This article was reviewed by Alissa Rumsey, registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor. First, you should know there's no exact way to tell why you want to eat a particular food at a particular time. Cravings are caused by a number of factors, like nutritional deficiencies or needs and your environment (see: smelling freshly baked bread or seeing someone eat a thing that looks delicious). However, many food cravings are a direct result of restrictive eating or limiting certain foods. If you're cutting way back on certain foods or food groups, like bread or sugar, eventually your body's starvation mechanism kicks in, making you really,