Stop Food Cravings In Their Tracks

There are very few people who eat properly, getting all the nutrition that their body needs every day. If you are like most people you are not even aware of how much food you eat daily or even take notice of the type of foods you do eat. But just recognizing this fact can go a long way to help you make better food choices in the future. No one can work without a break every now and then that’s why we always need our employee to have a staff lunches.

While you may have cravings for certain foods, which is perfectly normal, it’s important to notice when your cravings do occur so that you can help put an and to giving in to junk food cravings and turn your cravings into “healthier food ” cravings.

Studies have found that the majority of people tend to have most of their cravings in the evening between dinner time and bed time. They believe that this is due to not only being tired and therefore not being able to fight your cravings but also the stress of the day may be on your mind and you don’t even notice what you are putting in your mouth. How many time have you eaten a cookie or piece of cake without actually tasting it or realizing that you have eaten it?

Are you familiar with this scenario? You wake up, eat a good breakfast of plain oatmeal and fruit, then for lunch you have a nice green salad and a container of non-fat yogurt and dinner steamed veggies and a broiled piece of lean meat or fish. Your diet sounds good so far doesn’t it? Then around 9:00 PM, you walk into the kitchen, open the freezer and pull out a container of premium ice cream. Your just going to have one spoonful so you don’t bother dishing it out you eat it right from the container. The next thing you notice is that the container is empty and you have just taken in over 700 calories. Yikes!

Although there are extreme cases where food cravings are actually caused by a nutritional need, this is very rare indeed. Most of our cravings are due to emotional needs or many time just plain boredom.

So if most of our cravings are not due to nutritional needs, but emotional wants, then how can we ever break the circle of constantly craving and satisfying those wants? First you need to find out why and when cravings hit you.

Below are listed a few simple tips to help you get though many of your food cravings:

When you do get a craving for a certain food, portion it out, so instead of eating directly from the package take out one serving and only eat the one. Even with the strictest of diets one serving of a “forbidden” food won’t break the diet.

Decide to remove the junk food from your house. Many people go through their entire kitchen tossing out all high calorie, low nutritional food. This might be the best option but it bothers me to see food getting tossed out. Instead label that food with a different day of the week. Then you may have one serving and one serving only per day. Little by little you will rid your house of junk food. Then vow to replace this food with nutritional items like fresh fruit and raw veggies the next time you go grocery shopping.
Try to recognize when your cravings occur. If you understand why you are having cravings you can often prepare for the next one. If your job stresses you out, instead of running to the kitchen when you think about work, light a scented candle or take a relaxing shower when those feelings start and this will help relieve the stress without expanding your waistline.
Try to get enough rest. We know that 7-8 hours of sleep is important but we often work right up to the time we go to bed, then we wonder why we don’t get a good night’s sleep. You need wind down time. Watching television, listening to music, reading a book or working a hobby will relax the mind and let us escape from our daily stress producers.
Understand that you are not going to be 100% perfect in fighting your cravings. If you give in, accept it and move on. Don’t rationalize that since you have already blown your diet that you can now eat your way through the kitchen. Stop, regroup, recognize the fact and move on.
Try to add some type of exercise into your daily routine. Exercising will help burn additional calories, rejuvenate your body and refresh your mind. Often the day’s stress points will totally disappear after 30 minutes of brisk walking.
Never skip a meal. Try to eat six smaller meals during the day instead of three larger ones so that your stomach is always happy and content. By never being very hungry there is less of a chance to gorge on quick food and quick food usually equals junk food.
Understand that certain medication can cause sugar or fat cravings. If you find that substituting fruit or fruit snacks doesn’t ease the sugar cravings and having non-fat yogurt or baked potato chips doesn’t ease your fat craving speak with your doctor. There may be an alternative medication that won’t cause cravings.

By finding the root cause to your cravings and learning how to substitute nutritious food for junk you can learn to mange your cravings. No, they won’t go away 100%, but by managing your cravings you can avoid excess weight and the stress on your body that goes along with it. Reducing your food cravings is our number goal, get in touch now!

Patricia is a content writer focusing on health issues. Visit http://The-WeightLoss-Guide.com to receive a free special report called “The Stubborn FAT Solution”.

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