Earthlight Magazine / Books / Home
Copyright © 1996 by Doreen Virtue
All rights reserved. Inquiries should be addressed to
Twelve Star Publishing, P.O. Box 123, Jefferson, MD 21755
Earthlight Magazine / Books
/ Home
Copyright © 1996 by Doreen Virtue
All rights reserved. Inquiries should be addressed to
Twelve Star Publishing, P.O. Box 123, Jefferson, MD 21755
Condensed from Constant Craving: What Your Food Cravings Mean
and How to Overcome Them, Hay House, © 1995 by Doreen
Virtue. Available through Hay House Publishers (1-800-654-5126).
If you've struggled with weight and dieting, then you already
know how to lose weight better than anyone! Eat less fat and exercise
more -- it's not rocket science. Yet the reason why Americans
are heavier that ever is due to our overactive appetites. If we
weren't hungry all the time, there would be no weight problems.
You can reduce the power of your food cravings. By interpreting
why you are craving a particular food, and dealing with the underlying
need, your cravings will dissipate or disappear. You'll feel more
in control of your food choices. Instead of that box of cookies
commanding you to eat it, you'll feel free to eat one, two, or
no cookies.
Once you know how to interpret your food cravings, your urges
to overeat will never overwhelm you again.
Every part of you is perfect, whole and complete. Your appetite
is no exception. Food cravings and a voracious appetite don't
mean that something is wrong with you or that your are weak in
any way. Rather, they show that your appetite is operating exactly
as intended.
Your entire body's functioning, including your appetite, reflects
your inner state of being. Your appetite is designed like an airplane
instrument panel - to warn you when spiritual and emotional fuel
runs low. Hunger is a flashing red light signaling, "I need
more peace of mind!"
Animals put on extra weight in preparation for winter hibernation.
Humans who carry extra weight are in a spiritual hibernation,
asleep to their true potential. The weight serves as a hedge against
perceived dangers and lack, in a world that, in truth, is filled
with safety and abundance.
Not knowing this, you may have tried to kill your appetite with
external forces such as diets, powders or pills. As you discovered,
that approach didn't work for long. What is needed, instead, is
to heal your appetite using an internal approach.
Our gut is the center of our emotions. We feel fear, excitement,
anger and love in our midsection. You've probably had one of these
experiences: butterflies of excitement in your stomach; intuition
in the form of a "gut feeling"; knots in your stomach
when you felt anxious or afraid; nausea or a stomachache when
you were nervous; hunger when you were lonely, bored or stressed.
Our gut is the link between the intelligence of the universe and
our human experience. This inner voice encompasses a million years
of wisdom inherited from our cave-dwelling ancestors. It tells
us when a person is acting honorably, which career path to take,
what house to buy, which person to marry, and so on.
When we listen to our gut feelings, we're always rewarded with
peace of mind. But sometimes our gut's instructions seem frightening,
because they ask us to go beyond our comfortable boundaries, and
we mistakenly believe we will fail to fulfill our dreams. When
we feel frightened, we pour food down our gut to drown out our
inner voice.
Americans spend five billion dollars a year on chocolate. Ironically,
that is roughly how much money is spent on weight-loss methods.
Clearly we are a nation of chocoholics.
You may have heard that chocolate contains the same chemical that
the brain creates when we're feeling romantic love. This chemical,
phenylethylamine (pronounced fennel-ethel-a-meen) and abbreviated
as PEA, has the same properties whether found in chocolate or
in the brain.
PEA is so powerfully mood-altering that it used to be a prescribed
medication! Until the early 1980's, PEA was the main ingredient
in a pill called MDMA. Then it was declared an illegal drug, and
was taken off the market. Today, the same pill is sold on the
streets as "Ecstasy" or "X." With PEA as an
ingredient, its no wonder chocolate is so craved.
Chocolate cravings are based on unfulfilled desires for love.
Our serotonin and energy levels are drained by stress-filled days,
too-tight schedules, unhealthful eating, and lack of exercise.
We then turn to chocolate to feel better. Chocolate cravings can
be temporarily masked by drinking ginger ale, pekoe tea, soy milk,
diet soda, or coffee - -beverages that contain less of the same
stimulating properties as chocolate. But the only lasting cure
for chocolate cravings comes from inside. This means fulfilling
your need for love by treating yourself like you are the most
special person in the world (which you are)!
Anytime you start to feel unloved, go into a quiet space and completely
focus on your gut. Look for the slightest inkling of a butterfly
in your stomach: the feeling that you're about to open a wonderful
present or you've just won the lottery. Consciously expand that
feeling, as if you are riding the butterfly feeling up into the
air. Soon, your heart will feel soft and warm. You will feel the
identical feelings to being newly in love. This is what you are
trying to reproduce by eating chocolate.
As infants, we all craved and consumed a great deal of milk.
