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Your cravings are simply clues: How to work with them, not against them

Oh, I am so done with the shame game when it comes to my health, my weight, my eating habits. Who’s with me?! Along my journey, I made a powerful shift from LABELING (“I have no willpower”, “I’m an emotional eater”, “I’m simply addicted to cookies”) to LEARNING (“Hmmm, why was I craving #allthejunk today?”, “Why is my appetite different this week than last?”). I went from despising myself for eating the entire party-size bag of Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips to instead, finally figuring out WTF my body needed to feel satiated and energized.

I realized that cravings aren’t something to beat myself up over. They are simply the body and brain’s way of shouting at us when we’re not giving ourselves what we need.

Unfortunately, our bodies can’t speak to us more directly:

“Hey Girl, you don’t need that fifth cookie, that fourteenth Netflix episode. Stop it with the Lean Cuisines. Add more protein and veggies throughout the day, and give yourself some legit, unscheduled downtime to recharge.”

Nope, the cravings don’t come through with that kind of clarity and encouragement.

Instead, cravings are the cranky equivalent of a screaming toddler out to dinner well past bedtime. Impossible to tune out, and will. not. back. down. until needs are met.

When cravings strike, it’s NOT time to give yourself an emotional beatdown.

Put down the boxing gloves.

Instead, play detective.

Grab your magnifying glass and your thinking cap and nonjudgmentally examine and observe what’s going on.

Objectivity instead of judgment
Curiosity instead of shame
Compassion instead of criticism
Solutions instead of “screw it”

Cravings aren’t inherently good or bad. They simply are.

Cravings are our biology’s “code red” system, alerting us of risk. All of those urges are built-in protective mechanisms to save us from famine, undernourishment, physical danger, and all sorts of risks out there in the world. Which is actually a good thing. Your body is wired to help you survive.

Reframe, and try to see your cravings for the extraordinarily helpful (though crabby) tool they are. Only then can you begin to learn from your body and what it’s telling you, instead of falling into a shame spiral. Resist the urge to simply “fight” your cravings, because in doing so, you are basically fighting against your biology (which is the product of millenia of human evolution). I think you know who’s going to win that one.

Sometimes cravings guide us to obviously helpful things, like when you crave squash, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes because your body just knows you need some more carbs and beta-carotene.

Sometimes cravings steer us to junky, highly refined foods like donuts, muffins, corndogs, and whatever-other-junk-you-can-think-of. There are plenty of causes of cravings:

Maybe you’ve been underfueling for too long. (Oh, yeah, you bet I’m bolding this one. So many of us aim to undereat at mealtime and it is possibly the number one driver of cravings. A 300-calorie “meal” isn’t your solution. It’s part of your problem.)

Maybe you’re sleep deprived.

Maybe you’re dealing with an extraordinary amount of unmanaged stress.

Maybe you’ve been eating more highly processed foods than real foods, leaving you nutrient-depleted.

These are all situations in which your body is going to compel you to seek out very quick-acting, energy-dense food sources. Your body is demanding energy, stat, and it’s going to crank up your cravings to get you to seek out those foods. And highly refined foods like donuts and Cheez-Its provide just that. They are easy for our bodies to digest, so they give us a quick, intense hit of energy. Feels great for a moment, but repeating that day in and day out leaves us feeling pretty crappy.

A better solution to prevent that kind of craving is to preemptively meet your biological needs before the “must-eat-all-the-Swedish-Fish” cravings kick in.

But first, your biology.

So, does this “listen to cravings” thing mean “Oh, my body just wants donuts all the time, so that’s clearly my biology speaking. Time for a Krispy Kreme or Dunky’s run!”. Uhm, no.

Yes, it’s true, our bodies are rather hard-wired to seek out that stuff, especially when we are shortchanging ourselves on our biological needs.

But you’ve probably learned that you can’t willpower your way out of wanting donuts every day.

Of course, it’s totally normal to desire and enjoy a donut now and then. That’s part of life, and nothing to freak out over. But if you’re seeking them out every single day 24-7/365 and feeling like your craving is totally controlling you, then maybe you’ve got some unmet biological needs.

Fortunately, real, whole or minimally refined foods, in a balance of protein, fat, and slow-acting carbs are very effective at meeting our biological needs.

