Is something wrong if I don't have cravings

[rachelmh]

So everyone says "listen to your body and it will tell you what it needs." I am listening, but it isn't telling me anything. So is it that I haven't detoxed yet (almost one month raw with a little slip up for one day) so I am still screwed up or that I am eating balanced? I still think I am eating too much fat, and therefore not so balanced.

I envy those of you who eat such little amounts and know exactly what it is you want. I plan a few gourmet recipes a week and salads the rest for lunch and dinner, fruit and (working on more) greens in smoothies for breakfast and usually snacks. I feel like I eat all the time, which is probably why I am not losing weight. But there just isn't anything I crave!

Anyone have thoughts about the lack of cravings?

[lissomllama]

It sounds like you're doing great! You'll probably be detoxing for longer than a month depending on what your system is like and what kind of toxins you are getting rid of. You will see improvements in a month but you won't magically be completely healed. It takes time. Anyway, not everyone gets cravings. "Listening to your body" can be as simple as feeling that hunger pang and thinking of what what be nice to eat and then deciding on it, you're not abnormal if you're not dreaming of food and craving things like a pregnant woman does. Don't worry about it, everyone is different and you're doing just fine. Besides, who knows, you may just get those cravings later.

[Gosia]

In my opinion (emphasis), one does not have to operate specifically on cravings. Assuming that we talk about those "good cravings" that let us know that our body needs something, I don't think that have to happen on daily basis. Most of the time, we simply eat what's available in season and what we have appetite for. For me, when I am hungry and see different types of food in front of me (in my kitchen at home, in my office at work, or at the shop), I may experience a stronger appetite for some type of food rather than the other, which makes me reach for it. So, I end up eating food that most likely my body prefers at a time. Alternatively, some food may not taste so good for me at some particular time, and I may end up eating something else instead.

Sometimes, we experience a stronger appetite for some particular type of food, which we tend to call a "craving". For example, if I deny myself fruit for too long, at the end of the day I will be devouring fruit with my eyes. I will crave it. Of course, not all cravings are an indication that we must have something. For example, when we detox, toxins from foods that we ate in the past enter our blood and we may suddenly feel them, even smell or taste them, and often crave them.

I think that perhaps it would be useful to distinguish between appetite for something and cravings, the latter being a stronger feeling. Perhaps, we should even reserve the term cravings for the feeling that we experience when we detox. Most of the time (on daily basis), it is the appetite and taste that is the indicator of what our body wants/prefers. Do you find that you prefer eating some types of food over another at various times? Nevertheless, becoming in tune with one's body after years of being on cooked food may take some time, and there is no need to worry about the speed of this process at all. Myself, I am probably not even half way there, but I am not worried. I say: enjoy the journey. I wonder about what others have to share.

Gosia

[juliebove]

I rarely ever have cravings. I do have foods I prefer and these are the same foods I eat day after day after day. Celery is one such food. I never tire of it. During the summer, I might crave pears fresh from the tree. And at "that time of the month", I might (but not always) crave chocolate or salt. But most of the time I have no cravings.