Horrible Cravings? What they mean.

sugarlemonpie

The idea of the body needing specific nutrients is pretty well supported. Have you never heard that you may think you're hungry, and your body is telling you to eat, but in actuality you are dehydrated?

I'm surprised by the ignorance of some people jumping to conclusions about their personal health and not being open to ideas that are backed by science.

Sure, I saw it on Lauren Conrad's site, but that doesn't mean they didn't reference other places that, I dunno, did research and have supported evidence? It doesn't automatically mean you have to discount it. Now if I posted something from The Onion, that would be one thing.

I guess My Fitness Pal is just full of a lot of trolls or people who think they know it all.

I'm far from a troll. I commented on it because at some point we all have to learn to eat our favorite craving foods in moderation. People fear eating chocolate or pizza or chips because they are "taboo" on a diet. They should start developing habits that they can continue long after they are done with their "diet". That's learning how to make weight loss sustainable.

Also, sometimes when you crave something there's no biological need behind it. Sometimes it just tastes good and you want some. If you have a well balanced diet you should be able to fill all your macro and micro nutrient needs.

This is true, but I think at the same time people don't know how to eat a balanced diet and eat junk all day, just smaller portions of it. You have to have a sustainable diet for long term success in weight loss, but it seems like people can just go all out crazy randomly without understanding why they had to have whatever it was. I do think there is a difference between a 'craving' and someone just wanting to have a cookie. If it fits into calories, go for it! But sometimes there is an underlying meaning behind it biologically. Just like a vitamin deficiency and the doctor telling you to take more Vitamin C or something.

sugarlemonpie

Sorry, I thought it could be helpful to someone since I saw so many things about cravings and binge eating. If people don't have nice things to say that are supportive to others, can you please not say anything at all? If you don't agree, that's fine, but making snarky comments about things people put up on a forum that should be supportive isn't very nice.

So only people that agree with you can post?

Feel free to post your opinions on the matter, but please be constructive and don't just bash the OP. It's about being considerate of others, I can find a new source if that's the matter. I understand where others are coming from in regards to moderation, and I agree with it. I practice that myself, and think a lot of people here do as well. If you don't agree with the post, that's fine too. Whatever works for you on your journey.

sugarlemonpie

If you are craving salt, you could also just need more sodium. Add some table salt (I'm not sure why the recommend you avoid it if you are craving it - duh) to your diet and you get the Cl part of the NaCl equation as well. (MFP's can be treated as a bare minimum if you are INACTIVE and never SWEAT).

Thanks for posting OP. I know you were trying to be helpful, and sometimes cravings really do mean nutritional deficiencies. :flowerforyou:

You know, I'm not sure about that! I looked it up at other places, and it did say to include salt! So I'll have to do some research on that.

Thanks for that, as well. I appreciate it, I didn't realize I might be putting up something controversial.

HerkMeOff

Sorry, I thought it could be helpful to someone since I saw so many things about cravings and binge eating. If people don't have nice things to say that are supportive to others, can you please not say anything at all? If you don't agree, that's fine, but making snarky comments about things people put up on a forum that should be supportive isn't very nice.

So only people that agree with you can post?

Feel free to post your opinions on the matter, but please be constructive and don't just bash the OP. It's about being considerate of others, I can find a new source if that's the matter. I understand where others are coming from in regards to moderation, and I agree with it. I practice that myself, and think a lot of people here do as well. If you don't agree with the post, that's fine too. Whatever works for you on your journey.

No one bashed you.

FireOpalCO

I think it's an interesting list. If the blog author was here I would have several questions for her.

Craving: Sweets. You need chromium, carbon phosphorous, sulfur, and tryptophan. Or you need sleep.
Eat: Fresh fruit, cheese and sweet potatoes when you have a sweet tooth. Evaluate how much you’re sleeping lately if you find yourself wanting sweets. Instead of heading for the chocolate cake, take a nap if you can. Or, go for a walk to boost your energy levels.

1. Why does sweet get five different response? How am I supposed to tell which one?

Craving: Carbs. You need nitrogen.
Eat: High-protein foods like fish, meat, nuts, and beans. You might also be craving carbs because you’re trying to cut them out of you diet completely.

Why isn't "low blood sugar" an option here? What's the science behind it being nitrogen?

