Cravings what's the deal?

green022
green022 Posts: 115
in Food and Nutrition
I have been craving tons of things lately. Chocolate like crazy, salty food, ranch dressing, fried food :/ For four months I have been eating clean with a mini cheat day once a week (like ranch instead of fat free balsamic dressing) with no issues until now. I still tell myself I don't need them BUT i'm not sure why this is starting all of the sudden. Anyone have some pointers or advice ?

Replies

  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
    my wife constantly got cravings for steak and citrus fruits during her pregnancy, which was a good thing as that's a signal she may have been iron deficient.

    Those cravings just sound like you like food with less than desirable nutrient content.
  • Shas2228
    Shas2228 Posts: 187
    I crave pizza from time to time. So I'll eat a Lean Cuisine or Smart Choice meal that's got marinara sauce in it. I'm not sure why the cravings are there, maybe just because our brain remembers how awesome they taste lol.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    I have been craving tons of things lately. Chocolate like crazy, salty food, ranch dressing, fried food :/ For four months I have been eating clean with a mini cheat day once a week (like ranch instead of fat free balsamic dressing) with no issues until now. I still tell myself I don't need them BUT i'm not sure why this is starting all of the sudden. Anyone have some pointers or advice ?

    Your diary is locked so it's difficult to know what the issue might be. Perhaps you have been eating too far under your TDEE or not getting a balance of all the nutrients you need for health and your body is rebelling. One person's eating clean is another person's restrictive or deficient diet.

    Maybe go back to basics, recalculate your TDEE, run through your diary and count number of servings in each food group - oily fish and other complete proteins, dairy, fruits and veggies, mineral/ fibre rich foods (nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, wholegrains, cocoa), healthy fats (nuts, seeds, oily fish, cocoa, avocado, olives) and so on.

    If you are exercising frequently and/ or intensively take a break or have an easy week and let your body refuel and repair. Remember that when exercising the body needs more of every nutrient and this can be double that of a sedentary person, you lose various minerals in sweat not just sodium.

    ETA looking at past posts you have been training twice a day on just 800 calories - your poor body is likely in a state of stress, it can't tell that there is no famine and you absolutely cannot get all the nutrients your body needs to fuel that much training in so little calories. You were already advised this, no idea why you chose to disregard it.
  • Shas2228
    Shas2228 Posts: 187
    For your chocolate cravings, eat sugar free chocolate pudding or even invest in some fiber one 90 calorie brownie bars. For your salty cravings, eat some pretzels or special k chips. I'm not entirely sure how to curb the fried craving so perhaps a couple skinless boneless chicken breast tenders and some light ranch (That might help) Whenever I have an insane craving I work around it.
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
    I have been craving tons of things lately. Chocolate like crazy, salty food, ranch dressing, fried food :/ For four months I have been eating clean with a mini cheat day once a week (like ranch instead of fat free balsamic dressing) with no issues until now. I still tell myself I don't need them BUT i'm not sure why this is starting all of the sudden. Anyone have some pointers or advice ?

    Your diary is locked so it's difficult to know what the issue might be. Perhaps you have been eating too far under your TDEE or not getting a balance of all the nutrients you need for health and your body is rebelling. One person's eating clean is another person's restrictive or deficient diet.

    Maybe go back to basics, recalculate your TDEE, run through your diary and count number of servings in each food group - oily fish and other complete proteins, dairy, fruits and veggies, mineral/ fibre rich foods (nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, wholegrains, cocoa), healthy fats (nuts, seeds, oily fish, cocoa, avocado, olives) and so on.

    If you are exercising frequently and/ or intensively take a break or have an easy week and let your body refuel and repair. Remember that when exercising the body needs more of every nutrient and this can be double that of a sedentary person, you lose various minerals in sweat not just sodium.

    ^^^^ this

    cravings can indicate a nutritional deficiency. It's a survival instinct. The body craves what it needs. If you're deficient in fat, you crave fatty foods. If you're not getting enough carbs you crave sweet things, etc. A lot of people blame cravings on psychology (which it can be in some cases) when actually they're simply not getting enough nutrition.
  • green022
    green022 Posts: 115
    my wife constantly got cravings for steak and citrus fruits during her pregnancy, which was a good thing as that's a signal she may have been iron deficient.

    Those cravings just sound like you like food with less than desirable nutrient content.



    Yes I do like those foods but I really like my healthy food as well. I'm trying to say that I have not wanted these foods in a long time and cannot understand why I want them now??
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    Cravings also happen from restriction and is usually the main reason why diets fail.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • green022
    green022 Posts: 115
    I have been craving tons of things lately. Chocolate like crazy, salty food, ranch dressing, fried food :/ For four months I have been eating clean with a mini cheat day once a week (like ranch instead of fat free balsamic dressing) with no issues until now. I still tell myself I don't need them BUT i'm not sure why this is starting all of the sudden. Anyone have some pointers or advice ?

    Your diary is locked so it's difficult to know what the issue might be. Perhaps you have been eating too far under your TDEE or not getting a balance of all the nutrients you need for health and your body is rebelling. One person's eating clean is another person's restrictive or deficient diet.

    Maybe go back to basics, recalculate your TDEE, run through your diary and count number of servings in each food group - oily fish and other complete proteins, dairy, fruits and veggies, mineral/ fibre rich foods (nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, wholegrains, cocoa), healthy fats (nuts, seeds, oily fish, cocoa, avocado, olives) and so on.

    If you are exercising frequently and/ or intensively take a break or have an easy week and let your body refuel and repair. Remember that when exercising the body needs more of every nutrient and this can be double that of a sedentary person, you lose various minerals in sweat not just sodium.

    ETA looking at past posts you have been training twice a day on just 800 calories - your poor body is likely in a state of stress, it can't tell that there is no famine and you absolutely cannot get all the nutrients your body needs to fuel that much training in so little calories. You were already advised this, no idea why you chose to disregard it.

    I have since uped my calorie intake and eat more protien and my diary is unlocked now. It is really hard to know what to do when there are so many Right and Wrong ways to it. Some say its right some say its wrong i'm confused
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    Notice what you eat before the craving starts. Sometimes one food can trigger cravings for other foods, or at least that is the case with me.

    The other thing that triggers cravings is not eating enough, as someone already mentioned.
  • kirstyfairhead
    kirstyfairhead Posts: 220 Member
    Assuming you aren't pregnant??? cravings will generally be signalling a deficiency somewhere so I would double check to see if you're missing anything in your diet. It won't necessarily mean that craving chocolate means you are lacking sugar, sometimes the relationship between what we need and what we want is a bit odd.

    If you can't find anything then I would push through for a few weeks and see if it disappears naturally. If not then maybe consult a dietician.

    If you are only eating 800 cals as another post has mentioned then your answer is right there, you're deficiency is FOOD!!
  • green022
    green022 Posts: 115
    Assuming you aren't pregnant??? cravings will generally be signalling a deficiency somewhere so I would double check to see if you're missing anything in your diet. It won't necessarily mean that craving chocolate means you are lacking sugar, sometimes the relationship between what we need and what we want is a bit odd.

    If you can't find anything then I would push through for a few weeks and see if it disappears naturally. If not then maybe consult a dietician.

    If you are only eating 800 cals as another post has mentioned then your answer is right there, you're deficiency is FOOD!!

    As mentioned I have since uped my calories a good bit.....

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