first thing is.. dont be hard on yourself.... none of us are perfect. i am allergic to wheat and gluten too... and i have little slip ups when i get frustrated by all the limitations...

Just keep doing the cleanses.. be extra easy on your system for a couple days.. maybe do a flush and things should be back to normal soon!

Faith -- Cravings are often the result of low blood Sugar that is induced by fasting. For example, if we set goals for ourselves like no snacks in the afternoon, or no snacks after dinner, we get cravings when our blood Sugar levels drop, typically 2-6 hours after eating. If we give in to this we think that we lack will power. Actually, this is our bodies screaming for help. The adrenal hormones are forced into raising our blood Sugar for us in the absence of food. These hormones are known by various names -- counter-regulatory hormones, fight or flight hormones, and PMS hormones. Typically this is what creates cravings and other "PMS" type symptoms.

For example, if we find that we have cravings about three hours after eating, we can eat a little less at the main meal and have a small snack 2 1/2 hours later. If we wait to snack until after the cravings start (and then hold off as long as we can), we'll tend to eat a lot more and feel bad about ourselves to boot, plus our bodies will once again have been flooded by those pesky hormones with all of their side effects.

We need sugar like a car needs gas. It's a natural thing. Maybe that's why you instinctively went for donuts. Donuts are one of the most effective foods for raising blood sugar. Donuts happen to be the junk food of choice for the most stressed out -- just look at the men in blue and their penchant for coffee and donuts ;).

It's possible that you have some degree of adrenal fatigue. If you do and you correct for this you'll feel like a different person. You can check your adrenals with a home test kit that uses four saliva samples in 24 hours. Great Smokies Laboratories and Biohealth Diagnostics both offer essentially the same home test kit, but Great Smokies doesn't require a doctor's prescription. Ignore any doctor's results with one cotton swab saliva test in 24 hours, these are a waste of time and money since there is such a fluctuation in adrenal hormones throughout the day.

hg