Taming the “Wanting Mind”: How to Break the Cycle of Cravings Have you ever stood in front of an open refrigerator, knowing you want something but not knowing what? You scan the shelves, land on that leftover chocolate cake, and eat it. Maybe all of it. And yet afterward, you still feel unsatisfied only now you’re also uncomfortable, guilty, and frustrated. According to psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher Sasha T. Loring, author of Eating with Fierce Kindness, this experience is a classic example of what she calls “the wanting mind.” The wanting mind is a state of fundamental dissatisfaction a restless sense that something is missing, even when our basic needs have already been met. It’s this state that often drives cravings. Where Cravings Come From Cravings can arise for many reasons: Food sensitivities or allergies Lack of sleep Nutrient deficiencies Stress or emotional overwhelm But Loring points out that cravings aren’t only…

Perhaps you’ve been pleased with how you’ve been eating. You’re following Raymond Francis’s book, Never Be Fat Again, eating a nutrient dense diet, taking good supplements, avoiding toxins and exercising. You’ve given up counting calories and diets that made you feel deprived, stressed and irritable, and you’re quite happy losing weight slowly but steadily.  You’re feeling like you’ve finally got a handle on this thing called food. Then it happens. At the Farmers Market you’re hungrier than you anticipated. A baker there sells organic, gluten-free, whole grain muffins.  Although carbohydrates are a problem area for you, you’ve had these particular muffins before without difficulty, so you eat one, and it hits the spot. Back home you get a distressing phone call from a friend that makes you feel anxious. Making lunch, you add wild rice to your chicken-vegetable soup.  You mean to add only half a cup, but end up adding a cup and a half. After finishing the soup you’…