I have been high raw for three years.
This is my fourth spell of totally raw.
I have managed 2 x 6 months and a 3 month period on a totally raw diet.
I have been totally raw again since August 1st.
I have been doing very well.

I had a couple of difficult detoxes at the beginning, but everything has been fine until about a week ago when the DREADED CHOCOLATE CRAVING returned.

Its a serious craving. I cant stop thinking about the stuff.
I know from past experience, that if i give in to the craving, it appears to set off a craving for foods that will then trigger IBS and that whole vicious cycle will start again

This appears to be a pattern for me.
The chocolate craving usually hits me in my third month (usually premenstrual time)

I can go months, just eating fruit without even thinking about chocolate. I just can not make sense of it.

I have tried a couple of alternatives like carob nut mylk and raw carob brownies

I have been mono eating fruits ( mainly pineapple, bananas ,melons) with a large salad in the evening.
I just eat what tastes and feels good.

I tried to figure out if its a detox issue or if my body is looking for something found in chocolate. The obvious ingredient is fat.
I decided to increase my fat intake, to see if it made a difference to this craving. This has helped a little in the past, but not this time.

I'm not keen on nuts. I find them difficult to digest and i don't like the heavy feeling I'm left with after eating them.
I eat an avocado about every three days. I'm not really keen on them these days.

I have thought about raw chocolate as a temporary measure, however after cleaning my body out, i dont really want to start eating any form of chocolate again.
I have resisted up until now, but it is becoming more difficult!

My current strategy is to acknowledge the craving, then do something else like exercise. This is ok in free time but not possible when working (this is my most vulnerable time)


Anyone else experienced this?
I am doing so well, i feel so good on this diet. I am determined to stick with it this time around.

I figure that if this is happening to me, then there must be someone else out there on a similar diet that has experienced similar symptoms.

Hi Lorretta!

Your body isn't needing extra iron, is it? I've been finding when I've been eating less greens like spinach, chocolate cravings have been coming back...

I always bought a big chocolate bar at the store the other day but bought some organic dried figs. Not fresh by any means, but far better to eat those than to eat chocolate Worked really well!

It sounds like it is a nutritional craving, maybe for iron, but also maybe magnesium and other minerals which chocolate is very high in. If you don't want to eat raw chocolate, as suggested above greens might be a good substitute.

Raw chocolate was one of the crucial items to enable me to go 100% raw, and after eating quite a lot of it to start with, I'm now naturally cutting down.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

I ate a lot of cacao nibs early on. But I eventually stopped caring about chocolate. I say get some raw chocolate. who cares if it goes against some peoples' raw ideal--if it keeps you from quitting raw altogether, it would be a GOOD thing ay?

measure twice, cut once.

"In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar." ~r.brautigan

I make paintings

I not very big on chocolate but if I do get in the mood for it, I love the raw chocolate coconut butter (cocoa nibs) it is so tastey, reminds me how I used to eat peanut butter by the spoon.

Yeah, I still dip a banana into some raw cocoa nibs on occasion or buy a raw chocolate bar. It helps me because I was a real chocolate addict.

But you haven't eaten it in 3 years and now you are craving it. One possibility is what everyone else said, you are craving some nutrients that chocolate provides and some green juices or smoothies might help. The other possibility is that it really is detox, that some chocolate you ate many years ago is finally leaving your body and setting off cravings along the way.

Storm (a 30 year raw foodist) said he still gets cravings for cooked food so I think it is not that unusual to get cravings even after years.

I admire you for resisting so well so far and exercising instead when you can. You are an inspiration and I hope you figure out what works best for you.

I saw this posting on another board from something Dr. Fred Bisci said at a talk:

after about two to three years raw, people may go through a heavy detox period. this is the most important time to stick with it.

Thought that might help.

karennd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> But you haven't eaten it in 3 years and now you
> are craving it. >


Karenend
I really appreciate your support.
'Not eaten chocolate in three years', I WISH!!!!
Thought i better clarify that this is not the case!

Maybe i didnt explain myself properly.
This is my fourth spell of totally raw in the last three years.

My pattern appears to be, that about three months into a totally raw diet, i get these chocolate cravings. If i give into them they trigger cravings for cooked starches that in turn trigger IBS for me.

I have been looking through my old diaries.
If i manage to get past the three month hurdle then the cravings return again around the 6 month period.
This is why i have managed 2 x 6 months and a three month period in the last three years.
I have been totally raw since August 1st, so the cravings have hit early this time around.

