If you are rushing throughout your day only to find you return home at the end of the night with wild cravings and the desire to eat everything in the fridge, I have news for you. You are not experiencing cravings, you are experiencing real hunger, and that is not a bad thing. Cravings & Hunger Aren't Negative Cravings and hunger have been given a negative connotation in our society, and I am here to unpack this bag and help you stop confusing hunger for cravings just because you are underfed. The truth is, you need to figure out where your cravings are coming from and have a good hard look at how you are feeding your body throughout the day to get to the root cause of your food intake.  Instead of perpetuating the shame circle, you need to balance your energy, nutrient and calorie intake to find a happy medium and figure out what works for you. If cravings seem to be running your life, this episode is your wake up call to help you figure out what you need to look at next in order to stop the mental and physical drainage and start enjoying your food and your life. How do cravings play a role in how you relate to food? Share your personal experience with us and let me know how hunger integrates into your life in the comments on the episode page.   On Today's Episode The difference between a low nutrient diet and a low energy diet (10:10) Addressing the prevalence of the dieting mentality in the wellness world (12:20) How to find a balance between energy intake and nutrient intake (13:45) Ways to know if the volume on your plate is unequal to the amount of energy you need (17:30) Understanding the connection between stress, your cycle and your cravings (20:32)   Quotes “This is not a cravings problem. This is a lack of food problem.” (9:36)  “Relatively speaking, this 1200 calorie business has got to stop.” (10:50)  “If you get home at the end of the day and all you want to do is vacuum up everything that isn’t attached down in your kitchen, that’s not super glued to the refrigerator, that you just want to eat everything, I really need you to take an honest look at what you are taking in during the day.” (14:56) “At the very baseline, we have our Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of energy we need on a daily basis just for our body to function at its very most basic. And a lot of people are subsisting far, far below their Basal Metabolic Rate in what they are eating.” (17:18)  “This is not a failing of you, this is not a character flaw, but you do need to do something about it.” (20:26)  “Sometimes cravings aren’t cravings, they are just hunger.” (22:26)   Resources Mentioned In This Show   Nutritional Therapy 101 Free 7 Day Course Order Core 4 The Book Here Nutritional Therapy Association Website Harder to Kill Radio is sponsored by the Nutritional Therapy Association. Registration is now open for the NTA’s October class. You can learn more and save your seat by clicking here (and don’t forget to mention my name on your application!) You can also try out their free 7-day course, Nutritional Therapy 101 by clicking here. The Core 4 book is now available! Click here to get a free gift when you purchase. Thank you so much for all your support! Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!