Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

Yahoo has a healthy eating weblog. Last week, she wrote an entry about ethnic foods and received this sarcastic comment:

so basically, watch out for the stuff that tastes good…thanks!
Posted by oneluv

I saw the comment and looked at it unbelievingly. The entry had recommended staying away from tempura fried Japanese dishes and phyllo pastry in Greek dishes. All the greasy and oily stuff that makes the food too rich to eat. Hurts my stomach, too. And then I realized it had happened to me…

They always said that my tastes would change. I remember hearing Weight Watcher leaders say it and seeing heads nod around the room. They said that my tastes would change so often that I stopped rolling my eyes when I heard the phrase. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I thought, “my tastes will change and I’ll SUDDENLY just LOVE veggies and I won’t even want to look at pizza.” I shook my head.

Three years later, here I am eager and ready to say to you that your taste changes. I don’t crave oily fried Japanese tempura, even when it’s right there in front of me. Even when people hold it up and say, “Want one?” I consciously try not to crinkle my nose at it, but I easily say, “No thanks.” And Baklava is just so much honey and nuts and that weird greasy feel in the back of my throat that I can’t get rid of.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t have cravings. It’s just that they changed. I used to crave potato chips when I needed salt. I consciously changed that craving by having a tart Granny Smith Apple with lots of salt every time I felt the urge to eat chips. Now, I crave apples. It’s not that I don’t have cravings anymore, but they changed into healthier ones.

It didn’t happen magically, either. Over the years, I have been working to find out “what I really want” when I have a craving. Sometimes it’s salt. Sometimes I’m thirsty. Sometimes I need sugar. Sometimes I need some alone time. Sometimes I need a hug. Finding out what I’m really craving has been a long journey for me. See my entry on Losing Motivation if you would like to work on this.

So, here’s my answer to oneluv’s comment:

Your tastes will change. Trust me. No matter how addicted you think you are, if you consistently eat healthy, you will start to crave healthy food. It’s how our bodies have evolved. We desire what we eat regularly. You’ll just have to go on faith on this one, or not. It doesn’t require faith. It only requires that you consistently eat healthy for about three years or so. Are you up for the challenge?