I find it really easy to just eat fruits and salad for months and i thrive on it, then the chocolate cravings start and thats all i can think about.

I look at the beautiful fruits and all i can hear is something inside me saying chocolate, chocolate, chocolate..........
It does not matter what else i eat, it just does not hit the spot.

rawnoggin
Your suggestion of extra iron raises a fair point. When i first go raw again i eat lots of green smoothies (lots of spinach) then i loose the taste for it.
So incresing greens may work.

Funky Rob
Greens and or raw chocolate may be the answer.
I have been resisting raw chocolate as i didnt want to substitute one form of chocolate for another,however if it keeps me raw maybe i will try it.

shaine
"I say get some raw chocolate. who cares if it goes against some peoples' raw ideal--if it keeps you from quitting raw altogether, it would be a GOOD thing ay?"

Im really not bothered about raw ideals, im just trying to find a way through this issue that i feel comfortable with and keeps me raw. i appreciate your thoghts and i am considering raw chocolate, thanks.

Staying comfortably raw is my goal.
I am not comfortably raw at the moment.
I will add a few more greens first.
If that does not work i will get some raw chocolate.

Thankyou all for your support
Lorretta

One other suggestion is EFT (emotional freedom technique) that helps tremendously with cravings. There is a free manual to learn to do it at home at www.emofree.com.

Anyway, good luck and I hope something someone suggested helps!

Hi Loretta - I feel your pain. I was horribly addicted to.... M&Ms. It was a reflexive thing at work - easy, sweet and chocolatey. Oh, I love the good, dark stuff, too, but the M&Ms were a real problem. I finally treated it like a serious addiction (which it was) and quit cold turkey. It's been about a month and a half now. I've deleted all processed sugars as well, and returned to a 90% raw diet.

Still, I don't deny myself chocolate. I make Gabrielle Chavez' Living Fudge. It does the trick and since it's raw (minus the dark cocoa powder) psychologically it doesn't take me to other cravings. She uses carob, but I like it with chocolate. Just a thought. Good luck with this!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2007 04:52PM by Peony.

Peony, I used to munch on the peanut M&Ms at my work's breakroom (they refill them on Wednesdays) and that was a tough habit to break. I can relate.

what about nibbling some cocoa nibs? i mean, don't add them to anything sweet or anything at all actually. that way you'll see for sure if it's the chocolate you're craving or something else.

i liked a big fat medjool date with a pecan stuffed inside as a chocolate/sweet craving fix.

the other thing i did early on was take a bite of the what-ever-i-was-craving, chew it up and spit it out. it worked.

I love dates for a sweet fix, as well. Coco - that just cracks me up! I can't imagine chewing something and spitting it out..... I mean, I couldn't make myself do that - I'd want to swallow it! ;-)

that just cracks me up! I can't imagine chewing something and spitting it out..... I mean, I couldn't make myself do that - I'd want to swallow it!

Me too - food is a drug to me, it's not really the taste I crave, but the energy!

coco,
How on earth do you manage to take a bite and spit it out?

I use coconut oil to oil pull in the mornings. I even have trouble spitting that out sometimes!

karennd,thanks for your suggestion about trying EFT.
Im a big fan of EFT.
I have managed to overcome some difficult emotional stuff using this technique.
Believe me i have tried EFT on chocolate cravings. I haven't managed to get it to work for me on this issue yet.( im not giving up on EFT for chocolate cravings, i just look at it as work in progress!)

I tried hypnosis (pre raw days) that unfortunately didnt work for me.
Its not like i eat a lot of the stuff. The craving only seems to set in after a couple of months of excluding it from my diet. Then i could easily eat it all day long!

I ate more greens today, see what difference that makes when i wake tomorrow (thats normally when the craving starts. Im sure that i dream about the stuff!
Im trying to be upbeat about it but it is slowly driving me nuts!

Oh well, see what tomorrow brings.
Thanks for your ideas, they are helping.

Since your cravings are cyclical, I think it's safe to say it's the magnesium in chocolate that you're craving, as magnesium levels are at their lowest point the week before your period.

coco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> the other thing i did early on was take a bite of
> the what-ever-i-was-craving, chew it up and spit
> it out. it worked.

good one...worked for me too !

all i really wanted was the taste, the pleasure in food is all in the mouth anyhow. it was easy to spit stuff out, especially chocolate, after a couple of minutes it starts to taste Horrible!

it was really hard to stop thinking about something that i was craving until i satisfied that. just tasting it was enough for me.

coco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> all i really wanted was the taste, the pleasure in
> food is all in the mouth anyhow. it was easy to
> spit stuff out, especially chocolate, after a
> couple of minutes it starts to taste Horrible!
>
> it was really hard to stop thinking about
> something that i was craving until i satisfied
> that. just tasting it was enough for me.

