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Chocolate, Eggs and Bible Stories

Tom Stevens

Updated: Mar 24, 2024

(Focus: dealing with temptations, understanding your needs and cravings, managing food intake)


You know Easter is coming when the shelves suddenly become chock full of Mini Eggs. You can’t walk anywhere without that small yellow packet just staring you down. It sees me. Right into my chocoholic soul. It’s a challenging time for managing those ever nagging cravings and not falling head first into temptation. 


In the Christian world this time coincides with Lent - a period of 40 days in the lead up to Easter where believers “give up” something that they love to remember the 40 days Jesus survived in the desert. For many, that is sugary foods. For others that is things like social media. The struggle here is to maintain discipline in the face of these temptations. When we have very set in daily habits like having a sweet treat after dinner or checking our phone every time the alert goes off it can be hard to drop them cold turkey. A lot of that comes down to the strength of our cravings. 


First we need to understand our cravings. For most of us that’s food cravings. These are normal and common. You’re not the only one who reaches for the sweetie drawer on a slow day. They can be brought on by a variety of factors - some physical and others mental. This is why tackling our temptations can be challenging. Physical factors often come down to maintaining or setting good daily habits. Factors like how well we slept, how much water you have had to drink and the quality of our nutrition can all have a massive impact on controlling our cravings. 


An easy fix is sleep. Too little or poor quality sleep can disturb the levels of hormones responsible for regulating hunger, fullness and sleep wake cycles. This can intensify food cravings especially in the evenings. Making sure you get a solid 8 hours as part of a sleep routine can help to alleviate some of these symptoms. 


Next up comes diet. Nutrients such as protein and fibre make us feel full and help to control the release of sugars into the bloodstream. A diet low in these nutrients will result in feeling hungry rapidly after a meal even if we ate enough calories. Combine this further with a diet in highly processed foods and you have a recipe for high cravings. Processed food rich in added fats and sugars cause addiction like symptoms and lead us to be more likely to crave more processed food. If we end up giving into these cravings our bodies then become used to eating and indulging when we experience these symptoms. This provides a feedback loop making those cravings stronger and stronger over time. 


Mental factors can be difficult to identify and control. Food is often tied closely to our emotions as the act of eating releases hormones such as dopamine and serotonin. These hormones make you feel good when you’re eating and tie emotional memories to the acts of eating specific foods. Our brains will then associate eating food to a specific context for example eating popcorn at the movies. This may then cause you to crave that food the next time the same context comes up. This is why going cold turkey can be really difficult to stick to. This can also manifest when we experience situations tied to our emotions - happiness or sadness. Our body often relates this to the food we eat and we end up eating those feelings. 


Stress can also play a large part in controlling our cravings. Stress can increase levels of the hormone cortisol. High cortisol levels can result in increased hunger and a higher likelihood of mindless eating.  When we are stressed, we also look for something comforting and for many of us that’s food. For me that’s brownies. 


On the flip side increased physical activity can often help many of these situations. By getting out and exercising we get a rush of endorphins that help improve our mood, our body will also release appetite suppressing hormones and psychologically we will be more likely to select healthier options. Physical activity can be one of our greatest weapons in managing cravings. 


Now the best way to manage our cravings is to be proactive. If there are sugary snacks, chocolate, or crisps that we can be tempted by in the house we will find them out and eat them. I promise you that. I am a fiend and can sniff out hidden chocolate four doors over. My neighbour’s haven’t recovered yet. Make sure you eat a balanced nutritious diet, get enough sleep and water, and exercise frequently. If you do this, managing your cravings is considerably easier. 


The good news is that if you give in to your cravings it’s not the end of the world. No one is going to crucify you. Consistency is key in any diet. Follow the 80:20 rule. 80% of the time you stick to your diet - making sure you eat balanced meals full of protein, carbohydrates and fats. You limit added sugars and processed foods. 20% of the time you allow yourself to have something that you will enjoy that may not be super conducive to your diet. This will help you manage those cravings and make a difference in the long run. If you fall off the wagon, don’t worry. You can always get back on. In this situation, it’s Easter and you are Jesus. You can resurrect yourself and start again at any time. 


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