Trying to Go Vegan, But Having Cravings

by Rachel
(Kunkletown, PA)

Question: I have been trying so hard to go vegan but I find it hard to stop the cravings when I am PMSing. Do you have any suggestions?

Answer: I have dealt with the same issues, and I think most of us probably do. I find there's a certain day of my cycle that I call tears and chocolate day. I'm not a chocolate person, but on that one day, I suddenly am. For me, that's not a big deal-- I just eat dairy free chocolate chips with some fruit and it solves the craving.

I wrote the book on cravings for cheese, literally. Because I had such a struggle with getting it out of my life and I've heard so many other people do too, I put together an ebook on dairy free cheese that you might want to check out.

I believe in honoring what your body is telling you, but
only when you know you can trust your body, and once you have established what you want your body to know. For instance, if you are struggling to stop eating dairy, it's important to just keep battling it before you start indulging yourself in your cravings. After you've already gained control over food, you can then allow yourself to try it if you want it.

So then, if you crave something and you are in charge, you should eat that thing, slowly, and with thought. How do you feel before, during, and after eating? I got this concept from Skinny Bitch, which is a book I definitely recommend for anyone trying to go vegan.

Another thing that has really helped me is to make sure my hormone levels are balanced. When I first went vegan, I started to break out right away. This also coincided with the same time I stopped taking birth control pills that I'd been on for ten years. So, my body was basically freaking out from the changes in hormone levels. I was baffled, and tried every skin lotion and wash you can think of. Nothing worked.

Finally I did some research and found out that flax seeds really help to balance your skin. They work help to prevent acne and then reduce inflammation for anything that arrives.

What's key for you is that flax helps to balance hormones and can reduce cravings. I would definitely give them a try. Make sure to grind flax seeds to get the most benefit from them.

You can also look for chia seeds, which are a hyped up version of flax seeds. I use chia now and don't have problems. You can get chia seeds from Amazon.

Hope this helps!

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