I wish chocolate tasted horrible to me at the moment!
Maybe given time, i will reach that place.
Thanks for the explanation, it makes perfect sense. I will give it a go.


The good thing is, that i have actually woken this morning without a craving for chocolate!
maybe the greens i ate yesterday have helped the situation.

Sunshine79 wrote

Since your cravings are cyclical, I think it's safe to say it's the magnesium in chocolate that you're craving, as magnesium levels are at their lowest point the week before your period.

This is a fair point, thank you

Thanks for all your ideas and support.
I feel very positive this morning.
At least i have a few practical things to try if the craving hits.
Many thanks
Lorretta

I think/ hope i have cracked it!

I think it is the bitter taste of the chocolate that i am craving.

I haven't craved it at all today, so i decided to try a little and spit it out.
I just instantly knew it was the bitterness that i was looking for.

Coco,
If you are reading this, I did manage to spit it out!
Without your input, i probably would not have plucked up the courage to put the chocolate in my mouth, without knowing i was free to spit it out.
How crazy is that? but its true!

I was focusing so hard on avoiding chocolate, it didnt occur to me to actually taste some in order to attempt to work out what the craving was about.
You really helped me out and i thank you so much for that.

Craving bitter food does make sense, as i have been eating less greens recently. I also haven't been juicing. I normally include the whole lemon and greens in my juice.
craving bitter food also fits in with the cyclical cravings, as my appetite for greens and juicing tends to fall away the longer i stay raw.

Early days, but it really does feel like i have found the answer.
It may be the nutrients in the bitter foods that I'm craving rather than the taste.
I will probably never know.
what i do know is that for now at least i need to keep my green intake up rather than turn to chocolate

A big big thank you to everyone who helped me work through this issue.
I just feel so free! Its wonderful
Thank you

yay! that is such terrific news! i'm so glad my little trick came in handy

now go and have some endive and raddichio salad with lemon, yum!

xo.

Yeah!
Thanks again coco
Just been on the trampoline, jumping higher than ever and feeling so free!
As you can probably tell, this was a major issue and now its resolved!

Result!

'endive and raddichio salad with lemon' will grace my raw table on a regular basis! LOL

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!!

Lorretta x

do you eat fats? i can't imagine anything more delicious than that salad with avocado or some crushed almonds or pecans (especially the soaked, dehydrated spiced ones, oooh!)

it would be super nice with celery and apple too.

oops, hungry!! gotta go...

coco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> do you eat fats? i can't imagine anything more
> delicious than that salad with avocado or some
> crushed almonds or pecans (especially the soaked,
> dehydrated spiced ones, oooh!)
>
> it would be super nice with celery and apple too.
>
>
> oops, hungry!! gotta go...

Yes i eat fats.
Not much. An avocado every three days or so.
I kept wasting them. I would buy them and then not want to eat them.
I hate waste, so i buy single ones and make sure that i eat it
I do like soaked almonds. They would be good in 'the' salad.
I also love celery and apple.
Putting together a real feast here!

1 Whole day, no cravings!!!!!!

So relieved, happy, feeling more balanced, content and ive had lots of happy energy to play with today, rather than that strung out wired energy I had been experiencing.

Long may it continue............!

Lorretta Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It may be the nutrients in the bitter foods that
> I'm craving rather than the taste.
> I will probably never know.
>

They say that bitter foods are very cleansing to the liver, so if it's bitterness you're craving, then maybe your liver is trying to clean house. I used to love bitter foods - bitter melon is one of the most bitter raw foods, and I used to love it. Don't think I could eat one today though!

i bought some raddichio today, couldn't find endive though but still, lovely fushia purple leaves, la la la, i love!

Several days have passed by now, still no craving for chocolate.
Its amazing!!!!!
i feel so much calmer and balanced.

I'm very tired and sleeping lots.
I'm waking up tired, even though i have had lots of sleep, so there are some huge changes going on as i normally have no problem getting out of bed and enjoying the day ahead.
I'm not craving bitter foods but I'm making sure that i include them in my diet.

I'm having lots of rest and have cut back on exercise over the last few days.
I just don't have the energy at the moment.
I may be tired but i feel so much better.

Thanks again to everyone who helped me work through this.
Lorretta