Here are just a few of their superpowers:

Balance hunger and satiety hormones (ghrelin and leptin), leaving you you feeling full and satisfied

Boost energy

Reduce brain fog

Boost fat loss, enhance muscle building

Balance blood sugar (no more “hangry” crashes)

Reduce inflammation (and along, with that, can minimize aches and pains)

Improved health markers (lipid profile, blood glucose levels, blood pressure, etc.)

Help you better meet your overall nutrient needs

And you know what else our bodies respond VERY well to?

Sleep

Movement

Strength Training

Self Care

Stress Relief

Connection

When we meet our true needs with our food choices and lifestyle habits, our biology is IN THE ZONE.

We have more energy.

We have more patience. (I find I yell at my kids 50% less when I meet my biological needs!)

We have more strength and stamina, less aches and pains (which makes everything else feel easier).

We feel pretty darn vibrant (due to each cell in your body finally having what it needs to do-its-thang, and do it well!).

We can think more clearly.

We can build muscle more easily.

We can burn stored fat as needed, instead of riding a spike-and-crash wave of hunger.

Maybe you’re thinking, “But, Jen, I am SUCH an emotional eater! I just know it’s my feelings driving the bus here”.
Until you are in the ballpark of meeting your biological needs consistently, avoid labeling yourself an “emotional eater”.

Is it possible that emotions might be driving some of your eating behaviors?

Yes, of course that’s possible. And some degree of emotional eating will probably always exist in your life and that’s totally normal. But you can’t totally bypass your biological needs and go straight to uncovering and examining your emotional ball of wax.

First, you need to minimize the white noise of plain-old biological cravings. Only then do you have a much clearer picture of any underlying emotional eating behaviors.

Here’s the first question to ask yourself:

AM I MEETING MY BIOLOGICAL NEEDS??

So many of us are convinced that most of our cravings are “emotional eating” and lack of willpower. That was me, too. I used to think I just sucked in the willpower department, and that I would always be in a constant wrestling match for control over my eating habits.

I was convinced that I would never be able to keep Oreos in the house without feeling the NEED to eat an entire sleeve in one sitting.

In high school, I felt guilty when I would come home from soccer practice and feel the need to eat at least half of an entire box of Cheez-Its.

When I was a sleep-deprived mama just trying to keep up with my toddler and infant, I was hungry for snacks every single hour.

And I used to label ALL of that as stress eating or emotional eating. I did not know then what I know now. Instead of LABELING, I could have been LEARNING:

I’ve learned that my insatiable appetite for Oreos was the result of not meeting my body’s needs through my overall diet. I was eating more refined foods than my body (specifically my blood sugar response!) can handle, and I wasn’t eating enough protein for my body’s needs. These nutrient inadequacies led me to crave lots of fast-acting energy dense junk foods like Oreos.

I now know that I was often underfueled in my teen years, especially during my highly active sports seasons. I didn’t know then that my monster craving for all-the-Cheez-Its wasn’t a moral failing. It was simply my body’s way of desperately doing what it needed to compel me to give myself more food, more fuel as quickly as possible.

I’ve learned that my snacking-on-the-hour habits while parenting a two-year-old and an infant wasn’t solely about stress. Yes, pure old stress was definitely a driver of my snacking habit back then (terrible twos PLUS a colicky baby, ‘nuff said). But I now know that the utter lack of sleep for months on end was also playing a huge role. As you can imagine, the chronic sleep deprivation dialed down my satiety hormones and dialed up my hunger hormones, leaving me feeling always hungry. Again, a great example of how our body is wired for survival. My body perceived lots of wakefulness and, hence, a greater need for constant energy. Right on cue, my hormones responded in a way that would encourage me to keep the fuel coming in, 24/7. Great for survival, but not the most helpful thing when you’re living in a world that’s telling you it’s time to “get your body back” (whatever that means, but that’s a NOVEL for another day, ha!).

In reality, a good chunk of emotional eating is often driven by under-nourishment:

Not eating enough to fuel our body and brain’s needs day in and day out (cue the weekend binge, right??)
Depriving ourselves of entire macronutrients, entire food groups convinced they are the only obstacle getting in the way of fat loss (No, carbs and fat are not Satan.)
Shortchanging ourselves of 7-9 hours of sleep nightly
Not giving our body the daily dose of movement it needs to thrive. Movement has so many benefits, including regulating your blood sugar response after a meal. When your blood sugar response is less roller coaster and more even keel, you avoid those spikes and crashes that trigger cravings. Plus, a simple walk is also a great form of stress relief. Managing your stress through habits like walking (or meditation, focused breathing, knitting – whatever relaxes you) reduces your likelihood of reaching for food as a form of stress relief.
Going for too long without time to relax and recharge (Whatever that might mean for you – alone time with a good book? A walk? Time with friends who “get you”? 30 minutes without “Mom, Mom, Mom” interruptions? )

Figuring out what your body needs is a process, and it’s not going to happen overnight. There is no quick fix, just persistence and patience in figuring out what you truly need to thrive.

