My mind is a bastard

[Charlotte]

Up until my decision to want to eat a meat free diet I did eat meat, in small quantities, never really bothered me and I realised I've been cooking/purchasing/eating meat free meals anyway.

 

So I decided (around 3 days ago) I want to make this a way of life for good, for a number of reasons. 

 

Anyway, since making that decision my mind has been craving meat. It's like it wants what it can't have. I know this is false! I am aware of the false craving. 

 

My question is... Why does our minds do this? Another example just to make it clear, let's say you rarely eat sweets, so you make a decision to totally eradicate sweets from your diet all together. A few days later you find yourself unexpectedly craving sweets. Anybody know the psychology behind this?

I want to go Meta on my mind. 

 

[Faceless]

My mind is a bastard 

lol , hey let go of your ego ?

[Nahm]

@Charlotte It’s because thinking about not eating sweets is still thinking about sweets.   Instead, write down what you want, example, eat more fruits. Then think about fruits. 

Don’t think about cake.

 

[pluto]

Because the Goa'uld inside of you is still alive, you must starve it to death!

[Charlotte]

10 hours ago, Nahm said:

@Charlotte It’s because thinking about not eating sweets is still thinking about sweets.   Instead, write down what you want, example, eat more fruits. Then think about fruits. 

Don’t think about cake.

 

Aaaaaah, I see! Will do, thank you @Nahm .

 

Don't think about cake ?

 

9 hours ago, pluto said:

Because the Goa'uld inside of you is still alive, you must starve it to death!

The what sorry @pluto?

[pluto]

18 hours ago, Charlotte said:

Aaaaaah, I see! Will do, thank you @Nahm .

 

Don't think about cake ?

 

The what sorry @pluto?

Oh sorry it was a joke from the classic sci-fi show stargate. Its a parasite

[Charlotte]

@pluto I don't watch TV so I have absolutely no idea ?

[Michael569]

Because sugar is 8 times more addictive than heroin. The sugar addiction is the most world-wide spread "disease." Most of us have become addicted to it withing our first 4 years of life. 

[Charlotte]

@Michael569 Sorry the sweets was an example of what I was referring to, meat was my problem 

[Leo-Tzu]

I think you need protein .. . Like the babies when they need calcium so they start to scratch and eat the walls lol

[Vingger]

Go enthusiastic about the decisión.

You have a lot to do replacing the meat

 

[ajasatya]

the Mind is a sharp tool. don't cut your own fingers.

[Moreira]

I'm always on diet eating healthy food, but when I try chocolate, cheese or other junk food I cant stop. It's like the cravings are stronger than normal people. And I have zero control. is weird.

Edited January 28, 2018 by Moreira

[ElenaO]

On 28/01/2018 at 10:56 PM, Moreira said:

I'm always on diet eating healthy food, but when I try chocolate, cheese or other junk food I cant stop. It's like the cravings are stronger than normal people. And I have zero control. is weird.

I totally agree. I have the same exact outcome when I start eating something I "shouldn't" be eating. 

[ElenaO]

@Charlotte Please be careful with your nutrition. If you remove the meat completely you have to remember to supplement with the necessary nutrients. 

[Ascend]

Because what you resists persists. Because "shoulds" and "shouldn't"s create guilt. Which keeps your attention locked on it. 

[Speedscarlet]

@ElenaO you don’t have to moderate our food as well...

[pluto]

On 1/29/2018 at 7:56 AM, Moreira said:

I'm always on diet eating healthy food, but when I try chocolate, cheese or other junk food I cant stop. It's like the cravings are stronger than normal people. And I have zero control. is weird.

That happens to me when i smoke weed sometimes haha I like it though because it tells me it has some power of me and i need less psychedelics more meditation

 

[Charlotte]

Thanks everyone for your replies. 

 

I'm still eating fish and plenty of soya etc so my protein intake should be fine I hope. 

 

Seemed to have gravitated towards a Japanese type diet which I'm enjoying ?

[Damir Elezi]

@Charlotte Actually, I don't think your body is craving protein. Protein deficiency is very rare and almost only exists among people who are starving in third world countries or among people with anorexia. The body does not really need a lot of protein and it generally doesn't crave it. If you eat enough and you're not hungry all the time, your body is probably not craving protein. What you can crave however is fat and salt. Meat is usually very high fat and the body literally craves for it, because just like sugar, it is ESSENTIAL to the functioning of the body, and the body needs relatively much of it, yet it is not very present in the food that would be easy to get in nature (like fruit or herbs). Also, meat today is full of spices and other substances which have a slighty addictive effect. If you have eaten this stuff for your whole life, it's natural that you have cravings. Even more if you found it really tasty. 

My advice to you is to not hate yourself for it and call the mind a "bastard". I know that feeling but actually the mind functions very well in this case. It does what it's designed to do: Provide stability and a sense of coherence. The decision to cut something out that was part of your life for many years is unsettling and scary to the mind, so of course it doesn't accept it at first. I eat mostly vegetarian right now and I didn't go "I'm going to stop eating meat now" and never touched it again. I ate meat a lot of times in between and it took me a while to actually make that decision. What I needed was a kind of shock moment, where I couldn't align eating (or rather: Buying) meat and fish with my personal values. At this moment, being a meat eater was not a part of my self concept any more and I could overcome it pretty easily. Maybe it helps you to find such a point. Otherwise, cook some REALLY TASTY vegetarian dishes, so you don't miss the taste of meat so much. 

You can do it!