2 months macro and craving

[Jeannette]

Hi guys,

I have been on a very strict medicinal macro diet for about 2 months now and I find myself craving old foods very badly. I was vegan before I became macro, but I find myself craving coffee and sweets so much. Did anyone else get the same cravings? What did you do? Will it pass? Does anyone here ever cheat? I feel so guilty when I do. Any help/tips would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Jeannette

[JanetM]

Hi Jeanette

I have always struggled with my sweet tooth. Remember cravings are often telling you something about what is going on with your body. Are you craving coffee because you are addicted to coffee? Do you need to go cold turkey on that? Are you craving sugar because you are addicted or because you do not have enough "yin" in your diet?

Below are some of the things that I have read to help with a sweet craving:

1. Actively include lots of sweet vegetables into your diet - pumpkin/winter squash etc, sweet corn, carrots, make up some onion butter, sweet potato etc

2. decrease the amount of salt, tamari, shoyu, miso etc you are using

3. try to include more yin in other ways - eg:
- cooking styles - boil grains rather than pressue cook, steam vegetables rather than boil etc
- amount of liquid - do you have enough liquid? perhaps have broth type soups rather than creamy/chunky soups? liquid intake will also be changed depending on cooking style

4. Drink bancha tea when you have a sweet craving it will help to control your craving. It is most helpful to have bancha tea after a meal as this is often when we crave sweets

5. Chew really really well. The more you chew the sweeter food becomes

6. Find healthy sweet substitutes - have a little cooked /stewed fruits, make a healthy apple crumble! or sweet potato pie! Use rice syrup etc instead of sugar or honey, make some healthy muffins or biscuits using natural sweetners

7. Are you under a lot of stress at the moment (very yang) which may be contributing to your craving for sweets/coffee (very yin)? Be aware of any yang factors going on in your life and see if you can manage them and bring them into the center (more balanced and less extreme)

8. and never, never, never feel guilty if you fall off the rails. Unless it is drastically important for your health that you are on a very strict diet, macrobiotics is about finding the right balance for you that suits your body at this point in time and a fair amount of trying a bit of this and a bit of that until you find the way forward is normal, particularly at the begining and you only started 2 months ago!! Be kind to yourself. Do your best and keep experimenting. Read the signs as to what your body may be needing at any point in time or about how your body is reacting to the food you are eating/drinking. Remember despite a few indiscretions, your body is still better off than not going down the macrobiotic path at all.

I hope this helps!

cheers, Janet

[Jeannette]

Thanks Janet, I really appreciate your response!

Yes, the diet I am on is medicinal, so I don't have much room to play with creating macro "sweets", but I do try to get in what I can. Kantens and sweet veggies. I sometimes forget that stress can be such a HUGE factor. In fact, I have been stressing more lately, and when I feel stressed or sad or down, I crave sweets BIG TIME! It's crazy how that happens. I tend to feel guilty about not being 100% perfect, but you are right, this is about the journey and my body is thankful for what I am doing.

Thanks again!

Best,
Jeannette