My Hotdog Craving?

Friends who knew me, back in my very early 20's - when I was an annoying, evangelistic vegan, would tell you that to hear that I had a hotdog craving recently would be very surprising to them. 

I haven't been a vegan for about 7 years now but for about a solid 4 years I would not touch anything that was even near meat. You may be asking, well why did I quit being a vegan? Well that is another blog post completely. What I can say now is that I do recommend it as detoxification diet but one has to be very careful if they decide to make this a lifelong decision, which I would support granted they have worked with a health professional to learn about their body's specific needs AND have aligned their beliefs. OK, now back to the hotdog... 

Well, this all happened when I was doing what I call my "cleanse days" about 2 years ago, when all of a sudden I had this overwhelming craving for a hotdog. It actually stopped me in my tracks and I started to laugh. Now don't get me wrong, I have been known to eat a buffalo or organic smokey every meow and then, but this craving was different somehow. 

So I did what I recommend to my clients when they are on their "cleanse days" and that is:

1. Never judge a craving, ever. 
2. Simply let the craving surface to it's completeness (rather than ignore it, where it's just going to fester)
3. Grab a paper and pen, or your journal, and sit down and breath into the craving, close your eyes and pretend that you are looking at your craving as though it's a person (this whole process only takes 5 minutes) and ask, "What can I learn about you, what is it you are trying to show / tell me? What does this craving represent?" or if you would rather you could write down the questions on your piece of paper or in a journal. Again, no being a judgy pants. (This may be a stretch for you, but it's either this or you may sabotage all of your efforts up until this point. So just play along if you want to really see results with your "cleanse days" or other health program) 
4. Then once you see an image, or get a feeling, or hear words in your head, write it down. This is your craving, your gut (which has neuropeptides in it) talking to you. Usually this leads us to a deep need or desire that hasn't been met, YET. I encourage you to seek out support or listen to the message and start quenching this need, of course, if it's healthy. If it leads to another food craving, then repeat the process until you get to a need, like love and belonging, intimacy, touch etc. 

OK! SOOOO! What did the hotdog craving represent for me? The craving took me back to a birthday party when I was 9, and it was one of the best birthdays that I could remember as a child... I had all of my friends there, we were having so much fun and we played for hours, playing with all of my new toys and I was in my glory. When I thought of this memory and how it related to my life in the present, I realized I hadn't been out much (in my new town), nor did I have any real friends yet. 

This craving and memory really inspired me to find out more of what was going on in my community, start showing up in my life again - like a re-birthday party for myself, and start building new and authentic relationships. This was a big step and now I have been making new friends and having a lot more fun, as well as having more parties and inviting new friends to join me... all thanks to a hotdog craving! 

What are your cravings trying to tell you? 

Love Tammra 

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