Beware: Crazy Cravings on the Loose!

Darling, take a moment to get comfortable in your chair, take a deep breath and picture this:

You have just come home from a looong day at the office. You feel stressed out, cranky and totally exhausted from the events of your day.

Suddenly, you get this very familiar impulse.

Next thing you know, you’re sitting on your couch and talking on your cell phone, ordering pizza, cinnamon sticks,  cheese sticks and extra spicy buffalo wings.

You envision yourself with food in hand, sitting in front of your coffee table, chomping them down while watching TV.

Whoa, girl! Stop right there.

Step outside this familiar fantasy, and have a chat with me.

Believe it or not, there are 3 completely different ways this scenario can play out. You could:

a) Order in and call it a night. After all, you’ve had a long day and you deserve to “indulge.”
b) Hang up the phone and yell, “No way, forget about it. I shall ignore my maniacal craving! Off with your heads, pizza franchises!”
c) Pause. Take a deep breath. Ask yourself: “What do I really desire right now? What does my health-loving female body deserve to be nourished with? Hmmm. I think I’ll soak for 20 minutes in the bath, with some aromatherapy bubble-bath, and sip lavender water from a glass, while I figure out what my body truly desires to eat tonight.”

What Would You Do?

Darling, would you dive in and order that food, deprive yourself immediately with a flat out no, I’m so not doing this, or dare to attempt option “c?”

The healthiest strategy here is clear: reach for some pleasure. In this case, pleasure is any form of goodness that is intended to distract your craving, and satisfy you in an alternative manner.

I’m talking about life-enhancing pleasure–which is far different from the temporary pleasure that a hit of nutrient-poor foods can provide–can take many forms:

A soak in the tub.
A walk around the block.
Singing out loud along with a song that fills you with emotion.

A bit of dancing in the nude (curtains closed or open as you prefer!)
Calling a supportive friend.

From a centered place of pleasure and relaxation, you can make much better eating decisions than you ever could from a place of exhaustion and desperation.   

A word to the skeptics: I understand that pleasure will not always be the answer you choose. Sometimes, you will give in to that pizza feast. Some days, you will just say no and lapse into an attitude of denying your cravings.

Most days, I hope, you’ll reach for the pleasure!

A Word about Cravings

Pleasurably managing your cravings is really just a dance of balancing your options between thoughtfully considered yes’s, no’s and pleasurable alternatives. 

Cravings are not irrational little elves that are out to make you plump. They are simply an innocent expression of your body’s built-in desire for pleasure.

Your female body wants to get “her” pleasure, no matter what. Pleasure helps your body perform all of her health-boosting activities, at optimum levels. These activities include slimming down, metabolizing fat and building muscle. 

If you’re not giving yourself enough pleasure through the right activities, relationships and decisions, guess what? Your body will make sure she gets her pleasure, someway, somehow, in the form of cravings for sugary and fatty foods! These are the foods that naturally trigger the most pleasure in your brain.  

Go figure!

Balancing Your Options: A How-to Guide

Balancing your options between yes’s, no’s and reaching for your pleasure is much like the art of trial and error. It’s one of those things that the more you practice it, the better you’ll get at it.

When facing a crazy craving, ask yourself the questions:

• What am I really desiring here?
• If I could have any food in the world inside my feminine temple, my body, would it really be this?
• What pleasure can I give myself now that will satisfy me on every level of my being?

Remember, there’s no right or wrong in learning to work with this “yes, no and pleasure” strategy – there’s only trial and error, and gently learning to balance your choices wisely.

Wanna know what else is wise and pleasurable? Your answers to these Q’s:

1. Have you ever accidentally, or knowingly, curbed your cravings with this Pleasurable Weight Loss strategy? Where were you? Did you feel good about doing it?
2. Have you ever said ever said yes to a craving, and still felt completely empty and unfulfilled? What did you eat? What do you think would’ve “filled” you in a more positive way?

Share the goods with a sister, and forward her this post! I’m excited to read your stories.

With so much love to you,
xo Jena

P.S. Would you like to learn to curb your cravings with me, and with a community of women who are also on the path to slimming down, the feminine way?

Then join the festivities at Pleasure Camp NYC!

This retreat-like event runs from November 30 – December 2, and it involves everything you need to learn to slim down once and for all. It’s pleasurable movement, it’s liberating dialogues, it’s tangible steps – and it’s like nothing you’ve ever even imagined balancing your weight could look like!

Give yourself the gift of pleasure, balance and a slender figure by signing up for Pleasure Camp NYC this Fall. I’ll see you there!