Originally Posted by
Hazelnut
Everyone's experiences are different.
But, look at this this way. What does your mind do as you walk past the baby care section of a grocery store, the adult diaper section, or any other section that really does't apply to you. You just kinda glance past it... like its not even there. Eventually the meat isle, seafood counters, dairy shelves, etc... will all give you that same feeling, and you will no longer see those sections as a "food source."
As for cravings, you've spent your whole life teaching your brain what food is. Gradually, you will stop seeing meaty foods as a food source. Sometimes, the smell of a meat-based restaurant gets the same reaction as the smell I get walking into an auto parts store... Its just a nasty smell...not food.
I've been vegan for 3.5 years. I don't get cravings anymore. But, the smell of fried chicken, and the smell of a burning coal BBQ grill (regardless of whether meat is cooking yet or not), will make me very hungry. It's a craving that will hit me hard, but I deal with it by eating something else. Like... if I can smell my neighbors cooking outside, I might open a can of veg baked beans...maybe fry up some veg weenies and onions to mix in. The smell of my own food overpowers the smell from outside, it actually fells like I'm satisfying the craving by eating a large amount of food (regardless of whether or not it is similar themed), and then I'm so stuffed that I don't even want to think about food anymore.