TrainPsycho
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Got the Craves?
Cravings…
They plague all of us from time to time.
Not so great, because screwing up our macro’s means less to no results.
Some of us just use discipline and power through, some practice moderation, some fit it in their macro’s, and some weak pieces of sh*t just give up.
But we would probably all like to just get rid of them…
How do we beat those cravings? Other articles have written plenty of strategies, such as:
Well, to answer this question we must first identify what causes the cravings.
So let me ask you, what do you crave?
Carbs
Constantly thinking about munching on bread, cake, sweets and your kid’s box of Choco Pops?
Your’e not alone. Carb cravings are among the most common cravings in this world.
They can also be the trickiest to fix, because there’s a boatload of things that can cause them.
Instead of sickening you with the usual „Just have a little bit and enjoy every bite” we are going to find the root cause and f*cking demolish it.
Many times carb cravings are caused by hormonal imbalances.
One of them is low Serotonin. Serotonin is responsible for mood, appetite, and other things. When you are deficient in Serotonin the mind tries to make up for it by craving carbs, wich can temporarily cure this deficiency. How to raise it? First, make sure you get enough tryptophan from your diet. It’s needed for the synthesis of Serotonin. This means getting enough protein in your diet (and you’d be a freaking idiot if you don’t ensure this right away). Supplementing with 5-HTP can also help, wich is a precursor to serotonin. For advanced cutters, Leptin can be an obstacle.
This hormone controls metabolic rate, fat burning and satiety. Going low carbs and calories for an extended period can cause Leptin to drop. Refeeding CAN be a strategy to give this hormone a big boost. You basically stuff yo face with carbs for typically 1 day, while minimizing dietary fat intake, as it has no effect on leptin levels. Be wary though, if your Leptin is not sufficiently dropped, this will obviously be a big setback. More info on Leptin and refeeding can be found here: Leptin | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald
Another huge factor is blood sugar drops I hope I don’t have to repeat the sugar spike/drop story again, but definitely make sure you eat enough protein and fiber, and not too much simple carbs at once. Believe me, this can make you RAVENOUS.
Something most of us sadly still forget is looking after their micro’s.
Carb cravings can often be a sign of a lack of Magnesium, Chromium or Carbon.
Chromium has also been shown to lower carb cravings significantly when supplemented at 600mcg/day in it’s Picolinate form. This has to do with blood sugar regulation.
To Summarize:
Dietary Fat
Cravings for fat foods usually mean two things:
Either not enough dietary fat percentage in your diet (Especially EFA’s), or a lack of fat-soluble vitamins. Taking myself as an example, until I started watching the amount of dietary fat I had in my diet and supplementing with fish oil and a multi, I had very bad cravings for peanut butter.
As you probably know, peanut butter is very high in dietary fat and also contains significant amount s of vitamin E. The cravings are now gone, but not by eating peanut butter. I ate eggs, fish oil, and took Orange TRIad.
To Summarize:
Salt
Pretty easy.
Just make sure you are plenty hydrated.
To Summarize:
Again, get your f*ckin vitamins in.
This usually indicates a micronutrient deficiency.
Chocolate is an exception though.
Even though most people crave chocolate if they’re deficient in Magnesium, the real cravings usually come from the some other compounds in it: The sh*t is loaded with Methylxanthines (such as Caffeine and Theobromine) and Phenethylamine. My solution: consider buying a good thermo powder such as Alphamine, Level II, Diablo, Core Burner etc. Taste: check. Stims: check. Can’t go wrong.
„Looks good dude, but I’m still craving junk. Whatsgoinon?”
When after all this you are still craving sh*t, you might wanna look into the difference between Physical and Emotional hunger.
This picture is taken from „livingachangedlife.blogspot.com”
Ofcourse stuffing yourself isn’t going to do anything good.
It won’t solve the emotional problem, and now you are left with regret and a worsened Physique ON TOP of that emotional problem.
The Solution:
Physical hunger is much easier to deal with:
So that concludes dem article.
Thanks for reading, Happy Cutting, and may the Gains be with you.
Cravings…
They plague all of us from time to time.
Not so great, because screwing up our macro’s means less to no results.
Some of us just use discipline and power through, some practice moderation, some fit it in their macro’s, and some weak pieces of sh*t just give up.
But we would probably all like to just get rid of them…
How do we beat those cravings? Other articles have written plenty of strategies, such as:
- Have only a little and slowly enjoy every bite.
For most this doesn’t satisfy anything at all, and only makes the cravings worse. - Have a cheat meal once a week.
Works for some, but a lot of people are likely to think towards their cheat for the entire week, and then blow it all. Even if you don’t, it’s still a small setback. - Stuff yourself with water and veggies.
Yes, you may be overly full. But you’ll still be craving crap. It’s in your head, not your stomach. - Recipes or healthy snacks.
Not a bad tip, but protein bars are expensive, and not everyone wants to spend a boatload of time in the kitchen preppin’ protein pumpkin pies and stuff. - Artificial sweeteners
Worst of them all. I’m not gonna waste your time throwing around tree hugger health facts, but some sweeteners cause insulin spikes which in turn cause blood sugar to drop.
Well, to answer this question we must first identify what causes the cravings.
So let me ask you, what do you crave?
Carbs
Constantly thinking about munching on bread, cake, sweets and your kid’s box of Choco Pops?
