Craving

Some people describe a lack of “craving;

DrQ: A note about the term “cravings.” In general, I think the term craving, used for foods that we really, really want, is a description that gives us permission to overeat. The term itself implies that we have no control over the feeling. Many patients have used this term as an excuse for why they have no ability to control their eating. Well, this is goofy reasoning. Cravings, in my opinion, are learned behaviors and we can un-learn them if we first acknowledge them for what they really are.

I once had a patient in one of my weight loss seminars that insisted she would never have any ability to control her cravings for chocolate. I asked her why she had such a craving for chocolate and she responded “I guess I was just born that way.” I responded that it was very lucky for her that she wasn’t born in outer Mongolia because, if she had been, she’d be like all those poor people in outer Mongolia where they don’t have chocolate who are always on their hands and knees scratching at the ground looking frantically for chocolate.

Well, this is, of course, an absurd example. But it does dramatically expose this concept of cravings for what it is, a learned behavior, a habit. Some might say it is an addiction of sorts, and maybe it is, but it’s certainly not something that you were born with, and it is something that you can get over or get around.