A food craving is your body’s cry for nutrients… not a cry for chips, sweets, soda or any nutrient deficient food. They will only satisfy you temporarily, and will not give you what you need.
Your body needs vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, essential amino acids, and so on to function properly. Your brain constantly monitors your blood sugar and your supply of essential nutrients. Cravings such as, sugar cravings, are caused primarily by a deficiency or an imbalance in some essential nutrient.
When you deprive your body of the nutrients it needs, the brain sends a message that we interpret as a strong desire to eat something, such as foods like ice cream or sweets, chips, cookies, salty foods or no telling what.
Cravings that are caused and driven by a need for nutrients are EASILY overcome when the nutrients are supplied. For example, two tablespoons of flax seed has been known to supply enough of the essential omega 3 fatty acids to wipe out a sweet craving in 2 or 3 days.
A craving for salty foods suggests a need for sodium. Substitute by eating celery or cucumber instead of chips. Chocolate cravings may suggest a need for magnesium; and craving meat of any kind suggests a need for B vitamins, and minerals.
Instead of sugary drinks, candy, cookies, chips, etc, supplement with flax seed oil, and/or coconut oil and snack on things like hummus and apple slices, walnuts, almonds and pistachios. Plain Greek yogurt with fresh or frozen blueberries, or celery ribs with almond butter, or a hardboiled egg, all of which are loaded with nutrients will curb your appetite and stop food craving practically overnight.
Food cravings mean that the body has its signals mixed up. When we are exhausted, stressed or blue, we have low blood sugar and/or low serotonin, and the body signals the brain that it needs a pick-me-up. This signal causes a sugar craving or carbohydrate craving, and even caffeine and alcohol craving.
How to break this vicious cycle? To reduce food cravings, the body needs real support — and lots of it. We have seen over and over that eating healthy foods, adding pharmaceutical–grade nutritional supplements and moderate exercise can almost miraculously curb cravings. Your metabolism will heal itself when provided with the necessary nutritional support. If it has been damaged, the process can take some time, but it will happen. The good news is — you don’t have to give up chocolate!
If you need some guidance come to my Transitions Lifestyle class or contact me about one on one coaching.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Don’t Sabotage Your Efforts!
How many of us allow ourselves or others to talk us out of something we have set our minds to do? I have found this is one of the main reasons many of my clients don’t succeed at reaching their health and fitness goals. Not only have them convinced themselves it is too hard, they have allowed others to convince them as well.
One of the ways I help my clients reach their goals is by helping them develop SMART goals. SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Action-based, Realistic and Time-line.
• Be specific about the details of your goals, for instance; how and when you hope to accomplish them.
• Measurable so that success can be determined.
• Action-based (behaviors) break down your vision into behaviors you will be doing on a consistent basis.
• Realistic – if your goal is realistic you are more apt to accomplish it. Being successful at achieving one goal will build your self-confidence to move on to further goals.
• Time-line – set a time when you want to accomplish your goals and don’t get discouraged if you don’t make it. Sometimes you have to readjust the goals, but it helps to have a time to aim for.
Keep yourself focused by looking over your progress. Hold yourself accountable and find a coach or friend to also help. Make sure you find someone who will encourage you and not discourage you. So many times clients are excited and ready to change their lifestyle until someone comes along who plants a seed of doubt into them.
Throw away your “excuse bag.” One of the reasons people feel badly about themselves is because they don’t finish what they start. They miss out on tasting the joy of victory because they don’t press pass the challenges that arise.
These are some of the excuses I often hear: “that’s just too hard, I don’t have enough time, I don’t feel like it, I’m afraid, I don’t know how to do that.” I could go on but the list would take too long to write!
Life will throw you many twists and turns but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on your dreams. One thing I tell my clients is; you will only fail if you give up. Instead of looking at the circumstances and thinking this is impossible, keep your eye on the goal set before you, take one day at a time, and most importantly keep pressing on!
One of the ways I help my clients reach their goals is by helping them develop SMART goals. SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Action-based, Realistic and Time-line.
• Be specific about the details of your goals, for instance; how and when you hope to accomplish them.
• Measurable so that success can be determined.
• Action-based (behaviors) break down your vision into behaviors you will be doing on a consistent basis.
• Realistic – if your goal is realistic you are more apt to accomplish it. Being successful at achieving one goal will build your self-confidence to move on to further goals.
• Time-line – set a time when you want to accomplish your goals and don’t get discouraged if you don’t make it. Sometimes you have to readjust the goals, but it helps to have a time to aim for.
Keep yourself focused by looking over your progress. Hold yourself accountable and find a coach or friend to also help. Make sure you find someone who will encourage you and not discourage you. So many times clients are excited and ready to change their lifestyle until someone comes along who plants a seed of doubt into them.
Throw away your “excuse bag.” One of the reasons people feel badly about themselves is because they don’t finish what they start. They miss out on tasting the joy of victory because they don’t press pass the challenges that arise.
These are some of the excuses I often hear: “that’s just too hard, I don’t have enough time, I don’t feel like it, I’m afraid, I don’t know how to do that.” I could go on but the list would take too long to write!
Life will throw you many twists and turns but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on your dreams. One thing I tell my clients is; you will only fail if you give up. Instead of looking at the circumstances and thinking this is impossible, keep your eye on the goal set before you, take one day at a time, and most importantly keep pressing on!
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