What Your Cravings Are Trying to Tell You: Learning to Listen Instead of Judge
- Yvette E. McDonald, LCSW-QS, CMNCS, NTP
- May 29
- 4 min read
“I just have no willpower.”
It’s one of the most common statements I hear in my office.
Sometimes it’s about chocolate.
Sometimes it’s late-night snacking.
Sometimes it’s the constant “food noise”, thinking about food even when you aren’t physically hungry.
The shame is often palpable.
People assume cravings are proof that something is wrong with them.
But over the years, both through my work as a therapist and my own journey
with neurodivergence, I’ve started asking a different question.
What if cravings aren’t the problem?
What if they’re information?
Learning to Distrust My Body
For most of my life, I didn’t trust my body. As someone who is both autistic and has ADHD, I spent years being told that what I felt wasn’t quite right. I was too sensitive. Too emotional. Too much. Like many neurodivergent adults, especially those diagnosed later in life, I learned to question my own internal experiences.
Somewhere along the way, I stopped listening.
I pushed past hunger.
I ignored exhaustion.
I wasn’t even sure what fullness felt like.
I would go hours without eating, only to find myself standing in the kitchen later that evening wondering why I couldn’t stop.
I thought I had a willpower problem.
Looking back now, I realize something different.
My body had been communicating with me all along.
I just didn’t know how to understand its language.
Cravings Are Like Dashboard Lights
Imagine driving your car when the check engine light comes on. Most of us wouldn’t cover it with tape and pretend it wasn’t there. We’d become curious. What’s happening? Is something low? Does something need attention?
Cravings work much the same way. They’re not always telling us the same thing.
Sometimes they’re pointing toward:
Blood sugar fluctuations
Not eating enough protein or overall nourishment
Poor sleep
Chronic stress
Emotional overwhelm
Sensory overload
Hormonal changes
Dopamine seeking
Habit
The craving itself isn’t the enemy.
It’s the messenger.
Food Noise Isn’t About Weakness
Many of my ADHD clients describe something called food noise. It’s the constant mental pull toward food. Thinking about the snack in the pantry. Wondering what dinner will be while eating lunch. Feeling like food is always in the background.
For some people, ADHD medication quiets that noise during the day. Not because it creates willpower. But because it improves regulation.
Then the medication wears off.
The food noise returns.
The cravings return.
The contrast becomes impossible to ignore.
That doesn’t mean medication is the answer for everyone. It simply reminds us that our relationship with food is deeply connected to how our brain and nervous system are functioning.
The Many Ways Food Becomes Regulation
Over the years, I’ve noticed certain patterns appearing again and again.
Some people forget to eat until they’re shaky.
Others graze throughout the day.
Some binge on sweets after holding everything together for hours.
Many autistic clients find comfort in eating the same foods repeatedly because familiarity feels regulating and safe.
Others use food to recover from sensory overload or emotional exhaustion.
None of these patterns make someone broken.
They make me curious.
What need is this behavior trying to meet?
My CGM Changed More Than My Blood Sugar
When I started wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), I expected to learn about blood sugar. I didn’t expect to learn so much about myself. I began noticing patterns. Poor sleep made cravings stronger. Skipping meals changed my mood. Certain foods left me feeling calm and energized. Others had me searching the pantry an hour later.
The numbers weren’t there to judge me.
They gave me another way to understand what my body had been trying to communicate.
It reminded me that my body wasn’t working against me.
It was working for me.
Curiosity Changes Everything
One of the biggest shifts we can make is replacing judgment with curiosity.
Instead of asking:
“Why can’t I control myself?”
Try asking:
What happened before this craving showed up?
Have I eaten enough today?
How did I sleep last night?
Am I overwhelmed?
Am I seeking comfort, stimulation, or connection?
What might my body be asking for right now?
Notice that none of those questions begin with shame.
They begin with understanding.
A Different Relationship With Food
Sometimes they’re asking for nourishment.
Sometimes they’re asking for rest.
Sometimes they’re asking for regulation.
And sometimes they’re simply asking us to slow down long enough to listen.
The goal isn’t to fight your body.
The goal is to understand it.
Because the more we learn the language of our bodies, the less we need to live at war with them.
Yvette McDonald, LCSW-QS, NTP, is a psychotherapist and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner who helps individuals understand the connection between mental health, neurodivergence, nervous system regulation, and whole-body wellness. Through her work at Nourivida Wellness, she blends psychology, nutrition, and lifestyle medicine to help people move beyond symptom management and develop a deeper understanding of what their bodies are communicating. She believes lasting change begins not with shame, but with curiosity.
