When I am on a weight loss diet, why do I get cravings and urges?

Cravings and urges result from the desire to regain the state of mind and body that you had when you were overeating. They are caused by associations you have with everyday internal and external cues.

People who overeat and are overweight have learned to associate the use of food with various stimuli, which would otherwise be neutral (e.g., certain times of the day, certain places, certain people, certain events, certain of their own thoughts, etc.). Their response to these stimuli has become conditioned and cravings and urges are the result.

Cravings and urges are most likely to occur when you:

Feel the need to enhance an experience — Cravings and urges occur to make an experience like socializing or sex more enjoyable, more pleasurable, more spontaneous.

Have unpleasant feelings and thoughts — Cravings and urges arise as a person's way of helping her avoid or deal with unpleasant feelings and thoughts, including bad moods, worrisome thoughts, un-defined anxieties. Instead of tackling these dysphoric states directly, the person has a desire to medicate the state through the use of food.

Experience physical "withdrawal" symptoms because you are not overeating — People who have been "dependent" on overeating can experience internal physical discomfort that withdrawal from overeating brings on. Cravings and urges can be a response to these withdrawal symptoms.

Unsuccessful resolution of the issues that cause cravings and urges can easily lead to diet slips and lapses. Unsuccessful resolution can also lead to relapse, which is the return to old ways of overeating and gaining weight.

© Maria's Last Diet. Maria's Last Diet is an online weight loss support website for women. At Maria's Last Diet, you'll find the tools to fix the thoughts, feelings, and automatic habits that fight against you when you diet. Because it's never just about the food. Visit www.mariaslastdiet.com for more diet tips and weight loss motivation.

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