Cravings: Are they real or an excuse?

okay apparently know body gets there period or PMS right? oh those chocolate cravings are real... and i will work out to get it!

okay apparently know body gets there period or PMS right? oh those chocolate cravings are real... and i will work out to get it!

Did you know that actually could be a zinc deficiency!

I've heard cravings are your body's way of telling you there is a nutrient your body needs. But, the foods some people eat that might be the only food with enough of the nutrient in it.

I flat out CRAVE I mean get very GROUCHY if I'm craving turkey and there is no turkey. They also say people with iron deficiency's crave things like greens and chicken livers and things like that when their iron is low. And I know for a fact from my boyfriends mom who has an iron deficiency that is true. So, I don't know. I know that I will crave something for days and days I wake up craving it and that doesn't seem like an excuse to me. I crave something when I first wake up before I have time to think about what I want or don't want to eat. So, I believe they are real. You wouldn't want to be in my house if I'm craving thin shaved turkey! My boyfriend would say they are real. lol. But, I usually only crave healthy stuff so idk.

Both. The body responds to food like it does to cocaine.

This has been demonstrated under PET and CAT scans time and again. Wheat, coca cola, and many types or refined carbs light up the same portions of the brain as cocaine, and often to a greater degree.

So cravings? Oh I would say LIKELY.

On a side note, adding glutamine to a diet if low in carbs does a great job curbing carb cravings as it directly nourishes those same parts of your brain.

I get real cravings. Sometimes I even crave stuff I don't actually like, like pizza (hate tomatoes and tomato based products... Also hate grease). That said, my actions in response are my own. I don't blame a craving for making me do anything... I indulged or I didn't and that was my choice. No excuses, no guilt.

I crave coffee... if that counts?

I think both. I've had intense cravings for ice before, and it was really difficult to ignore. In that case, it was anemia (I don't know why the body chooses ice instead of, say, liver and onions, but it does). And oh goodness it felt so good to eat it, you have no idea.

When I have cravings now for food they're not nearly so intense and I can usually find a decent substitute. When I don't (like the darn Cheetos I ate today), I'll admit I shouldn't have given in. And of course it's never as good as I expect it to be anyway.

ETA: forgot to mention the crazy cravings I had for meat... this was also when I was anemic but at least meat has iron, it made some sense! And the craving for ice was much more intense than the meat craving.