It feels good to not have a sweet tooth any more. I used to love sweets. Just couldn’t get enough of them. I used to eat ice cream by the pint.

Lately, I rarely indulge in desserts. In fact, I have a tub of Soy Delicious ice cream in my fridge right now….and I have absolutely no appetite for it. It might sit there for the next month for all I know. I still enjoy desserts very much, it’s just that the craving isn’t there. I think that one of the reasons for this is that I cleaned up my diet. Getting rid of most of the processed sugars. Eating more whole grains. Eating a lot more raw foods. Eating a ton of fruit.

In the past, whenever I’ve made some restriction in my diet, I’ve allowed myself a “treat” every once and a while to satisfy my cravings. Now I know that there is no such thing as “satisfying a craving.” Once you satisfy it, the body will just eventually want even more!

Satisfying a craving is only putting fuel on the fire.

If you want to get rid of a bad food habit you need to give your body time to regulate itself, and have the wherewithal to not let your mind trick you into being lax with your commitment to change.

One of the most irritating things I hear from many people who try to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet; is that their body craves meat. In fact, a good friend of mine has recently gone on a strict vegetarian diet for four months, but is certain that it won’t work for her because she craves fish! Another friend is vegan, “aside from an occasional piece of chicken”…due to the cravings!

The cravings exist only if you let them exist. For both of my friends, they view their dietary change as a penance, where they are depriving themselves of something. There was no strong change in their mental and physical associations with meat and how giving it up would really help them and the planet.

Cravings are like the little kid that begs for a check-out counter candy-bar. If you give them one, you are guaranteed to get a repeat request!

If you can push through the craving, and learn to live an energetic and happy live without whatever you gave up; you’ll eventually find that the constant and never-ending craving and longing will never come back. You, and not the little whining kid in your head, will then be back in control!