Doreen Virtue - Constant Craving: What Your Food Cravings Mean and How to Overcome Them

Copyright 1995 by Doreen Virtue

Revised copyright 2011

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Editorial supervision: Jill Kramer
Cover design: Amy Rose Grigoriou

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011923039

ISBN: 978-1-4019-3549-8
Digital ISBN: 978-1-4019-3550-4

14 13 12 11 9 8 7 6
1st edition, July 1995
6th edition, October 2011

Printed in the United States of America

Other Hay House Books by Doreen Virtue

Assertiveness for Earth Angels (available August 2012)
The Miracles of Archangel Gabriel (available March 2012)
Mary, Queen of Angels (available January 2012)
The Angel Therapy Handbook
Angel Words, with Grant Virtue
Archangels 101
The Healing Miracles of Archangel Raphael
The Art of Raw Living Food (with Jenny Ross)
Signs from Above (with Charles Virtue)
The Miracles of Archangel Michael
Angel Numbers 101
Solomons Angels (a novel)
My Guardian Angel (with Amy Oscar)
Thank You, Angels! (childrens book with Kristina Tracy)
Healing Words from the Angels
How to Hear Your Angels
Realms of the Earth Angels
Fairies 101
Daily Guidance from Your Angels
Divine Magic
Angels 101
Goddesses & Angels
Crystal Therapy (with Judith Lukomski)
Angel Medicine
The Crystal Children
Archangels & Ascended Masters
Earth Angels
Messages from Your Angels
Angel Visions II
Eating in the Light (with Becky Prelitz, M.F.T., R.D.)
The Care and Feeding of Indigo Children
Healing with the Fairies
Angel Visions
Divine Prescriptions
Healing with the Angels
Id Change My Life If I Had More Time
Divine Guidance
Chakra Clearing
Angel Therapy7
The Lightworkers Way
Constant Craving ABZ
The Yo-Yo Diet Syndrome
Losing Your Pounds of Pain

All of the above are available at your local bookstore, or may be ordered by visiting: Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com; Hay House Australia: www.hayhouse.com.au; Hay House UK: www.hayhouse.co.uk; Hay House South Africa: www.hayhouse.co.za; Hay House India: www.hayhouseco.in

Doreens Website: www.AngelTherapy.com

Note:Throughout this book, Ive used numerical footnotes [1] whenever Im discussing another researchers material. They correspond to the numbered Notes listings in the Appendix of the book. The footnotes do not contain any additional material; they are a reference if you want to read further about a particular topic. If you choose to disregard the footnote numbers as youre reading, you wont miss any of the meaning or message in this book.

E very part of you is perfect, whole, and complete; and your appetite is no exception. Your food cravings and voracious appetite dont mean that something is wrong with you or that you are weak in any way. Rather, they show that your appetite is operating exactly as intended.

Your entire body, including your appetite, reflects the level of peace of mind in your life. Your appetite is designed like an airplane instrument panelto warn you when spiritual and emotional fuel run low. Hunger is a flashing red light signaling, I need more peace of mind!

Animals put on extra weight in preparation for winter hibernation. Humans who carry extra weight are in a spiritual hibernation, asleep to their true potential. The weight serves as a hedge against perceived dangers and lack, in a world that, in truth, is filled with safety and abundance. Its time to wake up from the heavy, tired hibernation of overweight and overeating. When you walk out of the dark winter cave and into the daylight, you experience your true state of eternal springtime, filled with creativity, success, and energy!

In the past, you may have tried to kill your appetite with external forces such as diets, powders, or pills. As you discovered, that approach didnt work for long. What is needed, instead, is to heal your appetite using an internal approach. Well, thats exactly the approach you will be offered in these pages.

Its no accident that you crave a particular food at a particular moment. We crave foods that we hope will give us peace of mind. Cravings occur for two reasons: a desire to feel better emotionally, or to shift our energy level. We want to feel peppier or calmer. More secure and confident. Less angry. Or less afraid.

All creatures are driven to fulfill their basic needs for food, water, rest, shelter, and peace of mind. If any of these needs go unfulfilled, your body signals you to correct the situation. This process of maintaining a comfortable, healthy balance in your body and mind is called homeostasis.

The homeostatic drive tells you to put on a jacket when youre cold, drink when youre thirsty, and sleep when youre tired. When you lose peace of mind, your gut feelings direct you to take action to correct the troubling situation. If you dont take action, you experience a negative emotion such as depression. Still, your body is driven to maintain homeostasis, so it tries another approach with you. Your appetite knows which foods will deliver your desired emotion or energy levelthose that will bring you back to a temporary state of peace of mind.

Every food you crave has mood- or energy-altering properties that will return you to a temporary homeostasis. As youll read further on, your bodys natural intelligence is remarkable.

Gut Feelings

Our gut is the center of our emotions. We feel fear, excitement, anger, and love in our midsection. Youve probably had one of these experiences:

You had butterflies of excitement in your stomach.

You were newly in love, and lost your appetite as a result.

Your intuition came in the form of a gut feeling.