We have been focusing on cravings this month and have mostly been looking at how to master our negative cravings. But how about creating positive cravings? Wouldn’t jonesing for exercise and broccoli be pretty good? Well, let’s explore how to do that, shall we?

TIPS TO CRAVE THE GOOD STUFF

A craving is a desire for something. The brain attaches the promise of reward to things it believes will make you happy. The interesting thing is that the actual having of the thing may not actually make us happy, but if the brain perceives that it will make you happy, it will send a simultaneous shot of dopamine and stress response through your body creating an agitation drive that compels you to fulfill the craving.

The good news is that we can get in the habit of positive cravings just like we get into negative cravings. I invite you to try a few of these tips this week to got your mind primed for some healthy living solutions.

1. CREATE A POSITIVE CRAVING: By pairing something...

In my practice, this is a time of year I often see people falling prey to excess sugar. There just seems to be more sugar around. Have you succumbed or have you remained masterful?

This week’s coaching is so short and sweet that hopefully it will be the replacement for any sugar craving you might get. It is also very effective for dodging that place called “physical craving” all together.

THE CRAVING ZONE: WHY WE FALL IN AND HOW WE GET OUT

In the research I have done, as well as in my clinical practice, there seems to be a sweet spot for staying in a zone - where our body feels nourished and our mind feels relatively free from the obsession for food - especially refined sugary and carb-based foods.

This zone is achieved by eating at least 50 grams of protein a day and keeping your carbohydrate intake under 150 grams per day.

Why?

Protein keeps your blood sugar stable.  Also, by eating over 50 grams a day, the amino acids that are present in the protein...

I was out weeding this week, getting more vegetable beds ready for new seeds in the backyard. I thought I had gotten all of the weeds out, but as I pulled harder, I realized there was a whole deeper circuitry of roots underneath the weeds I had pulled.

If I did not pull those roots up as well, the weeds would be back very quickly. So, I took a hoe and worked to dig deeper to get those roots out.  Now, the weeds can’t come back because the roots that would feed them are gone. Phew!

This week, I invite you to see that your cravings have a whole deeper root system to them as well. Have you ever noticed that once you relieve a food craving by giving into your desire, it often doesn’t satisfy that yearning feeling that you had hoped it would?

That is because most of our cravings have deeper origins and are actually an emotional or self care need that has nothing to do with food, but food has come to symbolically represent that need.

For instance - when I first moved to...

Welcome to April!

I have a case of Spring fever! Do you? I have been out weeding the vegetable garden in my backyard in my few minutes of free time and it feels so good to be out in the sunshine and to feel re-energized-and re-awakened.

This month, I want us to focus on Mastering Cravings. Cravings are a natural part of being a living being. However, when we routinely give in to cravings for refined foods, this craving can become a habit - and a huge obstacle to weight release.

This week, I want to keep it simple with an easy 5-step way to refocus our minds away from those pesky daily cravings, but still give ourselves a treat. There is a huge difference between giving in to a craving and giving ourselves a treat.

A 5-STEP SOLUTION TO RIDE THROUGH “CRAVINGS”

CRAVING definition: A powerful desire for something.

Along the paths of our daily lives, we have many thoughts that pass though our minds. Thousands upon thousands of thoughts pass through the wiring in our...