Feeding our Cravings
What is one of your wildest cravings. It could be sensual, physical, or even emotional. It could be something as simple as craving pizza. Im here to ask what would happen if we indulged more regularly in our cravings or even some of our deepest desires. We tend to go on diets when we are unhappy and regulated in certain habits. Instead of complete deprivation and saying these things are bad for us, what if we gave into little regular bits of indulgence. This way we find balance, we trust ourselves and also treat ourselves. I’m craving a glass of wine but feel like I shouldn’t or its bad or i cant. What if I had a taste and then continued on with my evening. Yes, there are some of us who cant only eat the recommended 8 almonds, we need the whole bag. But instead of depriving ourselves our whole life, not trusting what we need we slowly built up to better self control and indulgence and learned how little bits of what we desire can warm us up and fill us up.
Recently I was given more of a cut with my macros. I have a nutrition coach who assigns me macro’s which give me parameters of how much protein, fat, and carbohydrates I should eat a day to help me reach goals and improve my relationship with food. She does not tell me what to eat and technically I can eat whatever I like as long as I hit my numbers. I find I feel better when I eat whole foods and make better decisions that are not driven by hunger or stress. Am I perfect, god no! is this a journey to help my relationship with food and my body, hell yes. Is this way for everyone, no. I recently had more of a cut to help me lean out more and it triggered some more emotional eating and cravings. Indulging in some of my favorite foods would be harder and I would need to choose, plan, and make better decisions since I had less wiggle room to play with my numbers. I keep feeling like I want more and struggle with the balance because feeling deprived or like I cant has triggered a desire to eat what soothes me emotionally despite not always helping me meet my goals. Ultimately I self sabotage a little some days.
Today I had a completely free day, no appointments, meetings, work, and I didn’t have a heavy gym day either. I could sleep in if i chose to. I could listen to a podcast, shave my legs and apply self tanner while enjoying a warm apartment as it rained outside. I was texting a friend feeling guilty that I was sitting on the couch watching the Avengers sipping microwaved coffee. (Yes, I am guilty of constantly reheating my coffee throughout the day). Todays like a Saturday for me, but I have a weird rotating schedule and my days off sometimes feel like days I should be doing more or other things. I was also reminiscing on the fact that I enjoyed this decadent cupcake earlier in the day after I had a green smoothie. Did I need the cupcake? No. Did I want the cupcake? Hell yes! I wanted that kick of endorphins and savored the sweetness and this treat. Do I indulge in cupcakes regularly? Not as much as I’d like. What I want to do better more regularly is lean into little indulgences more whether they are cupcakes, lazy days off, or whatever my body is craving. Because when I deprive myself of things for very long I usually eventually overindulge and then feel guilty and navigate too far from deprivation to overindulgence.
