Fighting For A Life Worth Living

Day 45 - Craving Answers

One of the most difficult parts of changing your lifestyle is making the choice to begin as well as continuing your self-improvement. Making the decision to begin such a task may seem simple, but actually committing to your change and seeing it through takes effort and determination to finish what you started. I am proud of myself for the accomplishments I have made in such a short time. I never believed I was capable of leaving a grocery store without my former staples: candy, cookies, chips, or pop. I have learned that I am very capable of doing this as well as not feeling an emptiness from lack of buying these types of food. I contribute my success to attempting to have a positive attitude at all times. Sadly, I realized one of my greatest fears today.

Today was a great day. I fixed salmon for supper and kept my complaining to a minimum. I strived to pair foods I really liked with the salmon and ended up with a great palate of colors, textures, and tastes that helped me to consume the salmon. I find that if I alternate a bite of fish with a bite of another food I like, such as corn, it makes eating the salmon more tolerable. As the evening wore on I began to crave french fries. I'm not usually a fan of french fries, but tonight I kept randomly thinking about them. I knew I had to do something and I remembered seeing a post on pinterest that had a list of typical cravings, what they meant, and healthy foods to satisfy your craving. As it turns out, craving food with a high fat content is your body telling you to consume calcium. I drank a little milk, ate a serving of string cheese, and tossed a handful of almonds in my mouth. Magically my craving disappeared and new thoughts became a whirlwind in my mind.

Am I going to have cravings the rest of my life?

I did well today, but what will happen if I can't control my craving the next time?

What if I have a craving and it tastes so good that I want to give up on my new healthy life altogether?

Luckily, the craving was not very strong and I was able to diminish it before it got out of hand. In the beginning of my journey I felt like I had nothing to lose if I had a bad day. I have recently changed my outlook. I have worked too hard the last several weeks and I do not want to see that ruined because of a craving, bad weekend, or emotional day. I know I shouldn't be worrying about this, but what can I say I'm a worry wart, especially when it is something as important to me as my health. Patience and trust in my own abilities is something I must learn!

"What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind."

-Buddha-