-Clelia said:
>The carbohydrate I crave are:  pizza, cookies, pasta, pie, donuts and the
>occasional decaf coffee; every time I eat one or more in one day I get the
>following symptoms for a few days:  full bowel blockage (have to take a
>stool softener to cleanse my body out), very moody, depressed, irritable,
>brain fog, insomnia.........to name a few.

So, know your limits and don't eat those foods.

Cravings are like a stray cat.... if you feed them, they just keep coming
back.  And they bring their friends (more cats.... with more and bigger
appetites!!!)  Don't feed them and they will go away.  Cravings come to you
as a result of what you focus on.  (What you focus on expands.....)
Cravings are like thoughts, passing thoughts....trains of thoughts.... let
them go buy, you don't have to hop on those trains... they are just passing
by, let them go or you'll be on a crazy ride!

Eventually you can get to the point where you don't crave or fantasize about
those foods, where they
disgust you or evoke no desire to eat, instead you can't wait to eat your
*real* food and take far more joy in eating meats, vegetables, fruits, and
nuts. In time, the pictures in your head will change.  Until they, you have
to consciously direct your thinking toward the foods that you need to
nourish yourself.

Also, don't spend time fantasizing about those foods that make you sick.
(Don't call in the stray cats... .:-)) Instead eat plenty of nourishing
foods and focus on how great they taste and what wonderful things you are
doing for your body.  Also, don't skip meals, don't starve yourself or eat
like a bird, or wait until you are on empty or below that to refuel.

Many women chronically undereat, out of fear of getting fat or fear that
others will thing they are pig-ish, as a result they often end up hungry,
weak, craving carbs (really craving food for energy!!!)....many way under
estimate how much food they need to eat at a meal and in a day to sustain
themselves, particularly when eating bulky foods such as veggies and fruits
as their mainstays (as opposed to breads, chips, crackers, cake, candies,
ice cream,fast foods, and other very calorically dense foods).

Rachels Rx:
Eat enough of the nourishing foods to satisfy you; eat real meals--including
a source of animal protein and veggies or fruit with some good fats/oils
(naturally present in the protein foods or added by you!) at each feeding;
eat on a regular basis so you don't let yourself get to
*empty* with no fuel in sight (many people find 3 meals a day aren't enough;
some find 4 or even 5 feedings more sustatining); don't wait until you are
hungry (and on empty) to shop ahead, plan ahead, prep and/or cook ahead,
pack meals or snacks....

Hope that helps!

RACHEL