Food cravings are one of the major contributors to weight retention during the postpartum period. I can speak for a lot of mom’s, especially breastfeeding moms when I say that there is no hunger quite like your hunger while breastfeeding. Unfortunately, when we feel hungry, we tend to crave sugary, high calorie carbohydrates. Why is that? What is causing these cravings? There are several common causes of food cravings.
1. The Hunger Hormones
Your body has two main hormones that contribute to feelings of hunger, satiety, and ultimately energy-balance: leptin and ghrelin.
So, if you are overweight, your body may have leptin sensitivity which would reduce leptin’s efficiency and your body will be in a steady state of hunger. Ghrelin is secreted by your stomach, it tells your brain you are hungry, and causes a craving. This is the physiological pathway that causes you to reach for carbs.
2. Stress
One of the most common causes of food cravings is stress. High levels of stress release the hormone cortisol which is your body’s stress hormone. Cortisol has many beneficial properties in the body, but unreasonably high levels of stress can lead to food cravings. Why? Cortisol stimulates your body to burn carbs and fat for fast energy. Cortisol is a survival hormone and tells your body “hey we are under stress, we need some energy!” The biggest problem is your body does not know the difference between an actual life-or-death stress or a mental stress brought on by anxiety or just life stressors. So this increase in cortisol increases your appetite, and because sugary carbohydrates and high fat foods can be quick energy for your body, you crave them! Stress-management techniques can help combat these cravings.
3. Exhaustion
When we sleep, our bodies restore our energy. Another way our bodies get energy is by eating! The postpartum period is full of sleepless nights. It is really important to put into place practices to ensure what little sleep you do get is restful sleep. Being tired also causes a cortisol release further exacerbating your cravings. Eating nourishing foods, limiting blue light exposure in the evening, and walking in the sunlight first thing in the morning are a few things that can promote restful sleep.
4. Blood Sugar Control
When we eat a simple carbohydrate rich meal, our blood sugar spikes. Our liver then secretes a hormone called insulin that is made in the pancreas and tells our cells to uptake sugar for energy. A high and fast insulin release also results in an extreme and fast blood sugar drop. This low blood sugar will cause ghrelin (remember this guy?) levels to increase and ghrelin actually prevents our blood sugar from getting dangerously low by promoting hunger! This is a vicious cycle if you ask me! Controlling your blood sugar is the best way to combat this, and the good news is controlling your blood sugar can be very easy. Blood sugar variability has been linked to longevity, and it turns out that keeping your blood sugar as steady as possible throughout the day can help you live longer. So how do you do this? Eat balanced meals. Eat real food. There are a few things that can help keep blood sugar steady when you are eating a carbohydrate rich meal. They are fat, protein and fiber (fruits/vegetables/whole grains). Consuming an apple with peanut butter, for example, can keep your blood sugar steady and prevent a spike that might occur from eating an apple by itself.
5. You may be deficient in a nutrient
Sometimes our bodies crave things because we are actually deficient in a nutrient. Our bodies need vitamins and minerals to function properly, and if we’re not getting enough of a nutrient, we might crave that food that has those nutrients. For example, say you’re low in calcium or iodine, we might crave ice cream or dairy products. If we’re not getting enough selenium, we might crave sushi. Our bodies are so smart and we’re designed to thrive and survive. So if we’re not getting enough of something, our bodies will crave those foods. When you eat a well balanced diet (fiber + protein + fat) and eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, we can help ensure we’re meeting our nutrient requirements. We all know eating well is hard in motherhood, and this is why taking a postnatal/prenatal supplement is important! Not only are we recovering from pregnancy then the stressors of motherhood, but if you’re breastfeeding there is an even bigger demand on your body. Not sure what postnatal vitamin to choose, download my checklist or checkout my blog post
When experiencing cravings, there can be one or multiple reasons behind these cravings. Our best weapon against cravings is eating a wholesome and nourishing diet. Contact me today for a virtual consult! I will teach you everything you need to know to combat food cravings and how to healthfully lose weight during the postpartum period.
