Food cravings are one of the biggest enemies of any weight loss program; they can range from mild desire to full-blown ravenous desperation. No matter how carefully you plan your meals and exercise, food cravings can cause you to reach for the cookie tin and ruin all your hard work.
1. Include high-quality protein in your diet
Food cravings, especially those involving sweet foods, can often be due to dips in your blood sugar. High-quality protein, such as that found in nuts, cheese, chicken and fish, can help to stabilise your blood sugar levels. Eat small portions of protein at regular intervals throughout the day.
2. Change your surroundings
Sometimes all you need is to change your environment; familiarity can lead to boredom, which often leads to food cravings. If you have been sat behind a desk all day or running around the house picking up after your children, get outside in the fresh air for half an hour. Go for a walk in the park, or meet up with some friends for coffee.
3. Avoid sugar
Sugar is full of 'empty' calories that offer no nutritional value, and rarely satisfies hunger for anything more than a short length of time. Sugar also provides 'highs', similar to those experienced by some drug users, which can lead to irritability and further sugar cravings once the effects have worn off.
4. Distract yourself
Find something else to do with your hands; try a crossword puzzle, some knitting, or ten minutes surfing on the internet. Do something that distracts you from your craving, and helps to focus your attentions elsewhere.
5. Try the rubber band technique
Place a rubber band around your wrist; whenever you feel a food craving coming on, pluck the rubber band and snap it back against your wrist. The sharp sting is usually highly effective at distracting attention away from cravings!
6. Bribe yourself
Set yourself goals and rewards for resisting your food cravings. For example, set yourself the goal of resisting your chocolate cravings for a whole week, and reward yourself with a new pair of shoes at the end of the week.
7. Practice delayed gratification
Food cravings are often the result of trying to deprive yourself of certain foods. If you are a chocoholic and suddenly resolve never to eat chocolate again, your body is likely to fight against your decision by sending out intense chocolate cravings. Instead, try just banning chocolate during the day, but allow yourself a small bar of your favourite chocolate late in the evening. This way you won't feel deprived, and will have something to look forward to later in the day.
8. Eat your greens
Some nutritionists believe that calcium deficiency is responsible for many food cravings. Increase your intake of calcium by eating plenty of leafy green vegetables. Skimmed milk and low-fat yogurt are also good low-calorie sources of calcium.
9. Deal with your emotions
One of the most common causes of food cravings is the desire to change our state of mind. People often use food as a way to cope, relax, or deal with emotions that they find difficult. Find other ways to deal with your emotions, such as talking them through or using relaxation techniques, and you may find that your food cravings just simply disappear.
10. Meditate
Meditation can dramatically reduce, or even completely eliminate, your cravings in just a few short minutes. Learning to meditate is one of the most worthwhile things you can do in your quest to lose weight and beat food cravings.
Food cravings will happen if you're restricting your diet. The secret is to plan for them, so that they don't completely derail all your hard work. With a little due diligence, you beat food cravings and continue on your path to weight loss success.
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