Consider These Gut Checks Next Time You Have A Craving. You have gone the whole day eating healthy and well. It is after dinner and you are relaxing. This might be when the craving comes. It might be urgent, real, needy or desperate. Here are some ways to check your gut, first.Consider if you are actually hungry. If you are actually hungry, you may be willing to eat something healthy, right?

If you can get up and get a glass of water and forget about it in 5 minutes, then you are probably not desperate for it. Sure, it will taste good, food does! But how will you feel after? And will it interfere with sleeping better?

What are you really craving? Perhaps doing something different than watching tv would help meet that need. A cup of tea, expressing your feelings, a good book, relaxing music or what music may fit your mood. Consider what you really want.

Before the craving came, what were you doing or thinking about? Is there something stressing you? Sometimes seeing food on tv may cause a craving, or thinking about something that feels stressful and out of your control. Just be curious about it.

If your child came to you with that feeling, would you tell them to go eat a cupcake?

Even if this is a craving you feel is legitimate, consider what you would really like to have and when. Is this something you can plan to eat in daylight hours? Can you put it off until breakfast? I am not encouraging using it as a reward, but is this the time you want to have it? And plan to do it at the chosen time. This will build trust with yourself.

If this craving were a friend, why is this so desperate right now? Would you drop what you are doing for a friend that you know only needs you when their other friends are not available? Suddenly they need you now at the drop of a hat? If someone asked you for something, you would tell them you will do it tomorrow.

Sleeping on it works most of the time. It builds trust either choice you make. Knowing you can have it tomorrow allows you to rest. If you were just tired, then you probably won’t care about it. And you know that the need may have had to do with being tired. If you really ‘needed it’, you will still ‘need it’ tomorrow. I am willing to bet that a new day is a new day. If you decide to have it, savor it, enjoy it, be alone with it. And sit down to eat it.

If you were just tired, then you probably won’t care about it After sleeping. Then, you know that the need may have had to do with being tired.

If you do decide to indulge, no problem. Actually turn off the tv and devices, sit down and be with it. Then I invite you to observe how you feel after and how you slept. Oftentimes, a craving will seem so important in the moment. So if you have it, you can reflect afterwards how that felt and you can use that wisdom for future cravings. (This craving feels desperate but I know from last time, that it actually wasn’t.) It is okay if you enjoyed it and it tasted good. Nothing wrong with that! You just get to know how it feels for next time. This is a good thing and can actually help you progress if you don’t beat yourself up for it.

This is kind of like those early dating mistakes we make when we think someone is really serious when they text us at night. They really miss us! Awww. They haven’t been serious all day, or last weekend, but tonight they want to see us. After they leave is when the truth comes out, by their own actions. Not their words. You don’t actually know what that is like until you go through it, just like an indulgence.

‘Sleeping it off‘ is a wise phrase for that reason. Even stressors look better in the daylight.

When you put it off to the next day, you get to enjoy food with real hunger. It will be even better! Chances are, you will have slept it off, have a good night’s rest and tell me if the next day doesn’t feel like a reset button. You will be hungry and likely want real food, not just desserts and snacks. You have to be willing to lose the two hours or so before you fall asleep, where the craving will probably go away in less than 20 minutes. That’s it. ‘Sleeping it off‘ is a wise phrase for that reason. Even stressors look better in the daylight.

If you are unsure if you are hungry, consider when your last meal was. Hunger is on a spectrum, but when you are really hungry, at the top of the spectrum, there is no doubting it. The more you practice this, the better you will get at identifying stressors, and oftentimes it comes out of being tired or bored.

Self love is about meeting the real need. If it is hunger, check your gut. The gut knows. If it is boredom, solve that issue. If you are sad, feel your feelings or nourish them. If your child came to you with that feeling, would you tell them to go eat a cupcake? ….. And If that craving wants to hang out with you, it will come back in the daylight! That is another gut check 😘❤️

See more tips on cravings here or
thedowellbewell.com/how-to-handle-the-cravings-at-night/