Fortunately, the big rocks I’ve mentioned of real food, sleep, movement, stress relief, and self care are a very helpful starting point. If you need inspiration on getting started with those big rocks, poke around my blog for meal ideas, recipes, behavior change strategies, and more. If you’re looking for more support, shoot me a DM, send me an email, contact me however you’d like. Let’s chat about how we can work together so you can stop labeling, start learning, and start living a more energized, vibrant life.

How to stop feeling always hungry and ditch the calorie counting.

By Jen

If you’re trying to figure out the “right” amount of food for you, eating real, whole (or at least, minimally refined) is the easiest, most pleasurable way to figure that out.

Eating foods in their least processed state, in an optimal balance of protein, fat, and carbs that works *for you* allows your body’s hunger and satiety signals to ring true. And as an added bonus, not only do real, whole foods guide you to your “just right”, they also are loaded with all of the nutrients and micronutrients that your body was designed to consume. Seriously, real food is the universal, human “thrive formula”!

And when I say “right” amount of food for you, and the “right” ratio of protein/fat/carbs for you, I’m talking about a way of eating that leaves you feeling:
✔️ satisfied
✔️ satiated
✔️energized
✔️*and* supports your overall health

Obviously, that amount is going to vary from one individual to the next. And that amount can also vary a bit from one day to the next. This is exactly why our bodies were designed with built in regulation mechanisms. If we let those cue come through, they tell us what we need! How amazing, right?

And if you’re not sure of where to start with balancing your protein, fat, and carbohydrates at mealtime, experiment a bit and observe carefully which balance seems to leave you feeling your best.

“But, but, . . . my signals are broken.
I can’t stop!
I don’t know when to stop!”

I hear ya. I was there once, too. Honestly, I felt always hungry, and didn’t understand why. Well, here are a few common things I was doing that were totally undermining my body’s ability to give me reliable satiety cues:

Eating more refined foods than my body could handle. These foods were sending my blood sugar levels on a roller coaster ride daily, leaving my energy levels crashing soon after a meal. I would feel hungry soon after eating, even after adequately sized meals. Too many highly refined foods trigger that “always hungry” feeling. And due to the poor nutrient content in highly refined foods, the body often continues to seek more food in an effort to obtain your basic nutrient requirements.
Inadequate protein. No, I’m not advocating a super high protein diet here. I simply learned that I was consuming well under my body’s protein needs on a regular basis. Increasing these “building blocks” to my plate each mealtime was a game changer. I felt more satiated, was able to build muscle more easily, and saw my energy levels rise!
Deprivation and restriction. I would go through occasional phases of undereating (= eating below my body’s needs) in a misguided attempt to lose weight. Well, undereating is a sure-fire way to fire up the body’s hunger hormones, because, HELLO, your body is a system that is designed to help you survive. If you fail to meet your body’s basic requirements, your body will fight tooth and nail to get you to eat more (cue the cravings and binges!). It now sounds so obvious to me. Eating adequate fuel allows your body feel safe to thrive. So basic, but SO powerful.

Beyond real, whole foods your body has other basic needs that influence your sense of satisfaction and satiety with your food:
– manage your stress
– get adquate sleep
– move your body frequently (at an intensity that feels good for you!)
– spend time with loved ones
– spend time outdoors

Does this mean that the occasional treat will throw everything off, that you need to swear off cookies forever? No! What matters most is what you do MOST of the time. If you’re doing a bang-up job of meeting your body’s needs most of the time, your body will keep you in that “thrive” zone.

Have you ditched the calorie counting? Are you thinking about it? Are you ready to trust that your body’s got your back if you simply give it what it needs to thrive?

Trust the process. The mindset of “nourished, not famished” allows your body find its way to optimal health and vitality.

You aren’t failing your diet. Your diet is failing YOU.

