Why We Get Cravings

One of the most common challenges I see in patients every day is cravings. These pangs of hunger or desire for comfort food are something that everyone struggles with (even me!) and there are lots of reasons why they happen. But rather than treating cravings like a defect or a problem, it’s important to understand what your body is telling you –– that’s why we’re getting them in the first place. 

The first thing to remember is that cravings happen. They don’t mean anything about you or your dedication to your health goals. We’re all human, after all, so let’s push away any shame we might feel when cravings come up. A good way to think about cravings is that your brain or body is trying to tell you it needs something.

Sometimes cravings come up for reasons outside of our diets. A lack of sleep, medication changes, or unmanaged or prolonged stress can trigger cravings for our favorite foods (mostly carbohydrate-rich foods or perhaps a large amount of food). For people who get periods, hormones around their menstrual cycles can also trigger this response. Your nutrition plan can also help you manage a painful period, and dealing with cravings can be a part of that.

Nutrition-wise, cravings can also be a response to something that your body needs. Firstly, cravings come up when we’re not eating regularly. I usually recommend patients eat a meal or snack every 3-5 hours to help with both their nutritional and energy needs –– keeping their insulin and glucose regulated and balanced. Eating more protein, pairing food groups together to increase satiety, and getting more fiber into your diet can also help with cravings as well. If you’re also increasing your activity level, both mental and physical, this can also lead to more cravings because you’re expending more energy.

But one of the biggest things that cause cravings is deprivation dieting. Restricting yourself to the point that you can never eat what you truly want can be difficult to manage. There are two reasons for that. First, not eating what you truly want can lead to a push-and-pull between your body and brain. Second, you may not be consuming enough energy during meals and snacks, therefore triggering your body’s hunger cues. So if it feels safe for you, perhaps looking at how much and what type of foods you’re eating can be helpful to keeping your body and brain satisfied and energized throughout the day.

Finally, if you’ve been going through a period of having no appetite and suddenly it comes back without warning, this may lead to more cravings –– sometimes more intense ones than usual as well.

I often “joke” with patients to “don’t give yourself too much credit, there is a lot more going on in your body than you ‘just’ having a craving.” When we get cravings, I think it’s important to get curious and ask why and treat it more like a symptom of something that’s not working for you rather than as a “problem” to “solve.” Because the answer is not always simple and what works for one patient may not work for another.

If you’re looking for a holistic nutritional health plan and are in NY/NJ, I’d love to work with you. Feel free to book an appointment with me. I also offer free 15-minute consultations to determine if we’re a good fit.