My double ice-cream day! What your cravings are really telling you...

Ok so you know when you have one of those days when you have 2 ice creams one after the other. I did this the other day and thought wow - I must have really been feeling somethin’ to do that!!

Since entering the peri-menopause phase about 3 yrs ago, well, I gotta tell you those cravings get mighty strong sometimes especially before a period.

It’s no surprise really. This is the time when we start skipping ovulation which means more oestrogen and less progesterone. Progesterone is the warming and calming one by the way. And this hormonal change can really stir us up both physically and emotionally forcing us to look at what’s not been working diet-wise, emotion-wise or life-wise for that matter. The more that’s been suppressed and the longer it’s been suppressed, the more menopausal symptoms you're gonna have.

So why do we get cravings?

Well, there are emotional and physical reasons.

Physically, in that moment we need to raise our blood sugar. Scientifically this means get the correct calcium levels in our blood.

Why has our blood sugar dropped? Usually it starts with dehydration which affects electrolyte placement in the body and this electrolyte placement has to be exactly right and in the case of the blood it has to be right at ALL times or we will feel very strange - lightheaded, weak, excessively tired etc.

How have we got dehydrated? Well you probably know by now but just quickly, lack of water in our diet, drying environment, stress, family predispositions, emotional trauma and lifestyle…which brings me to the emotional aspect. Unresolved emotions which we carry from childhood, life experiences and daily stress cause dehydration which causes acidity and the cycle begins.

So we may choose any or all of the following ‘drugs’ - chocolate/coffee/tea/alcohol/coke/cigarettes..

Why? Because they’re a game changer in the way they make us feel.

Take chocolate for example.

Chocolate feels REALLY good. It melts at body temperature exacting the perfect melting sensation and triggering feel good chemicals... it’s hard not to crave it.

But for some it’s that chilled glass of white wine after work or a cup of tea.

What we choose is dependent on many things. Our family history, our upbringing, our personality and the other things I’ve mentioned already and in holistic diagnostic systems, you will be drawn to those ‘drugs’ that temporarily support your weaker organ, for e.g. chocolate, coffee + alcohol relate to liver ( our seat of anger) and tea relates to kidneys ( anxiety ) and of course smoking relates to lungs ( our seat of grief and depression). I cover all of this in 121 sessions.

It is often a relief for clients to discover that their habits can be traced back to the weaknesses passed down from their ancestors and or a particular weakness in that organ. That it is not their fault as to why they continue smoking. It’s not a reason to continue mind you but at least we can let go of berating ourselves and feeling guilty. And start to process some of this stuff and start to understand the bigger picture. We’re not born with a clean slate. We’re handed down all sorts of stuff - emotional and physical which must be allowed to be let go off and in that process introduce more loving healthy habits.

Can I just say this is not an easy subject to write about not because I’m embarrassed or anything just that there are so many twists and turns in a person’s make-up that cause them to act, eat, drink etc. in certain ways so can you book in with me NOW and get to the bottom of it or at the very least let yourself off the hook guys please!!

Now my sweet tooth and love of chocolate can be traced back to my maternal grandfather. I would watch my mother soothe herself with sweet things throughout my childhood. And did she give herself a rotten time about it. The guilt and I took that all on too 😔.

It’s only recently I’ve stopped beating myself up when I want chocolate. When I want it, I know it’s little me wanting soothing and now I accept that it’s so much easier not to give myself a hard time and instead acknowledge how I feel.

And you know what if you're struggling with cravings, you can do this too. From a place of self-love you’re gonna do really really well I promise ‘cos you’re not gonna beat yourself up when you eat something you ‘shouldn’t.’

You’re gonna be super kind to yourself and allow all the feelings that come up in that moment when you want the double ice cream or whatever and you’re gonna breathe and observe and you’re gonna indulge or not indulge which doesn’t matter ‘cos you love yourself that you can handle whatever you’re eating or not eating without it being an issue.

‘Cos I’m telling you right now that the stress we cause ourselves by beating ourselves up only serves to worsen the impact of that food which may not even upset our system that much but it’s all the berating that causes more ill-health.

Ok if we’re indulging heavily on a daily basis, we’re gonna get some issues for sure but the reason we’re doing it is to feel good so we must be feeling really bad to do it d’ya see what I mean? We have to get underneath, get to the root of why we’re overindulging which is the work I’ve described above.

‘Dis-ease is the sum total of blocked emotions’ states TCM* so you let your body breathe. You let yourself breathe. You release, you release, you release and you let go of the need to kill your life force with self-judgement and negativity and life becomes a beautiful thing again.

🌟 Whoo hoo! 🌟

And off you go, making and creating and loving and dreaming and doing whatever it is that lights your fire.

Always we are gonna treat ourselves with the GREATEST OF COMPASSION AND LOVE AT ALL TIMES. If we go ahead and eat the chocolate or drink the glass of wine, we're going to acknowledge our need and we are going to give ourselves permission to SOOTHE ourselves. ‘Cos this is what we’re doing. That's all we're ever trying to do - is to feel good so there's no bitching, there's no slagging off going on here.

And maybe in those moments, we can ask ourselves what the chocolate or wine is giving us in that moment? A bit of self-enquiry..

And d'ya know what happens...

Sometimes we eat it or drink it and sometimes we don't and as time goes by, we get kinder and kinder to ourselves and as a result we get healthier and healthier by making loving, wise and healthy choices.

But we don't start with the dietary change.

We don’t start with that action.

We start with the feeling and then the action and yes with the dietary and lifestyle change, we can work miracles.

Need help? Message me.

Lots of love

XXX

*Traditional Chinese Medicine