By Jen

Perspective is everything. If you went way off track with your eating habits, view it as a massive learning opportunity, and NOT as an opportunity to spiral down a rabbit hole of guilt, shame, and disappointment. You are not failing your diet. Your diet is failing YOU. It’s likely that your way of eating is fighting your biology, instead of working with it. Getting way off track is not an issue of willpower, rather, it’s simply a sign that your current strategies aren’t serving you and your goals. Time to do some sleuthing and uncover the the real triggers. Some areas to consider:

◽Am I ignoring my hunger and being restrictive about amount of food?
◽Am I regularly eating overly refined and processed foods (which hijack your brain and hunger hormones, a strong biological response you can’t oppose with willpower)? This doesn’t mean you won’t ever occasionally dip into such foods, but it’s a good idea to consider holding off on such foods until you’ve given your body a chance to reset and balance your hunger and metabolism hormones.
◽ Am I just too dang tired? Have I been getting enough quality sleep?
◽Have I been taking time for some stress relief?
◽Was I caught in too many situations without good food choices? Have I been doing some meal planning and simple prep to prevent difficult food choices?

It’s not you, it’s your triggers. Be gentle with yourself. Setting yourself up for success can be a much more pleasurable and *effective* way to hit those health goals you’ve set for yourself. What do you find are your most frequent triggers?

Staying on track, even on the weekend

By Jen

Staying on track, without feeling deprived, and actually enjoying your food is entirely possible on the weekend, even if you’re hitting up a few parties. When it’s time to dine, scope out the party spread, and do your best to build a balanced, delicious plate:
✅protein
✅ fat
✅slow carbs

Eating some of each macronutrient at mealtime, and steering clear of fast-burning highly processed carbs will leave you feeling satiated. Satiety is the best buffer against gorging on desserts and other junk. If your main meal leaves you satisfied and fueled, you’re a lot more likely to be content with just *one* super-fudge-m&m-brownie instead of five. Or, you might end up not craving dessert at all!

As for how much to eat – well, everybody’s caloric needs are slightly different, so you do you! As long as you are routinely eating primarily minimally refined foods, in a balance of protein, fat, and slow carbs, your hunger and satiety cues are pretty darn reliable. Eating too many processed foods creates a lot of white noise, and can really mess with those cues.

And as for balancing your plate – what works for you might be slightly different than someone else’s needs. Play around with the protein/fat/carb ratio by building your plate different ways. You’ll know you’ve hit your sweet spot when your meal leaves you feeling fueled and filled until the next mealtime, and your cravings are in check.

What helps you stay on track during the weekend?

What’s Your Why?

By Jen

What’s your big why? I used to think mine was mostly to fit back into those skinny jeans again, but as the NSVs (non-scale victories) started trickling in, I had a big “aha”. My big why was now about *so* much more, like:

having a ton more energy to get through my day, no matter what curve balls are thrown my way
the ability to move my body with more ease, and keep up with my kids
a peaceful, pleasurable relationship with food, with no more stressing about what I was going to eat & when, and the end of cravings
improved readings on key health markers like cholesterol levels and blood glucose readings – reducing my risk of chronic disease and limiting the need for multiple medications later in life
a sharper, clearer mind, free of the brain fog I would get from eating overly refined foods; reduced anxiety

Along the way, I really latched onto these bigger-picture whys, and they definitely made it a lot easier to stick with the day-to-day habits that helped me get leaner, stronger, and more healthy.

And, as a bonus, focusing on the long term, bigger picture health goals, ultimately helped me fit into those pants again.

Now, I consider eating well, moving my body, making time for rest & recovery, and stress relief to be not just strategies for fat loss or maintaining weight. Rather, they are the tools I use to power my life!

What’s your big why? How do you power your life?

A little bit of walking is a big deal for your health

By Jen

Though it’s getting dark so early now, I’m still trying to squeeze in a short evening walk after dinner whenever possible. I can’t always make it happen, but I do my best because that brief 15 minutes offers so many benefits:
➡ It’s totally relaxing, and a great way to destress after a busy day.
➡ It gives me some much-needed outdoor time.
➡ Going for a walk after a meal has a significant impact on the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels, not just immediately after the meal, but for the following twenty four hours. A post-meal walk also stimulates metabolism. So, it’s an enjoyable, fifteen minute activity that reduces my risk for diabetes and helps with weight control. Uhm, no brainer, right?
➡ The evening’s fading light adds another benefit – it helps keep circadian rhythms in check. When your body’s clock is functioning properly, it not only helps you sleep better, it also positively impacts many of the body’s systems involving hunger, mental alertness, mood, stress, heart function, and immunity.