Craving: Junk! Fries, soda, pizza. You need calcium.
Eat: Dairy, green leafy vegetables, soy.

I've never met a food group called "junk". These are very disparate foods. See I would put soda under "sweet". Fries under "carbs" and pizza probably under "fatty". I sincerely argue that when I am getting 200% of my daily calcium that my craving a Mexican Coke has noything to do with a calcium deficiency. In reality it has to do with "it's hot and I need water" or "I associate this flavor with this other food I'm about to have" (like a rare buffalo burger with sharp cheddar cheese, mmm).

Craving: Caffeine. You need salt and iron.
Eat: Lean meats, eggs, and black cherries. Craving caffeine can also mean you’re actually just really thirsty or dehydrated, according to Huffington Post.

I'm not sure why this doesn't also have the response "you need sleep". I've honestly never craved coffee because I was dehydrated. About to have my head hit my monitor while working, sure, thirsty, no.

Craving: Salty foods. You need chloride.
Eat: Seaweed, rye, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, and olives. Avoid table salt and overly salty foods.

I've honestly never heard of anyone having a chloride deficiency. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I've never come across it. I think it's more likely that a person needs to continue resetting their palate, or are associating food A with food B and are noticing its absence (or similarly associating a food with an activity, like chips with a football game).

SugaryLynx

Sorry, I thought it could be helpful to someone since I saw so many things about cravings and binge eating. If people don't have nice things to say that are supportive to others, can you please not say anything at all? If you don't agree, that's fine, but making snarky comments about things people put up on a forum that should be supportive isn't very nice.

So only people that agree with you can post?

Feel free to post your opinions on the matter, but please be constructive and don't just bash the OP. It's about being considerate of others, I can find a new source if that's the matter. I understand where others are coming from in regards to moderation, and I agree with it. I practice that myself, and think a lot of people here do as well. If you don't agree with the post, that's fine too. Whatever works for you on your journey.

My journey involves gifs... I no can has?

asia1967

I'm a newbie here, and I did appreciate the post. I hope I'm intelligent enough to read an article posted and do some homework of my own and come to my own conclusions. I assumed that when this was posted it was for general info to people who may not be in the know about nutrients and was hoping it would be something to keep in mind. That being said I have had a sweet tooth and ate a piece of cheese and it did seem to do the trick.

So thanks.

Calliope610

The idea of the body needing specific nutrients is pretty well supported. Have you never heard that you may think you're hungry, and your body is telling you to eat, but in actuality you are dehydrated?

I'm surprised by the ignorance of some people jumping to conclusions about their personal health and not being open to ideas that are backed by science.

Sure, I saw it on Lauren Conrad's site, but that doesn't mean they didn't reference other places that, I dunno, did research and have supported evidence? It doesn't automatically mean you have to discount it. Now if I posted something from The Onion, that would be one thing.

I guess My Fitness Pal is just full of a lot of trolls or people who think they know it all.

What nutrient is missing if you find that you are hyper sensitive to people disagreeing with you?

Lithium.

LOL +1000

seashel812

I think if I was deficient in something I would crave something with actual nutritional value like broccoli. The things I crave have no nutritional value whatsoever they just taste good.

williams969

Don't sabotage yourself by binge eating! Sometimes a craving means your body really needs a certain vitamin or mineral. Here's a list of some cravings and what they mean for your body's health.


Craving: Carbs. You need nitrogen.
Eat: High-protein foods like fish, meat, nuts, and beans. You might also be craving carbs because you’re trying to cut them out of you diet completely.

Craving: Junk! Fries, soda, pizza. You need calcium.
Eat: Dairy, green leafy vegetables, soy.

Craving: Caffeine. You need salt and iron.
Eat: Lean meats, eggs, and black cherries. Craving caffeine can also mean you’re actually just really thirsty or dehydrated, according to Huffington Post.

Craving: Salty foods. You need chloride.
Eat: Seaweed, rye, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, and olives. Avoid table salt and overly salty foods.

I call shenanigans! If I crave carbs, I probably need some carbs (I usually am a little under on those, lol). And if I crave caffeine, I need salt (and apparently good), it couldn't possibly be because I need a little wakeup or a boost of energy? But if I crave salt (apparently "bad", and contradictory), I "need" something else? Pfft. Like I said, shenanigans, malarkey, and pure hokum! (Respectfully toward the source of the article, not you, OP). Sometimes cravings can be accurate (and PS--MFP phone app praised me for reaching my fiber goal with my gas station pizza slice, lol too funny).

sugarlemonpie

I think it's an interesting list. If the blog author was here I would have several questions for her.

