#CrushYourKryptonite- I am addicted to peanut butter

Unless you are a robot everyone of us has experienced a craving. That annoying urge to find and devour that juicy hamburger or that bag of Hershey kisses. For me it's Peanut Butter, and no other butter will suffice.

I always crave peanut butter in the middle of the night, where I aimlessly walk into the kitchen and grab the peanut butter jar and a spoon.

The odd thing is I never remember doing it and I could easily get away with it if it wasn't for the evidence left on my dresser and the spoon stuck to my pillow or my peanut butter morning breath-ugh YUCK!

When I first started eating clean clean ( I have always eaten healthy for the most part) I noticed that I would crave a lot of peanut butter.

In an effort to stay consistent with my goals I started to incorporate what I was desperately wanting- Peanut Butter.

The more I would crave it the more likely I was to binge out on it later anyways. I realized very quickly that moderation was the most important part of a healthy lifestyle.

We are NOT on diets! We are NOT just trying to reach temporary goals just to end up at square one again. We are here to change our lives, work through our struggles and keep going!

This will mentally keep you focused since you allowed yourself to have what you wanted with the intention getting back on course as soon as possible.

Otherwise you are going to find that you feel disappointed, defeated and let down. It is really hard to stick to something that makes us feel inferior or bad about ourselves and we tend to turn away from those things.

Reaching any goal is physiological, you must first believe you can do something before it will happen. The second thing that MUST happen is Realizing nothing can prepare you for any curve balls that will come, cravings included.

Eating healthy has got to be more than looking good and that would be what we really want in life, longevity. We want to live a full,happy, blessed lives that are free from disease that can be avoided. If the goal is longevity than don't you think a healthy mind, solid goals and lifelong habits are more important that a short term diet. Unless your ultimate goal is to fit into a swimsuit for this summer only you are kidding yourself if you think you will never be experience cravings for "bad" foods on occasion. Building a healthy foundation in your life is going to allow you to keep reaching new goals throughout your lifespan,not just the now. I am not looking to have a 6 pack when I am 80, what I am looking for then is the strength, health to watch my family prosper and to be engaged as I am today.

Back to my peanut butter story (true story), what I know now is that I was craving fats in my diet because my body was adjusting to a healthier diet, lowered carbohydrates and increased strength training. In this case my craving was not "bad" but finding moderation and proper timing was important to my goals.

By adding a little bit of peanut butter into my day I have drastically reduced my night walks to the kitchen, and don't wake up with peanut butter breath. WHEW !

What do you struggle with? Are you a peanut butter lover like me or do you gravitate to something else?