Even as winter approaches, I do my best to stick with this habit. If I get wimpy about the cold, I suck it up, bundle up, and remind myself of the hardy Scandinavian mindset about cold weather: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.”
How do you motivate to keep moving, espeically during the darker, cooler months?

Want to learn more about the health benefits of this post-meal stroll? Read more here.

Feeling Nourished, Not Famished is the Real Secret to Getting Lean and Healthy

By Jen

If you’re working on getting leaner & improving your health, please know that the process does not have to include deprivation and hunger. In fact, any “diet” or meal plan that has you eating too little, or restricts you to a very narrow range of foods will, you guessed it, leave you feeling hungry and deprived. Though such a diet might give you an initial burst of weight loss and energy boost, ultimately, the deprivation will catch up with you, slowing your metabolism and stoking your cravings.

For most of us, when it comes to fat loss and improved health, the magic occurs when we nourish ourselves each mealtime with real, minimally refined foods, in a balance of protein, fats, and slow-digesting carbs. Amount matters, too – if you eat until you are no longer hungry (but not stuffed), you’ll probably notice that you feel more filled and fueled between one meal and the next (and you won’t need those 13 snacks in between!).

While elimination diets can be a very useful tool in determining food sensitivities and allergies, they typically are not intended to be a way of eating for life. While we all vary slightly from one person to the next in food preferences and intolerances, “you do you” is a very helpful mindset in figuring out what works best for you. For example, maybe your friend can’t tolerate dairy, but you do fine with a bit of cheese or Greek yogurt here and there. Or, maybe you have a friend who swears by going ultra low carb, but, for you, low carb results in low energy, stalled fat loss, disrupted hormones and raging cravings.

Bottom line? When it comes to determining *your* magic formula, eating meals of real, minimally refined foods (in a combination of protein, fat, and slow carbs), and eating to satiety are a great starting point. Fine tune from there to figure out what keeps your hunger, cravings, and energy levels in check.

Learn more here about how to get started.

Gut Health 101

By Jen

Today’s weather was simply too gorgeous for staying indoors, so the fam and I ventured out to the Fermentation Festival at Boston Public Market. Sunshine and blue skies were the perfect backdrop for the incredible demos, tons of vendor booths, and, of course, plenty of good-for-your-gut samples of kraut, kimchi, kombucha, and more!

Click to play! – Boston Fermentation Festival at Boston Public Market, August 2017

So what’s the big deal about all of this gut health stuff? And why does what we eat have such an influence on gut health? Well, basically, your gut microbiota is the community of microbes that lives in your intestines, and plays a role in your metabolism and immune function. It also influences aspects of moods and behavior, too.

When this ecosystem of microbes is disturbed (such as through a diet high in refined carbohydrates & processed food; overuse of antibiotics; or chronic stress), there are consequences for our health. It’s critical to keep those gut microbes happy by feeding them! And what do they love to eat? Dietary fiber. If you’re not eating dietary fiber, thenthose gut microbes starve and die, leaving your gut without those healthy microbes. Many plant foods are rich in dietary fiber, and consuming them is a great way to sustain the good microbes in your intestine. In addition, consuming fermented foods such as kraut, kimchi, and kefir help to establish active, healthy microbes in your intestine. Fermented foods have been consumed throughout human history, and are a rich source of healthy microbes that will nourish your gut health.

Want to know more? Check out these great resources:

Want to look good? Focus on feeling good, first.

By Jen

At the start of every season, it seems that the diet-selling hucksters of the world promise all sorts of quick-fix magic to help you get a beach body/bikini body, etc. in just a few weeks (BTW, if you *have* a body, you’ve already met the requirement for a “beach body”😚). If you’re looking to get leaner and improve your health, it can be done without deprivation, hunger, and cravings, and it’s a sustainable way of eating *for life*. No need to buy any special products or gimmicks, either.

The fabulous thing is, focusing on your health by eating REAL (minimally refined) food is perhaps the most effective way to get lean. Eat REAL food, in a balance of protein, fat, and slow carbs, and your body and mind will feel REAL good. As a bonus, your good health will make you look REAL good.

Check out the research for yourself: Science Compared Every Diet, and the Winner Is REAL FOOD