Some researchers believe that our earliest cravings for milk are,
in reality, a craving for the sweet lactose that is found in this
dairy product.
But there are other properties of dairy products even more powerful
that their inherently sweet taste. When you break down the ingredients
of milk-based products, you find an over-the-counter antidepressant
- no prescription necessary!
Resentment and frustration, if ignored, eventually mutate into
depression. To relieve depression, center yourself before eating.
Give your gut feelings a chance to be heard above the din. Before
picking up your fork, lower your eyes, take a breath, go inward
and say grace in your own way. Your body will relax, and your
inner voice will reward you with valuable guidance and inspired
information.
These other strategies also help relieve depression. Eat a nutritionally
balanced diet. Exercise. Do grief work. Get professional help
if necessary.
Stressful eaters crave crispy snack foods such as potato chips,
popcorn and crackers. The crunchy textures provide a cathartic
outlet for all the tension held in the jaw. Like pounding a punching
bag, we take our tensions and anger out on every crispy bite.
When those frustrating cravings urge you to eat chips, crackers,
popcorn or pretzels, ask yourself, "Who am I angry at?"
It makes no sense to punish yourself by overeating unhealthful
foods. You're devouring those salty, greasy potato chips, so you
are the only person who will suffer the effects of feeling sluggish,
bloated and overweight. Take out your anger in healthy and productive
ways (such as exercise), instead of attacking yourself.
Address the source of your stress. Push yourself to resolve some
of your uneasy feelings right now. Deep down, you already know
what steps to take, but you are afraid of the consequences. You're
afraid you'll make things worse instead of better. Visualize what
a better life would look like and then act on it. Tell others
what behavior you will and won't accept. You'll be doing yourself
an incredible favor.
Do you season your food before tasting it? Is your food philosophy,
"The spicier the better"? Do you adore Mexican, Thai
or spicy Chinese food, and abhor bland English or traditional
American dishes?
Food isn't the only area of your life that you prefer spicy. You
may also crave excitement and high intensity in your work, love,
and play. If you aren't getting enough thrills, you may convert
that frustration into intense cravings for spicy foods.
Excitement is a physical high stemming from adrenaline production.
It is short-lived and ultimately very draining. Enthusiasm, on
the other hand, provides a lasting high and results in increased
energy. Excitement is drawn from external sources, such as eating
spicy foods, going on a roller coaster, or being in a dangerous
situation. Enthusiasm comes from internal sources, such as taking
steps toward fulfilling your dreams.
Really hot spices encourage the brain to release pain-relieving
chemicals that bathe and numb the entire body. It's a natural
way to seek emotional anesthesia, but it's a Band-Aid, a temporary
measure. Ask yourself, "What's really bothering me?"
and, "What do I really want and need?"
Once the answers surface, it's a part of self-responsibility and
self-love to take steps toward fulfilling these desires. Even
before you achieve your ultimate goals, you'll feel so much better.
Knowing that you are progressing in the direction of your dreams
is a therapeutic feeling that will relieve any desire to self-medicate
with chili peppers.
We are spiritual beings who inhabit a body that is perfect,
whole and complete. Every part of our body responds to our beliefs,
thoughts, and emotions. When the body appears to be malfunctioning,
we must look at the thought that needs healing. Heal the thought
and we heal the body.
Our gut is the center of all emotions, negative and positive.
We can pour one of two things on our gut feelings: food or love.
Pouring food on our gut is easy; we all know how to do that. Pouring
love on our gut requires some patience and practice, but it is
worth it.
Paying attention to your gut feeling means that you trust that
you have the talent, time, energy, money, intelligence and creativity
to fulfill your dreams. This trust comes from a faith that you
were born in the image and likeness of your Creator. When you
follow your gut, you are rewarded with a satisfying existence.
Everybody has a Divine right to love, fun, creative expression,
perfect health, and prosperity. When you claim your rights, your
body responds in gratitude and harmony. Suddenly, you are no longer
fighting your appetite.
When your appetite normalizes, your excess body weight will drop
off naturally, almost without thought. Then, as long as you maintain
your peace of mind, you will not struggle with food cravings.
Long-term weight maintenance, then, is actually peace-of-mind
maintenance.
Doreen Virtue, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist specializing
in women's issues, especially those relating to weight and eating.
Dr. Virtue personally transformed from a "fat, unhappy, and
uneducated housewife" into an author of the bestselling books
Yo-Yo Syndrome Diet and Losing Your Pounds of Pain.
Dr. Virtue is a frequent guest on talk shows such as Oprah, Geraldo,
and Sally Jessy Raphael. Her articles have appeared in TV Guide,
Woman's Day, Complete Woman, Woman, and New Body Magazine.
Dr. Virtue's books can be ordered through Hay House, Inc. at 800-654-5126.
Back to the List of Articles