Guest guest Posted August 4, 2010 Report Share Posted August 4, 2010 I would LOVE a life without cravings!! So, does he just not crave anything because he allows himself to eat what he wants whenever, or basically doesn't leave any foods off limits or " outlawed? " I find it very interesting as well, and also intriguing that you are finding that your cravings have started to disappear also! > > > Hi, group! > > So as I said, since doing IE, I've started asking my husband questions about eating because he's never dieted and never been overweight (that alone should be a light-bulb moment--and here I used to think he was " just lucky " ). Last night it suddenly occurred to me to ask him about cravings. > > Are you ready for this? He doesn't crave particular foods. He told me, " I enjoy what I eat, but I don't ever crave anything in particular. " I kept asking him, " Really? Really???? " and he would think (he's a very thoughtful guy), say " no, " and I was still just totally amazed. Then I remembered how hard it sometimes is for us to decide where we're going to eat when we eat out, or when I ask him what he's in the mood for if I'm cooking, he's never any help. I was always confused about this...What? He doesn't know what he wants to eat? Nope, never does. He regularly says " yes " to the first thing I offer up as an option, which I used to find so frustrating! Now I know why he does this. > > Can you imagine? A life without cravings? That's so inspiring to me. I've definitely noticed that my cravings are disappearing. I keep confusing this disappearance for " not being hungry, " but in fact I do get hungry, just not for anything in particular. What liberation! > > Laurie > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 4, 2010 Report Share Posted August 4, 2010 Hi, , I wish I knew with 100 percent surety the answer to why he doesn't crave certain foods, but I suspect it's because he eats whatever he wants, and he also does NOT assign any other value to food beyond it tasting good and staving off hunger. If something is never "off limits" it doesn't have that sheen of the forbidden, the longed-for, un-haveable thing that you crave, I guess. When I asked him why he didn't crave certain foods, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know. I just don't." And now that I think of it, I've never heard him say, "I really could go for ______." He never is the one who drags us to a particular restaurant for a particular dish. Sure, sometimes when I say, "How about we go to Jin Ju?" he'll say, "Oh, that would be good!" but he doesn't think about food at all except when he's hungry, he says. And when I offer something up as a possibility for lunch or dinner, he never says "No, I want ____ instead." He always says, "That sounds fine" or "Sure, that would be good." As if it really didn't matter much at all what he ate, just so long as he ate something. Did you hear that? Is there such a world? I want in. He eats basically the same breakfast, with minor variations, every morning: cereal with lots of fruit and sometimes some other carby thing like an English muffin, scone, or piece of toast, usually with butter and/or jam; every once in awhile he'll have an egg or some bacon. He's not much into protein in the morning, and after starting to eat this way myself, I think I know why: If I eat protein in the morning, I'm not hungry enough to eat lunch. The IE book has stuff in it near the end, in the nutrition chapter, about planning the staying power of food to fit your schedule and preferences. Well, if I want to eat lunch (and I do--it's a nice break from work), I need to stick with carbs and fruit in the morning. And if I want to eat breakfast each morning (and I do--it feels nurturing to me now, though before IE I *never* ate breakfast), I need to make sure I don't eat too much protein or fat at dinner, and that I eat a "lighter" protein like fish or white-meat chicken. He likes certain foods better than others, but he's not a fiend about food like I have been. Occasionally he will say, "I'm not really hungry anymore, but I'm going to get a little more anyway because it tastes so good" but that is a rare occasion. This really is mind-blowing for me. No cravings. Not even thinking about food. Yeah, occasionally overeating, but it's not the norm. And I do think it is possible for all of us. And here's another thing: All those digestive problems I used to have? Pretty much gone. I think they were simply from overeating, not so much from food sensitivities as I always thought. Beef still is hard for me to digest, but other than that: gonzo. Laurie Re: Big "light-bulb" moment I would LOVE a life without cravings!! So, does he just not crave anything because he allows himself to eat what he wants whenever, or basically doesn't leave any foods off limits or "outlawed?" I find it very interesting as well, and also intriguing that you are finding that your cravings have started to disappear also! > > > Hi, group! > > So as I said, since doing IE, I've started asking my husband questions about eating because he's never dieted and never been overweight (that alone should be a light-bulb moment--and here I used to think he was "just lucky"). Last night it suddenly occurred to me to ask him about cravings. > > Are you ready for this? He doesn't crave particular foods. He told me, "I enjoy what I eat, but I don't ever crave anything in particular." I kept asking him, "Really? Really????" and he would think (he's a very thoughtful guy), say "no," and I was still just totally amazed. Then I remembered how hard it sometimes is for us to decide where we're going to eat when we eat out, or when I ask him what he's in the mood for if I'm cooking, he's never any help. I was always confused about this...What? He doesn't know what he wants to eat? Nope, never does. He regularly says "yes" to the first thing I offer up as an option, which I used to find so frustrating! Now I know why he does this. > > Can you imagine? A life without cravings? That's so inspiring to me. I've definitely noticed that my cravings are disappearing. I keep confusing this disappearance for "not being hungry," but in fact I do get hungry, just not for anything in particular. What liberation! > > Laurie > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 8, 2010 Report Share Posted August 8, 2010 Laurie, Your story reminds me of a somewhat similar experience I had a number of years ago. When I was in grad school, I was visiting a friend. We were hanging out in the kitchen along with her younger sister and a young male friend of hers. They were both in college. Anyway, I sat, fascinated, watching as this young man made something for himself to eat. He put a pot of spaghetti on to boil. Before the pasta was finished, he dumped in a container of brussels sprouts. After a few minutes, he drained both the pasta and brussels sprouts and dumped them onto a plate, then covered the lot with jarred spaghetti sauce (not even particularly good stuff, mind you) that had not even been heated, just dumped it on cold from the jar. He then proceeded to eat this horrific combination of ingredients. Stunned, I asked him how he could eat that. It looked horrific! And he just looked at it and shrugged and said that food was just fuel to him. He didn't particularly care much what it tasted like. He just wanted the energy. Even to this day, I'm stunned by this story. Food just fuel? Not caring what it tastes like? How is this even possible?? I don't think I can ever get to quite that point, nor am I sure I'd want to. I *like* enjoying my food! But making it have far less importance than it does, sure would be nice. Josie > > > Are you ready for this? He doesn't crave particular foods. He told me, " I enjoy what I eat, but I don't ever crave anything in particular. " I kept asking him, " Really? Really???? " and he would think (he's a very thoughtful guy), say " no, " and I was still just totally amazed. Then I remembered how hard it sometimes is for us to decide where we're going to eat when we eat out, or when I ask him what he's in the mood for if I'm cooking, he's never any help. I was always confused about this...What? He doesn't know what he wants to eat? Nope, never does. He regularly says " yes " to the first thing I offer up as an option, which I used to find so frustrating! Now I know why he does this. > > Can you imagine? A life without cravings? That's so inspiring to me. I've definitely noticed that my cravings are disappearing. I keep confusing this disappearance for " not being hungry, " but in fact I do get hungry, just not for anything in particular. What liberation! > > Laurie > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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