Why do people get cravings?

Question

im a teen who use to eat very healthy, then one day i had fast food.. then the next day.. then the next day... i was always craving it.. i loved my moms food but always wanted fast food and such... i stop eating fast food cause i know its bad plus it gives me tummy ache.. but when i get home from school i always crave something thats not at my house.. why? well i crave something that i dont know .. but i know i dont want certain things.. im not sure if thats making sense but yeah general question why do people get cravings?

Answer 1

People tend to get cravings for things such as peaches (just using this as an example to explain the issue of why we crave things in general) because their body is low on certain nutrients that our bodies need.

The reason I bring up peaches as the example is because I had that happen to me a while back. For about 2 weeks I craved peaches, and once I ate the peaches, whatever I was low on that I needed from the peach was cleared up in a hurry.

Sometimes our hormones can make us crave certain things too at certain times, and also sometimes being stressed out can cause cravings for certain things to occur.

Answer 2

"A food craving is an intense desire to consume a particular food, as opposed to food in general. Food cravings are especially common in people following structured diet plans, and often interfere with the best of intentions to adhere to a particular style of eating.

Foods with higher sugar glucose such as chocolate are often more craved the foods with lower sugar glucose such as bread.

Food cravings are also commonly seen in pregnant women. The craving of non-food items is called pica."

Answer 3

Because we do what we are not allowed

Answer 4

A popular question that I hear is about how to stop giving in to food cravings. How to stop eating your favorite junk food. Maybe it’s chocolate or ice-cream or candy of some kind, or maybe it’s cookies and cake, or potato chips or fast food, or something you just love to eat, but need to stop eating because it is junk food. Whether you are trying to lose weight or gain weight, no matter what your goals are, everyone likes some kind of junk food and needs to stop eating it now. But, some people just can't stop. They just can't "get rid of the cravings" for these foods, and just can't stop giving in to their food cravings.

Before I go any further, let me be honest. I am going to get mean in this article. I am sure I will offend a whole bunch of people. My goal of this article is to get my point of view across, a point of view that I feel very strongly about, and I am sure a lot of people will disagree with it, but oh well. I want to get my point of view across in the exact way that I have it in my head, so I will NOT sweeten it up so that I don't hurt people's feelings or make them angry with me. I want to get my point across in such a way that it motivates everyone reading this article. So, if you have a problem with that, stop reading. If you don't, then here goes...

SHUT UP!!!! Who the hell are you to whine to me? Shut up already!! Sure, I can completely understand if your problems with getting the results you want are from the wrong information about your workout or diet. I've been there before. I used to do the wrong stuff. But after I finally learned the right stuff, I made this website so others don't have that problem. I want to save you time, money and effort by giving you free truthful information about how to get the results you want. But, this isn't about your diet or workout. This isn't about you wasting money on some useless ab workout product or stupid weight loss product or other useless supplements and gimmicks that weren't working for you. This is about food cravings. Don't whine to me. I've heard it before...

"It's so hard, I'm around this type of food all the time, the cravings just won't go away, I have a sweet tooth, I just have to give in to the cravings."

Stop it, you're boring me.

Don't give me your little stories. Like how you are around this type of food all the time. Do you think you are the only one, buddy? Everyone I know and am related to eats junk food all day long. This crappy food is everywhere I look. I am no different than you, except, I don't give in. Do I have super human powers? No. Do I not give in because my arms are bigger than yours? No. Do I not give in because I can bench press more than you? No. Do I not give in because my body fat is lower than yours? No. Do I not give in because I am physically better or physically stronger than you? No. I don't give in because I am mentally stronger than you. That's all it is really, mental. And for you to give in and me not to give in, we can only assume that I am mentally stronger than you. How does that make you feel? I don't know a damn thing about you, but I know that mentally, I can do something that you cannot. It sure makes me feel good though. That fact motivates me even more. So, thanks for being so mentally weak. It will make me work that much harder during my next workout. Thanks a lot.

Sorry, did I hurt your feelings yet? I didn't mean to, I'm just stating the truth. It's not my fault if the truth hurts. You understand now that this is all mental, right? You understand that it's all a matter of mental strength and will power, don’t you? Good. Here's what you do. Next time your little food cravings start coming out, think about this. Look at the food and think, "What do I want more… the 5 seconds of enjoyment that I will have while I chew this food, or the enjoyment of the fact that 24 hours of everyday, 7 days of every week, I will have the body that I want to have." That is what it comes down to really, and let me tell you... no food tastes as good as that feeling feels.

And you other people, you bullshitters. The ones that give me that idiotic speech about how "every food is ok if eaten in moderation." And how "no one should deny themselves anything." These are the same people who probably believe in having "Cheat days." Cheat days are the 1 day of the week where some people allow themselves to cheat a little from their diet and give into their food cravings, in moderation of course, kind of like a reward for the good work they did all week. Ya know what... BULLSHIT! The hell with you and your cheat days. Your reward for sticking to your diet all week is 1 day of cheating? What kind of complete crap is this? Your reward for sticking to your diet all week is RESULTS! Remember them? They’re the reason that you are on this diet and working out in the first place. To get results!!! Not to have a cheat day at the end of the week.

Every food is ok as long as it's eaten in moderation. One candy bar won't hurt. One cookie won't hurt. One piece of junk food won't hurt. Oh, is that so? Will it help? No, it will not help. It is doing nothing good for you in any way possible. Therefore, it serves no purpose. You are giving into your cravings for 5 seconds of chewing enjoyment, and nothing more.

If anything, it does more bad than good. Do you know what giving into your food cravings "in moderation" does to most people? It makes them feel guilty. It makes them crave that food even more. It keeps the cravings alive and strong. Stop giving in to your cravings and the cravings will go away. Simple as that.

What are you thinking now? Who am I? Like I never cheat or give into my cravings a little? NO! I don't! Not at all, not a little, not in moderation, not anything. The thought of eating some type of junk food doesn't even enter my mind anymore. I don't need those 5 seconds. I am stronger than that. Call it will power, or call it mental strength. My goal is to get results. My road to getting those results doesn't have to have 5 seconds of chewing pleasure. I eat for purpose, not pleasure. Food is not a hobby. Food is something your body needs to survive, and in the case of working out and getting results, food is something your body needs so that you can get those results. Food is nothing more than that. So, I give my body only what it needs to make these results happen. Does my body need the 5 seconds it takes for me to chew a piece of chocolate? No. Does my mind need it? NO! My mind is way too strong to need it, and that feels much better than any piece of chocolate would ever taste, and I love knowing that.

Like I said, I eat for purpose, not pleasure. That statement sums up everything that I think about "cheat days" and "food cravings" and "everything is ok if it's eaten in moderation." So don't whine to me about how hard it is for you. Do you think I will feel bad for you? I won't. You are not special. It is exactly as hard for you as it is for me and EVERYONE else. What's the difference? I have what it takes mentally. Ya know what else? You have it too. You just need to learn to use it. And, hopefully… this article has helped bring it out.