Don’t you just hate how cravings creep up and ruin the diet that you have carefully sustained for what seems an eternity? When we crave for something, we know that giving in isn’t helpful to our weight loss goals. Sometimes we can hold our resolve and dismiss the urge but often the desire to indulge is just so intense that it overwhelms our drive to stick to our diet. There is nothing to worry about occasional cravings. But cravings that occur consistently can sabotage your plans to lose weight. If you want to know how to stop cravings this list I have put together below may prove helpful:
1. Understand why food cravings occur
The first step towards successfully controlling your cravings is understanding their nature. Depending on the person and the craving, food cravings can have a physical and/or psychological basis. Among the most common theories experts use to explain why cravings occur include:
- The lack of certain nutrients
- Low sugar levels in the blood
- Hormonal shifts or changes
- Emotions
- Smells
Understanding what could possibly trigger cravings can greatly help you control them.
2. Remove temptations
If you are exposed to craving-inducing foods all the time, it is very likely that you will experience cravings from time to time. The exposure could well lead you to giving in to these cravings. So one crucial step in putting a stop to your cravings is cleaning out your kitchen of junk food. Go through your refrigerator and food pantry and get rid of chips, cakes, chocolates, cookies, ice cream and everything else that’s unhealthy. You will see that if you don’t keep any of these foods within reach, you won’t be craving or for them or if you’ll do your craving will pass unsatisfied protecting your waistline!
3. Get enough sleep
The amount of sleep you get at night has a lot to do with your cravings. Health experts say that when a person gets too little sleep, his metabolism slows down to save energy. That slowdown triggers the release of the hormone cortisol, which in turn increases a person’s appetite and food cravings. To prevent cravings make sure to get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night.
4. Eat small frequent meals
As you must already know, cravings can be caused by drops in blood sugar levels. Recent studies have shown that the usual practice of eating three big meals a day is bound to create fluctuations in your sugar levels. The key to keeping your blood sugar levels steady is to eat small frequent meals. The conventional method of doing this type of eating plan is to have three meals a day, plus two or three snacks between meals. But experts say that it is best to eat more consistent amounts food throughout the day.
5. Find a healthy substitute
Of course you cannot totally eliminate cravings. No matter how much you try to eliminate them, there will be days when they’ll turn up and tempt you. So instead of doing the very difficult thing of totally ignoring the craving or giving in recklessly to it, you can try and find a healthy alternative. If you are craving for ice cream, you can opt to have a light yogurt and some fruit instead. Or you’re craving salty chips, you can choose to grab some nuts. There are so many healthy alternatives to unhealthy food. You just need to look around or be creative.
If you are dieting or are trying to improve your overall health, being able to successfully battle your cravings is very important. Use the tips above to help keep those little desires for unhealthy snacks sabotage your weight loss goals.
(Photo credit: Woman kicking Junk Food Away via Shutterstock)
I found that simply eating enough makes a big difference. I’d have a meal — or more than one — where I wouldn’t eat enough. Then I’d be starving an hour or two later and start snacking. I started focusing on making sure I hit the calorie count for the meals and added a fourth meal. That’s usually in the morning. Weekdays were huge culprit because I’d have to eat so early that it was nearly 5 hours before I got to lunch.
I agree that eating enough is important but I believe that it is more important that we eat right–meaning that we eat the right kinds of food in the right amount. It is not only enough that we get ourselves full and satisfied during meals, but we also need to make sure that we sustain the feeling of fullness in the longest time possible or we will end up feeling hungry after a while and eat again. If you want to feel full all the time without taking in too much calories, it is best to fill your plate with low energy density foods like fruits, vegetables and lean protein.
A big help for me was having set times to eat. I tend to get hungry around 10, and if I don’t have something specific to eat (such as a piece of fruit set aside or whatever) then I’ll eat anything I can find.
The other big help for me was drinking more water and brushing my teeth as soon as “snack time” is over. If I know I’ve just brushed my teeth I won’t snack, plus it makes food taste really weird.
That teeth brushing thing sounds like a good idea. I hate the way food taste after I’ve brushed my teeth. Hopefully doing that will help me resist my food cravings.
I also have this bad habit of snacking on whatever I see around when I feel hungry which is why I have resolved to fill my pantry with healthy food. And so far, doing so has greatly helped me a cut some calories. Yes, water is such a wonderful friend people who’d like to be healthier and lose some weight. It curbs hunger without adding even a single calorie. I will try out tooth brushing too, it seems to be a really genius thing to do. :)
I never seem to be able to resist my cravings. I’m definitely gonna have to give this list a try.
I think everyone has problems resisting cravings. I myself battled (and is still battling) with these little (but sabotaging) temptations. I hope the list above would serve you well. Let me know how you get on! :)
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