood sugar to crash. When this happens, your brain says, “Feed me...feed me…feed me!” The brain needs a steady supply of proteins, vitamins, minerals and fats to stay healthy and craving free. Your brain also needs a steady supply of healthy vegetable carbohydrates to stay functional. It comes back to biochemistry because cravings are biochemical.

Breaking Free of Cravings If any of this rings a bell and your cravings are keeping you from moving forward to a healthy lifestyle, it’s time to stop the guilt and start taking control of your biochemistry. By breaking free of cravings we mean overcoming that “I can’t stop with one” feeling. Do you know the one?

Maybe you planned to take one brownie out of the pan, one wouldn’t hurt, right? Soon after that, you realize you’ve eaten a row from the pan. An hour later, the entire pan of brownies is gone! You hurry and make another pan of brownies because you don’t want anyone to know.

Nutritional Weight & Wellness clients often tell us that once they open a bag of chips, they can’t stop until all the chips are gone. Your “I can’t stop with one” food may be cereal, French fries, crackers, ice cream or cookies. Do you ever wonder why this happens?

We have the answers. Based on years of clinical experience and research, we’ve summarized four possible causes behind cravings.

CONQUERING CRAVINGSCONQUERING CRAVINGS

3weightandwellness.com

Blood Sugar ImbalanceWe mentioned it above, but truly, maintaining control of your

blood sugar represents the first step in managing cravings. Research has confirmed that many of us simply cannot eat sugars and grains without those foods leading to out-of-control eating. No matter which processed carbohydrate foods you choose, all carbohydrates break down into sugar (glucose) in your body and enter your bloodstream. Because blood cannot tolerate excess sugar, the body naturally produces the hormone insulin that takes sugar from the blood and deposits it into the cells.

So imagine this, you overeat processed carbohydrates, and your blood sugars rise. Once they do, large doses of insulin rush to the scene and clear out the sugar. As a result, blood sugar levels plummet. You’re probably familiar with how you feel when your blood sugar is low: tired, irritable, “hangry,” and even shaky. To restore blood sugar levels, your body sends a chemical message to your brain saying, “I need sugar. Eat sugar.” Hence cravings for soda, bread, brownies, pasta, anything with sugar or that turns into sugar.

So again, (it’s worth repeating!) cravings are a biochemical response to low blood sugar, not a lack of willpower.

To break this pattern of rising and falling blood sugar levels, eliminate processed food and start eating real foods in balance. We always

suggest a trio of real food to keep your blood sugars level. Combine healthy carbohydrates (vegetables and fruit) with quality protein (meat, fish or eggs) and healthy fats (olives, nuts, avocados and butter) at every meal and snack. Not only will balanced eating help you control cravings, but you’ll also likely feel happier, enjoy more energy, lose and weight in addition to lowering the risk of long-term diseases. Win, win!

Mineral DeficienciesMany people are deficient in two important minerals that impact

cravings, magnesium and zinc. Could your cravings be caused by a deficiency in one of these minerals?

Magnesium Deficiency According to The Journal of the American College of Nutrition, it’s estimated that at least 68% of Americans are deficient in magnesium. One way to tell is to think back on your cravings. If you experience chocolate cravings, you may be deficient in magnesium. Another indication that magnesium levels are too low is your muscles involuntarily contracting, causing spasms, cramps like a Charley horse and restless leg syndrome, even eye twitching. Clinically, we have observed many people successfully eliminate chocolate cravings and muscle cramps when they supplement their diets with sufficient amounts of magnesium.

Zinc DeficiencyThe American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that nearly 73% of all Americans do not get the recommended daily allowance of zinc. Another mineral essential for reducing sugar cravings is zinc. One indication that you might be deficient in zinc is craving something sweet after a meal. In fact, extreme zinc deficiencies can result in a loss of appetite for healthy foods and only sugar cravings. Supplementing with zinc can help resolve those issues.

4 CAUSES OF CRAVINGS4 CAUSES OF CRAVINGS

4weightandwellness.com

Quality Fat DeficiencyFor the last few decades we’ve been told to stop eating fats like butter,

nuts and avocados and instead try low-calorie, fat-free “foods” that are detrimental to your health. Repeatedly, news articles and diet books have told us that fats will thicken our waistlines and increase our cholesterol. However, research has (finally!) indicated that it’s not healthy fats that create body fat or elevate cholesterol; it’s trans fats (manufactured fats) that are the real culprit. For those who have been caught up in the “no fat craze,” the result is often, you guessed it, hunger and cravings. The best way to begin addressing hunger and cravings at the most basic level is to eat real food that provides the nutrients the body needs to function well and feel great. Number one on that list … healthy fats!

Cut out manufactured fats/trans fats by becoming a label reader and look for the words “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated.” Instead, feed your body with real fats like butter, olives, nuts and avocados. All of our cells need these fats, especially our brain. Real fats help your body recognize when you have eaten enough and signal that you are full.

Poor Intestinal Health For many, cravings and lack of control are due in part to the

unhealthy condition of the intestinal tract. Perhaps you’ve had this happen to you in the past – after a course or two of antibiotics for strep, acne or another illness, you cannot leave the cookies and candy alone. This is because antibiotics destroy our good bacteria, called bifidobacteria, which leaves room for the bad bacteria (the kind that cause cravings) to thrive. Bifidobacteria is first delivered to us during breastfeeding from our mother’s milk and remains present in our systems if antibiotics and/or poor diet choices do not destroy it in the intestinal tract. Mother Nature had the perfect cure for sugar cravings, so how can we tap into that now? We suggest supplementing with probiotics to help populate the good bacteria and kick the bad bacteria out.

• Avocado• Butter• Coconut oil• Heavy Cream• Nut Butters• Nuts• Olive Oil• Olives

Healty Fats

5weightandwellness.com

ONE-DAY CRAVE CONTROL MEAL PLAN

Here’s a full day of meals (real food only!) to inspire you in the kitchen and start taking control away from your cravings.

• 2 eggs• 2 tsp. butter• 1 slice rye toast

• 3-4 cups fresh vegetable salad• 3-4 oz. meat or fish• 2 Tbsp. olive oil dressing

• Kabobs with meat and roasted vegetables • 2-3 cups of broccoli, cauliflower, and ½ cup sweet potato roasted in

coconut oil

• 2 oz. chicken or turkey• ½ apple• 1 tbsp. real peanut butter

• A few raw almonds• ½ cup cottage cheese• ½ cup blueberries

• ¾ cup strawberries• 2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Snack

Snack

Snack

ONE-DAY CRAVE CONTROL MEAL PLAN

6weightandwellness.com

Let’s say that again – cravings are complicated. It’s never a one-size-fits-all scenario, as much as we wish it could be. While the above biochemical explanations might make sense to one person, to another it could be like reading a foreign language. Regardless of who you are, we always encourage a nutrition consultation with one of our nutritionists.

Sure, while blood sugar and zinc might be issues for you, x, y and z could also be causing problems, and the nutritionists are trained to spot those.

If nothing else sticks with you, please remember this. Cravings are not your fault. Better yet, cravings are stoppable. With resources like this e-book, nutritionist consultations and nutrition classes, along with our in-depth Dishing Up Nutrition podcast and blog posts and videos, we’re here to help.

CRAVINGS ARE COMPLICATED

They have the knowledge and experience to listen to your health history and deduce what your body may be telling you.

CRAVINGS ARE COMPLICATED