Craving compliant foods

[Krista Porter Agocs]

So, I'm on Day 45 and a couple of days ago I started having insatiable cravings for chicken and hard-boiled eggs. I seriously can't get enough of either of those things. I've been eating them without abandon for a few days (probably 3-4HBEggs/day and chicken for basically every meal). Is there a point where I should be concerned about this or should I just stop stressing and go with it?

Just for the record, last week I was craving sushi and Spaghetti O's (why I'll never know because I haven't eaten those in probably over 20 years!) so, this is a very different feeling for me. Are these protein rich cravings indicative of something else going on?

[CAK911]

I don't have any concrete idea of what those cravings might indicate. You might just be hungry -- is your fat intake high enough? Alternately, I do know chicken is a major source of potassium, but that's just sort of a brainstorm and not anything particularly well informed.

[Tom Denham]

I try to eat a minimum of 3 eggs per day and would not worry about 4 or 5. I don't think you would suffer from eating only chicken for a week or two, but I don't think it is a good idea to eat chicken as your only protein for long periods. There are differences in the nutritional content of chicken, beef, lamb, fish, bison, pork, etc. and it is beneficial to eat a variety of foods to access that nutrition.

If you are following the meal template and eating protein at every meal, I doubt you are having cravings due to a physiological deficit. However, I am sometimes not satisfied by chicken when I am satisfied by red meat, so you might want to eat some beef or lamb and see if that helps reduce the cravings.

[Krista Porter Agocs]

I feel like I follow the template and that my meals are definitely big enough. We cook with coconut oil and use olive oil as dressings and such so I don't feel like fats should be an issue either. Maybe I'm just hungry right now. I definitely eat a variety of veggies and protein sources, but these past 2-3 days I've just been craving eggs and chicken. So strange!

[notacommittee]

Maybe just wait a week and see if it goes away? A few weeks ago I was having the WORST cravings for eggplant...it was all I wanted. So I ate it like twice a day, figuring that hey, it's eggplant, what can it hurt? Within a few days the cravings just disappeared.

[Krista Porter Agocs]

Update - I've been having issues with severe edema in my legs, ankles, feet so I went to the doctor last Friday to have blood tests run. I am hypothyroid and figured it was something to do with that. Turns out my protein levels are low. I am 12 years post gastric bypass so I have malabsorption issues with protein anyways, but I found it odd that apparently my body really was craving what it actually needed the most...protein. I eat a ton of protein every day (because I know I have to due to the malabsorption), but I'm going to figure out another way to increase those levels. I'm not sure how I'm actually going to be able to do that without a supplement (shake) of some sort. I literally can't eat more than I already do.

[Runnerchick34]

I am so sorry that you are having issues. I AM super impressed that you were listening to your body's messages! I hope everything works out for you!

[Krista Porter Agocs]

Thanks, Runnerchick! It's definitely a process. Getting your body on track and functioning like it should can reveal all sorts of things about your body and how it functions. I hope I can get these issues resolved soon and back to feeling great!