Your’e not alone. Carb cravings are among the most common cravings in this world.
They can also be the trickiest to fix, because there’s a boatload of things that can cause them.
Instead of sickening you with the usual „Just have a little bit and enjoy every bite” we are going to find the root cause and f*cking demolish it.
Many times carb cravings are caused by hormonal imbalances.
One of them is low Serotonin. Serotonin is responsible for mood, appetite, and other things. When you are deficient in Serotonin the mind tries to make up for it by craving carbs, wich can temporarily cure this deficiency. How to raise it? First, make sure you get enough tryptophan from your diet. It’s needed for the synthesis of Serotonin. This means getting enough protein in your diet (and you’d be a freaking idiot if you don’t ensure this right away). Supplementing with 5-HTP can also help, wich is a precursor to serotonin. For advanced cutters, Leptin can be an obstacle.
This hormone controls metabolic rate, fat burning and satiety. Going low carbs and calories for an extended period can cause Leptin to drop. Refeeding CAN be a strategy to give this hormone a big boost. You basically stuff yo face with carbs for typically 1 day, while minimizing dietary fat intake, as it has no effect on leptin levels. Be wary though, if your Leptin is not sufficiently dropped, this will obviously be a big setback. More info on Leptin and refeeding can be found here: Leptin | BodyRecomposition - The Home of Lyle McDonald
Another huge factor is blood sugar drops I hope I don’t have to repeat the sugar spike/drop story again, but definitely make sure you eat enough protein and fiber, and not too much simple carbs at once. Believe me, this can make you RAVENOUS.
Something most of us sadly still forget is looking after their micro’s.
Carb cravings can often be a sign of a lack of Magnesium, Chromium or Carbon.
Chromium has also been shown to lower carb cravings significantly when supplemented at 600mcg/day in it’s Picolinate form. This has to do with blood sugar regulation.
To Summarize:
- Make sure you get enough protein, for Tryptophan and blood sugar control. (beside the other obvious reasons.
- Consider supplementing with 5-HTP if low Serotonin is still an issue.
- If you are an advanced cutter, maybe consider a refeed to boost you Leptin levels.
- Keep blood sugar stable by not eating too much simple carbs at once, and getting enough fiber.
- Ensure sufficient micro’s in your diet. Pay special attention to Magnesium, Chromium and Carbon. In other words: Take you vitamins kids!
Dietary Fat
Cravings for fat foods usually mean two things:
Either not enough dietary fat percentage in your diet (Especially EFA’s), or a lack of fat-soluble vitamins. Taking myself as an example, until I started watching the amount of dietary fat I had in my diet and supplementing with fish oil and a multi, I had very bad cravings for peanut butter.
As you probably know, peanut butter is very high in dietary fat and also contains significant amount s of vitamin E. The cravings are now gone, but not by eating peanut butter. I ate eggs, fish oil, and took Orange TRIad.
To Summarize:
- Make sure you get at least 0,4g/lb of dietary fat in your diet.
- TAKE YOUR VITAMINS
- Consider supplementing with fish oil.
Salt
Pretty easy.
Just make sure you are plenty hydrated.
To Summarize:
- Drink more water
- Eat more Sodium (and no, it won’t make you bloated. Your body will adjust to the higher salt intake)
Again, get your f*ckin vitamins in.
This usually indicates a micronutrient deficiency.
Chocolate is an exception though.
Even though most people crave chocolate if they’re deficient in Magnesium, the real cravings usually come from the some other compounds in it: The sh*t is loaded with Methylxanthines (such as Caffeine and Theobromine) and Phenethylamine. My solution: consider buying a good thermo powder such as Alphamine, Level II, Diablo, Core Burner etc. Taste: check. Stims: check. Can’t go wrong.
„Looks good dude, but I’m still craving junk. Whatsgoinon?”
When after all this you are still craving sh*t, you might wanna look into the difference between Physical and Emotional hunger.
This picture is taken from „livingachangedlife.blogspot.com”
Ofcourse stuffing yourself isn’t going to do anything good.
It won’t solve the emotional problem, and now you are left with regret and a worsened Physique ON TOP of that emotional problem.
The Solution:
- When bored, as obvious as it may seem, go do something fun or purposeful. Pick hobby, clean the house, it can be ANYTHING. It doesn’t matter if you like it that much or not, just kill the boredom. And the craving will we killed as well.
- When lonely, go seek out people. Call a friend, help an old lady, talk to random strangers, anything you can think of.
- When sad, have a laugh, do something fun, get over it, and continue with your life. Nobody ever got happier being sad.
- When stressed, find ways to calm yourself. Pick up meditation, go for a walk, get a hypnosis session, and look for other ways to cope with stress.
Physical hunger is much easier to deal with:
- Stuff yourself with your favorite liquid and veggies. Yes, I have some critique on this method because it won’t kill cravings, but It DOES help getting rid of Physical hunger.
- Buy a Thermogenic. The best ones actually suppress appetite very well. Which to choose? Too many to name, but ask around and thou shall find the one that’s perfect for you.
- Eat slow. Satiety can take up to 20 min. to take effect.
- Eat plenty satiating things: Soups, Meats, Casein, Veggies, anything high Fiber.
So that concludes dem article.
Thanks for reading, Happy Cutting, and may the Gains be with you.