Craving: Sweets. You need chromium, carbon phosphorous, sulfur, and tryptophan. Or you need sleep.
Eat: Fresh fruit, cheese and sweet potatoes when you have a sweet tooth. Evaluate how much you’re sleeping lately if you find yourself wanting sweets. Instead of heading for the chocolate cake, take a nap if you can. Or, go for a walk to boost your energy levels.

1. Why does sweet get five different response? How am I supposed to tell which one?

Craving: Carbs. You need nitrogen.
Eat: High-protein foods like fish, meat, nuts, and beans. You might also be craving carbs because you’re trying to cut them out of you diet completely.

Why isn't "low blood sugar" an option here? What's the science behind it being nitrogen?

Craving: Junk! Fries, soda, pizza. You need calcium.
Eat: Dairy, green leafy vegetables, soy.

I've never met a food group called "junk". These are very disparate foods. See I would put soda under "sweet". Fries under "carbs" and pizza probably under "fatty". I sincerely argue that when I am getting 200% of my daily calcium that my craving a Mexican Coke has noything to do with a calcium deficiency. In reality it has to do with "it's hot and I need water" or "I associate this flavor with this other food I'm about to have" (like a rare buffalo burger with sharp cheddar cheese, mmm).

Craving: Caffeine. You need salt and iron.
Eat: Lean meats, eggs, and black cherries. Craving caffeine can also mean you’re actually just really thirsty or dehydrated, according to Huffington Post.

I'm not sure why this doesn't also have the response "you need sleep". I've honestly never craved coffee because I was dehydrated. About to have my head hit my monitor while working, sure, thirsty, no.

Craving: Salty foods. You need chloride.
Eat: Seaweed, rye, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, and olives. Avoid table salt and overly salty foods.

I've honestly never heard of anyone having a chloride deficiency. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I've never come across it. I think it's more likely that a person needs to continue resetting their palate, or are associating food A with food B and are noticing its absence (or similarly associating a food with an activity, like chips with a football game).

Thanks for the thought out response! You know, as I was typing it up I was curious about the caffeine one. Typically when I need coffee, I need a pick me up because I'm tired. And I just like coffee lol. This all makes a lot of sense, I definitely need to look into this a bit more and see why some of these are grouped together certain ways. Also, I typically crave sweet carbs, not just any carb. So I wonder if that's its own category and what I might need... Usually the answer is fruit. lol

kgeyser

I think it's an interesting list. If the blog author was here I would have several questions for her.

<snip>

If the blog author was here, you'd get this response.

sugarlemonpie

I'm a newbie here, and I did appreciate the post. I hope I'm intelligent enough to read an article posted and do some homework of my own and come to my own conclusions. I assumed that when this was posted it was for general info to people who may not be in the know about nutrients and was hoping it would be something to keep in mind. That being said I have had a sweet tooth and ate a piece of cheese and it did seem to do the trick.

So thanks.

Glad it helped! It's just something I found that I thought might spark some interest in people and get them thinking about food in a different light (It's fuel, not an obstacle or something to make you nervous!). It's also good to know about your vitamins and minerals and where to get what. The reports tab has been my best friend, you can see how much nutrients you get in your food each day. Just thought it might make some of you curious.

sugarlemonpie

I think it's an interesting list. If the blog author was here I would have several questions for her.

<snip>

If the blog author was here, you'd get this response.

Lol I don't think it was her that wrote it, probably someone who works for her. So this makes it even better.

Aaron_K123

I was unware that chloride itself was an important nutrient. I always just assumed chloride was just the salt anion of choice to important cations like potassium and sodium.

Sodium is important but if you are getting sodium then you are getting equal parts chloride. Same with potassium. I think it would be pretty impossible to not get a metric *kitten*-ton of chloride in your diet. By metric *kitten*-ton I mean like 5 grams.

vjohn04

The idea of the body needing specific nutrients is pretty well supported. Have you never heard that you may think you're hungry, and your body is telling you to eat, but in actuality you are dehydrated?

