Whole30: Day 7

Week one down! Gone! Complete! We're a fourth of the way through, y'all!

I hadn't struggled with any cravings until last night. While watching the Redskins and Seahawks duke it out on the field, my taste buds started tingling for some pizza (Thanks, Domino's commercial). Minutes later I was craving something sweet. Anything sweet. Now, some nutrition experts say you should give in to a craving with moderation because the longer you resist the more you'll set yourself up to binge the desired food. Others, like the creators of the Whole30, say to resist the craving, especially if it's a sugar craving. I could have eaten some fruit to satisfy my sweet craving, and that would have been allowed, but instead I had some steak.

I must note that I was not at all physically hungry. This was purely an emotional hunger craving. Ideally, I wouldn't have eaten anything. I would have drank a glass of water and found something to distract me. I didn't exactly listen to my body and honor what I heard, but I don't consider this a failure. At least I identified that this craving was emotional hunger and a need to chew and feel my belly full. I chose eating protein instead of sugar. I consider this a success.

Remember that progress in baby steps is still progress. You are still moving forward to a better, healthier you. We can't change our habits and our relationship with food overnight. It takes time. That's why we're doing this challenge for 30 days. If you've slipped up, if you're dying for chocolate, if you're eating spoonfuls of almond butter because you need something soothing, don't beat yourself up. Acknowledge how you feel and the reasons you're struggling or why you're eating if you're not hungry, and then learn from that. Use it to prepare yourself for the next time your emotional hunger and cravings appear.

Anyway, back to the two schools of thought on cravings. It is very tempting to go ahead and eat a piece of fruit if you're craving something sweet. However, it could work against us. Say you're nice and full from a delicious dinner, but you still want something sweet for dessert. You don't want it because you're still hungry. You want it because it's habit, it's a treat, it's what you grew up doing and have done for the last several years. There's nothing wrong with dessert or even having some fruit after dinner, but take a moment to evaluate why you're eating it. The purpose of the Whole30 is to evaluate and change our habits with food.

Another purpose is that we're changing our bodies from burning carbs (carb adapted) for fuel to burning fat (fat adapted) instead. As a carb adapted burner you might notice you feel like this:
You're on an energy roller coaster; "needing" to eat every two hours; cranky when you're hungry' regular cravings for sweets and caffeine; dysfunctional hormonal response to food. That described me to a T. Fat adapted burners instead experience even energy throughout the day; no need to eat between meals; no crankiness or raging hunger; reduced cravings for sweets and caffeine; improved body composition and hormonal response to food. If you're eating lots of fruit or other carbs, your body is not going to fully switch to being fat adapted. This is why we cut out all the grains, beans, and legumes. Sugar is also highly addictive. We've cut out all processed junk and sugars so that we can slay our reliance on sugar. If you satisfy your craving with something sweet, you might not break your psychological and physical need for it. It Starts with Food explains these concepts far better than I can. It's worth checking out.

My thoughts are kind of jumbled. I'm not good at dishing on all the science-y stuff. I understand it, but trying to relay it to others is another matter. I guess my overall point is that if you're struggling with cravings right now, I'm right there with you. Chocolate would really hit the spot right now. Instead let's take advantage of an opportunity to learn why we're craving things and whether the hunger is physical or emotional. Grab a pen and journal whatever you discover. We're not just working on our physical health. Our emotional health is changing, too.

Cheers to our first week. Number two, here we go!