cravings, binges & the "what the hell" spiral

Let’s have a real moment here—cravings can feel intense. Sometimes it’s a whisper: “hey…a little chocolate might be nice.” Other times? It’s a full-blown “MUST. HAVE. BREAD. NOW.” situation. And when you’re trying to heal your relationship with food through Intuitive Eating, those cravings can make you feel like you’re doing something wrong.

But here’s what no one tells you when you start this work: cravings (even intense, seemingly illogical ones) aren’t signs of failure.
They’re signs of being a human in a body that’s trying to be heard.

learning to listen—even when your brain is yelling “ice cream!”

One of the most frustrating parts of early Intuitive Eating is trying to figure out what the hell your body is actually asking for. You might feel like you’re either always craving sweets, or you swing between total restriction and full-on snack attack. It’s confusing. And honestly? It’s exhausting.

But those moments aren’t proof that you can’t be trusted—they’re part of the healing.
For many of us, especially if you’ve spent years (or decades) in a restrict-binge cycle, cravings for sweets are often your body’s way of saying:
“Hey, I haven’t felt safe in a while. Can we work on that?”

Sometimes cravings are physical. Sometimes they’re emotional.
Sometimes it’s both.

If you’ve had a rough day and your brain is like “let’s go face-first into a box of cookies,” that doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re human, and maybe you’re tired, stressed, lonely, or just craving a little comfort. The goal isn’t to never crave sweets—it’s to be curious instead of critical when those cravings come up.

why your hunger hormones are kind of throwing a party without you

Let’s get a little science-y, but I promise not to turn this into a biology lecture.

You’ve got two main hunger hormones in play:

ghrelin (the “I’m hungry!” hormone) and leptin (the “I’m full now, thanks” hormone).
When things are running smoothly, ghrelin rises to tell you to eat, and leptin kicks in when you’ve had enough.

But chronic dieting, stress, poor sleep, and restriction can throw all of this out of whack.
Leptin might stop doing its job well. Ghrelin might be working overtime.
And suddenly, you’re hungry all the time—especially for quick energy, like carbs and sugar.

This is your biology, not a lack of discipline. Your body is trying to protect you from starvation, even if you’re not “technically” starving. (It doesn’t care about your macros or that cleanse you started on Monday.)

Balanced meals, rest, and giving yourself consistent permission to eat are what help calm this whole hormone party down.

what to do when you binge (and how not to hate yourself afterward)

Let me say this clearly: eating past fullness or bingeing doesn’t mean you’re back at square one.

It means something inside needed attention—and food was the fastest way your body knew to cope.

Instead of spiraling into guilt or panic, try asking:

• What was I feeling before I ate?

• Was I hungry—like, actually hungry?

• Did I go too long without eating earlier today?

• Was I trying to eat “perfectly” all day before this happened?

• Was I emotionally overwhelmed? Lonely? Anxious?

This isn’t a trick to stop the binge from happening again—this is how you learn.
Your body isn’t the enemy. It’s a source of information. And every binge, every craving, every night you ate more than you planned is just data.

healing doesn’t look like perfection—it looks like less panic

Let me paint you a picture of what progress actually looks like:

You crave the brownie.
You eat the brownie.
You move on with your life.

Or… you crave the brownie, eat three, feel kind of uncomfortable, and instead of spiraling into a shame hole, you pause and say:
“Okay, that happened. What do I need right now?”

That’s healing.

Healing isn’t always choosing the salad or walking away from the candy.
Healing is responding with kindness when your nervous system goes into “what the hell” mode.

you’re not doing it wrong—you’re just doing something new

Intuitive Eating isn’t a hunger-fullness diet. It’s not a new set of rules to follow.
It’s about building trust. And trust takes reps.

The next time you feel that urge to binge or devour the snack drawer, try this:

• Pause (even for 10 seconds) and breathe.

• Ask: What do I really need right now?

• And then? Respond with compassion.

Maybe you eat. Maybe you don’t. Either way, you can’t mess this up. Every moment is a chance to learn more about yourself, not less.

You’re allowed to have cravings.
You’re allowed to eat sweets.
You’re allowed to not have it all figured out yet.

You’re healing. And that’s worth everything.