Food Cravings

A food craving is not the same thing as hunger.

Hunger is your body asking to be fed. Hunger will accept almost any food. A craving wants one specific food. A craving is a clue that something other than plain hunger may be going on.

What I learned from my own cravings

There was a time when my body was malnourished. During that time, I craved flavors. My body was not getting the nourishment it required, and the cravings showed up as wanting specific tastes and experiences rather than food that would actually nourish me.

Why your body might have food cravings

Blood sugar is the sugar, mainly glucose, carried in your blood to fuel your cells. A meal heavy in refined carbohydrate, like white bread, sweets, or soda, raises blood sugar quickly and then lets blood sugar drop. That drop can feel like a need for quick energy, which can bring a craving for something sweet or starchy again. Meals with fiber, protein, and fat raise blood sugar more slowly and keep blood sugar steadier.

Not getting enough sleep can cause cravings. A hormone is a chemical messenger your body uses to send signals. When you regularly sleep too little, your body makes more of a hormone that signals hunger and less of a hormone that signals fullness. So getting enough sleep can decrease cravings for high-energy food.

Shifts in hormones during a menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause are also linked to cravings.

Stress can cause cravings for food. When you feel stressed, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. Stress that continues day after day tends to increase your desire to eat. That desire can pull you toward food high in sugar and fat. Sugar and fat give the body quick energy for handling stress, and those foods trigger the brain's reward chemicals, which bring a feeling of relief. Because the body really does feel calmer for a while, the brain learns to reach for those foods again.

The stress, though, comes from something other than food. Noticing your stress, and then moving your body, breathing slowly, or spending time outside, can help calm the body's response to stress without using food as relief. If you are hungry and have stress, eat to nourish your body. If you are stressed, care for the stress.

Thirst can feel like a hunger craving. Mild thirst often feels like tiredness or low energy, and those feelings are easy to read as hunger. Drinking water first and waiting about 15 minutes can show whether the craving was really thirst.

Why you might have habit-formed food cravings

Some cravings come from habit rather than from what your body needs.

Many processed foods provide strong flavors but few nutrients. Foods high in sugar, fat, and salt together give the brain a feeling of reward. The brain remembers that reward and wants those flavors again, even while the body is not being nourished. Eating those foods again and again builds a strong habit.

Sugar is in so much of what people eat and drink that wanting something sweet can become a habit too. Sitting at an event recently, I noticed cases of soda stacked in front of me and people walking by with soda in their hands. I noticed how often a sweet drink is the first thing people reach for, rather than water or a piece of fruit, which would hydrate the body and give nutrients.

Food is also tied to time with family and friends. Many gatherings center on food and drinks as the entertainment. Over time, getting together with people and eating become linked, so the desire to eat, and to eat certain foods, like holiday foods, arrives with the gathering.

Boredom, sadness, and loneliness can bring cravings too, often for comfort foods. Comfort food gives a feeling of satisfaction that does not last, and reaching for comfort food again and again can turn into a habit.

Because cravings come from so many places, I find it helpful to notice why I am eating. Am I eating to nourish my body? Or am I eating because eating feels like something to do, or because I want a specific taste?

Curious, not judging

A craving is not a sign of weakness. A craving is usually your body or your brain responding to something, even when that something is not a need for food.

Understanding your craving matters more than trying to resist it.

You are welcome to get curious about your cravings instead of judging them.

Stacy 🌺

Information in this post comes from my learning and research.

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I share my experiences and my perspective. Eating and healing look different for everyone. If you are struggling with food or your relationship with your body, please find support. You don’t have to do this alone.