I'm surprised by the ignorance of some people jumping to conclusions about their personal health and not being open to ideas that are backed by science.

Sure, I saw it on Lauren Conrad's site, but that doesn't mean they didn't reference other places that, I dunno, did research and have supported evidence? It doesn't automatically mean you have to discount it. Now if I posted something from The Onion, that would be one thing.

I guess My Fitness Pal is just full of a lot of trolls or people who think they know it all.

lol

aledba

Don't sabotage yourself by binge eating! Sometimes a craving means your body really needs a certain vitamin or mineral. Here's a list of some cravings and what they mean for your body's health.

This is just a list to make you think about your overall nutritional balance. Sometimes cravings are brought on by deficiencies in something. This isn't 100% accurate, I haven't looked deeply enough into it, but it's something to get you started and make you curious!

Use your Reports tab to look up how well you're doing with different vitamins and minerals each day as well.



Craving: Sweets. You need chromium, carbon phosphorous, sulfur, and tryptophan. Or you need sleep.
Eat: Fresh fruit, cheese and sweet potatoes when you have a sweet tooth. Evaluate how much you’re sleeping lately if you find yourself wanting sweets. Instead of heading for the chocolate cake, take a nap if you can. Or, go for a walk to boost your energy levels.

Craving: Carbs. You need nitrogen.
Eat: High-protein foods like fish, meat, nuts, and beans. You might also be craving carbs because you’re trying to cut them out of you diet completely.

Craving: Junk! Fries, soda, pizza. You need calcium.
Eat: Dairy, green leafy vegetables, soy.

Craving: Caffeine. You need salt and iron.
Eat: Lean meats, eggs, and black cherries. Craving caffeine can also mean you’re actually just really thirsty or dehydrated, according to Huffington Post.

Craving: Salty foods. You need chloride.
Eat: Seaweed, rye, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, and olives. Avoid table salt and overly salty foods.

Hope that helps someone, this is just a list I saw and it might make you think twice about food next time.

All credit to: www.laurenconrad.com/blog/2013/07/foodie-facts-what-your-cravings-are-really-telling-you-healthy-eating-food-tips-lauren-conrad-july-2013/

Lauren Conrad? For serious? :laugh:

Aaron_K123

Lauren Conrad? For serious? :laugh:

I actually don't know who that is. Should I know who that is?

albayin

Don't sabotage yourself by binge eating! Sometimes a craving means your body really needs a certain vitamin or mineral. Here's a list of some cravings and what they mean for your body's health.

This is just a list to make you think about your overall nutritional balance. Sometimes cravings are brought on by deficiencies in something. This isn't 100% accurate, I haven't looked deeply enough into it, but it's something to get you started and make you curious!

Use your Reports tab to look up how well you're doing with different vitamins and minerals each day as well.



Craving: Sweets. You need chromium, carbon phosphorous, sulfur, and tryptophan. Or you need sleep.
Eat: Fresh fruit, cheese and sweet potatoes when you have a sweet tooth. Evaluate how much you’re sleeping lately if you find yourself wanting sweets. Instead of heading for the chocolate cake, take a nap if you can. Or, go for a walk to boost your energy levels.

Craving: Carbs. You need nitrogen.
Eat: High-protein foods like fish, meat, nuts, and beans. You might also be craving carbs because you’re trying to cut them out of you diet completely.

Craving: Junk! Fries, soda, pizza. You need calcium.
Eat: Dairy, green leafy vegetables, soy.

Craving: Caffeine. You need salt and iron.
Eat: Lean meats, eggs, and black cherries. Craving caffeine can also mean you’re actually just really thirsty or dehydrated, according to Huffington Post.

Craving: Salty foods. You need chloride.
Eat: Seaweed, rye, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, and olives. Avoid table salt and overly salty foods.

Hope that helps someone, this is just a list I saw and it might make you think twice about food next time.

All credit to: www.laurenconrad.com/blog/2013/07/foodie-facts-what-your-cravings-are-really-telling-you-healthy-eating-food-tips-lauren-conrad-july-2013/

Lauren Conrad? For serious? :laugh:

You just have to give credit to this self made famous for being...famous...

3dogsrunning

Lauren Conrad? For serious? :laugh:

I actually don't know who that is. Should I know who that is?

Only if you watch "reality" tv shows. I think she was on the OC or something like that.