When it comes to cravings, most of the women I work with tell me that they feel out of control around their problematic foods or beverages, and once they start, they just can’t stop.
This used to be true for me as well. I was pretty much living the tagline of the Lay’s potato chip commercial… “Bet you can’t eat just one.”
I would start each day determined to “be good” and not eat the junky stuff, but trying to use my ‘willpower’ never worked. I still had cravings for chips or popcorn or cookies or chocolate. And I would convince myself that if I could just have one cookie or a couple of chips, I would be fine.
But I wasn’t.
Why Do We Have Cravings?
The answer to this question lies in a blend of physiology, psychology and emotions that goes way beyond willpower.
The physiology is simple. Junky foods are loaded with ingredients that spike your serotonin and dopamine levels. These are the “feel good” brain chemicals that make you feel happy, calm, and rewarded. And once we start eating them, it’s hard to stop.
So why do we start eating these foods in the first place? Wouldn’t it be easier to just say ‘no’?
The problem is that psychologically and emotionally we’ve been hard-wired to use food to feel better.
Starting at a very young age, most of us learned that food made us feel better or was used as a reward.
Maybe you got a sucker at the doctor for being good. Perhaps the teacher gave out treats for completed homework. Maybe you got dessert if you ate all your dinner. Or you were offered cookies if you had a bad day.
But for many of the women I work with, the need to use food to comfort and soothe runs much deeper than this.
How Childhood Experiences Contribute to Cravings and Emotional Eating
Many of the women I work with have a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
ACEs include things like:
Not having your emotional or physical needs met as a child
Any type of abuse – emotional, physical, or sexual
Drugs, alcohol, or violence in the home
Other types of family dysfunction
Growing up with ACEs increase your stress hormones and affects the way your brain develops. When you’re living in a chronic state of chaos, your body is often in fight-or-flight mode.
Using food to comfort and nurture becomes a way to cope. And for women who have experienced sexual trauma, extra weight often serves to protect them and keep them safe.
I remember a patient who was referred to me by her doctor for weight loss and diabetes education. She told me she was addicted to Pepsi, and she didn’t feel like she could give that up. Her doctor wanted me to counsel her on the evils of all that sugar. Instead of giving her a lecture about what she should and shouldn’t eat (she already knew that), we talked about her childhood. She had a history of sexual abuse and alcoholism in the home, and she wasn’t supported and nurtured as a child. She ate to comfort, soothe, and tranquilize her emotions.
She cried when I explained how ACEs affect our physical, mental, and emotional health. They also increase the risk of being overweight and obese because food becomes a coping mechanism. But she was greatly relieved because nobody had ever helped her make the connection between her childhood traumas and her food and weight issues.
I’m very happy to share that by working with me to address the emotional issues behind her cravings, she was able to stop her cravings and emotional eating, lower her blood sugars, and permanently release over 45 pounds. As a “bonus” she also learned to love herself and truly be happy with her life.
Resolving WHY We Have Cravings and Emotional Eating Is the KEY for Weight Loss
As a Registered Dietitian, I could put my clients on a diet for weight loss. But I don’t. Because diets don’t work. If you’re using food as a coping tool, taking it away doesn’t fix the problem. In fact, it usually makes things worse.
Instead, I teach the women I work with how to use advanced energy-healing techniques to resolve the issues at the core of their cravings and emotional eating, and how to feel safe in their bodies, so they can stop using food to cope. If you would like to learn how to do this for yourself, my free class can help. Click here to watch it now and be sure to let me know if you have any questions!
Also read, 4 Steps for Managing Food Cravings While Eating What You Love.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
For how long have you been dieting? What results have you had thus far? Have you considered that your weight gain may have a different culprit?