Nourish your body, fuel your life: Why Your Cravings Might Not Be Your Fault, and how to fix them
By Amy Pawliuk, RNT | Wild Wellness Holistic Nutrition
If you’ve ever felt like your cravings are controlling you (instead of the other way around), you’re not alone, and you’re not broken.
Years ago, I thought I just lacked willpower. I’d be doing great all morning… until the afternoon hit. Suddenly I’d go from focused to foggy, and all I could think about was grabbing something sweet or carby to make it through.
I’d try to resist, drink water, tell myself to just push through, but the cravings felt louder than logic. What I didn’t know back then? Those cravings weren’t just about will power or a lack of discipline. They were rooted in two major body systems, gut health and blood sugar.
Blood sugar crashes can send your body into panic mode, and sugar-loving gut bacteria will scream for their fix. It’s like trying to eat “better” with a tiny army inside you chanting “Cookies, Cookies, Cooookies!”
You’ve heard of how connected your guts and your brains are, but did you know that your gut bacteria can literally alter your thoughts, feelings and cravings?
But here’s the empowering part: you can change it.
When you consistently pair protein with your meals and snacks, you stabilize your blood sugar. That means fewer crashes, steadier energy, and way less desperate snacking.
And when you add in plants (fruit or veggies) you feed the good gut bacteria that help reduce cravings and support your mood, energy, and metabolism.
Over time, you change the types of bacteria living in your guts. This changes the signals they send your brain and directly impacts the foods you crave!
And I get it, you’re working hard, juggling a million things, trying to stay healthy… and now your own biology feels like it’s fighting you.
It’s exhausting. It’s frustrating. And honestly? It’s unfair no one taught us this sooner.
You don’t need more willpower. You need more support, more stability, and meals that work with your body, not against it.
So next time you reach for a snack or a meal, make sure to have some protein and a plant in there!
Let’s stop blaming ourselves for cravings and start getting curious about what’s causing them.
Because once you understand that, you hold the power.
