5 Ways To Handle Food Cravings
74Cravings. Everyone gets them at some point or another. For some, they can be quite problematic when it comes to staying focused and dedicated on a diet because once that craving is there, they have a hard time saying no. The key to concurring your cravings is knowing why the craving originated and then also learning appropriate methods to deal with them that work for you. What you need to keep in mind is that cravings are a very, very personal thing and what works for one person is definitely not necessarily going to be what works for another. As you probably already know, while one person may always seem to crave ice cream, for another, a big, fat, juicy steak is what does them in. That ice cream connoisseur may never have any desire for steak whatsoever so for them, that food is of no particular problem. Depending on the food, the method you want to use to control the craving will also likely be something different. If it's a food that is very hard to get away from on an every day basis as it's around often (bread is a good example of this), it's going to be a lot harder to simply remove that item from wherever you are than if say the food you always crave is a bag of all dressed potato chips. The chips you can just not keep in the house and most people aren't regularly bringing that particular flavour to work/school and so on. Bread on the other hand, since it is a staple in so many people's diets, it's going to be a little harder to avoid. Therefore, your way of combating this craving will need to be altered to fit the situation.
Below are some tips for how you can identify and beat your cravings.
Eating Because Of Hunger
If the craving is because of hunger on the other hand, then you need to evaluate your meal plan. When was the last time you ate? How many calories are you currently taking in a day? Is it enough? If you are going too long without eating or are not consuming enough calories to meet your needs during the day, both situations can set you up for a binge. When people go on very low calorie diets, their minds begin to shift in thinking habits and they almost become fixiated on food. It's all they think about! And usually, they are thinking about what they can't have since, well, they can't have it! We always want what we don't have right... Making sure your meals are evenly spaced apart so you never really allow yourself to become too overly hungry can be the simply solution to this problem. When you aren't famished you are ten times more likely to choose healthy foods over non-healthy ones and remain much more in control when it comes time to your eating habits.
You Are Eating Because Of Emotional Reasons
The first thing you need to ask yourself is whether or not your craving is because of being hungry. Most of the times, cravings are not out of hunger but rather because of emotional feelings. You are stressed, you are tired, your boyfriend/girlfriend just broke up with you - that sort of thing. All of these want to make us turn to food for comfort and more often than not the food you choose in these situations isn't so healthy. When was the last time you went and had a big bowl of veggies after a break-up? Probably never. At that point, the pint of ice cream in the freezer was a million times more appealing.
If you identify that you aren't craving a food out of hunger and it is because of an emotion, first write down this emotion and why you are feeling this way. Spend a good five minutes venting about the emotion on paper. Describe why you feel like this, it's affect on you, why whatever has happened is bothering you so much and so on. Often, after you do this, you may even find that the craving has passed because not only is the emotion gone (now that you've vented about it) but time has passed as well. Time is often one of your best friends when it comes to dealing with cravings because usually a craving will only last for so long.
A second trick you can do if you don't want to write about your feelings is to simply have a glass of water with some lemon juice first. The lemon juice is a good addition because it will refresh your mouth and help remove the 'taste' for the craving. By giving your brain another taste to focus on rather than the thought of what the food you are craving tastes like, you might be able to sidetrack it. After you've had the water, then wait for another 10 minutes.
Eating Because Of Nutrient Deficiencies
Some people also believe that cravings can be physiological in origin and are a signal that your body is short in a particular nutrient. For example, if you have a strong craving for popcorn, chips or pretzels, this could be a signal that you are low in sodium as these foods are traditionally higher in salt.
While there isn't a whole lot of scientific proof to back up that cravings are in fact caused by nutrient deficiencies, this is still a good excuse for you to look at your diet and figure out if you may be coming in short somewhere. Having good nutritional support will not only provide your body with all the nutrients it needs but you will also help control blood sugar levels which can also cause the development of cravings. When your blood sugar level suddenly drops, this often leads to the body wanting quick releasing carbohydrates to bring it back up again (think candy, high sugar cereal, pasta) so you are going to be more likely to actually crave those foods.
So next time you are experiencing a craving, keep these factors in mind. The absolute best way to beat a craving is to try and let time pass. Often that is all that is needed to lessen the craving. If time passes and you are still craving it, then it might be best to just satisfy it with a small portion of whatever the particular food it is because if you don't, you may start overeating on other foods in order to try and 'fill the void'. Better yet would be to try and find a healthy replacement for the food so that you can actually include that in your diet on an everyday basis (if this is a common craving you are dealing with). Definitely take comfort though in knowing that you are not the only person who deals with the issue. Every dieter is going to face it; some are better at handling the craving than others but as long as you are willing to dedicate some time and effort into finding out how you can beat the craving, you can definitely become one of those people who handles them better.
