Cravings: yeah, they do come out of the blue. Sometimes it's easy to figure out where they come from (see something on TV or walk past a restaurant). Most of the time, a stray "hmmm, some ice cream would be good right about now" pops up and latches on. For about a month, I had a craving for donuts (I don't even LIKE donuts). I could not stop thinking about them. I've had therapists tell me that cravings go away in a few minutes if you distract yourself. I find this laughable. My cravings generally last for days, and in the case of the donuts, a full month (that turned out to be related to a BC implant--once the implant was removed, the craving went away. I've taken one bite of a donut since then and remembered why I don't like donuts, threw the rest of it away). I distract myself, I do work, I take a nap, but it pops back up. Sometimes, having whatever I'm craving ends the craving (chocolate cravings are easy for me to manage--a square or two of good chocolate and I'm set). Sometimes, it sets off a craving spiral for days. Generally, though, the faster I give in, the faster the craving goes away. But that's led me to being 100 pounds overweight.
My brother and I once had a conversation that went something like this:
Him: I'm hungry, are you?
Me: No, I'm not, but I want something to eat.
Him: What's the difference?
For him, "being hungry" and "wanting food" are synonyms. For me, they're two totally different experiences. They're not quite antonyms, but they are distinct, and the rarely go hand in hand.
