10 Ways to Stop Food Cravings
If you are on dieting, and trying your best to lose those extra pounds, your worst enemy could only be your cravings for food. Of course, you were once a food junkie, which is why today you are on the hard path of dieting. And you can’t afford to be a foodie once again, especially if you are being health conscious.
What are food cravings?
Food cravings are intense desires for unhealthy or some specific kinds of foods. You may feel a desire for foods when you are hungry. But, this desire is far different and stronger than what you feel when you are hungry.
Different types of people may crave for different kinds of foods. Nevertheless, often these turn out to be sugary or junk foods which are rich in sugar. These food cravings are something
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Now that you have already decided what you are going to eat in the coming few days, you will avoid any kind of uncertainty. Thus, you will be able to eat only healthy. When you will already know what you are going to eat, you will be less likely to visualize something tempting and thus, will be able to prevent your food cravings.
6. Address your stress
When you are stressed, you try to distract yourself from the thing that’s causing the stress. Most people are most likely to think of eating something at this time. This means that stress can encourage food cravings in you. This might motivate you to disturb your regular food beahavior. What this means is you may go for something that will only make you happy, and not healthy.
Women are more likely to practice this thing while they are stressed out. They are more likely to take more than necessary calories. Further, stress is responsible for increasing your cortisol blood levels. Cortisol is that hormone which increases your weight around your belly.
It’s better not to feed that hormone. Rather, plan your meals and meditate to naturally fight your stress.
7. Mindful eating
An addiction to food is not unlike an addiction to drugs. According to Dr. Ramani Durvasula, a food addiction is when someone is not only eating a lot of food but chronically
The more you feel full, the less you’ll crave to eat or snack. That alone will help in your diet since your caloric level won’t go overboard due to overeating.
"Stress Feeds the Need for Comfort Food." WebMD - Better information. Better health. Jennifer Warner, 3 Sept. 2003. Web. 15 Feb. 2010. http://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20030909/stress-comfort-food
Chronic stress may be a factor in cases of heart disease and obesity. Due to the type of hormones in the body being released or restricted Cholesterol levels have been known to increase in individuals with chronic stress. A person’s relationship with food can increase their chances of heart disease and obesity. When people are experiencing high levels of stress they may use food as a way to feel satisfied temporarily- whether they are hungry or not.
Maglione-Garves, Christine A, Len Kravitz and Suzzane Schneider. Cortisol Connection: Tips on Managing Stress and Weight. n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
Hunger is an important, ever-changing human trait. It doesn’t always refer to the hunger for food, but can also mimic the craving for a certain aspect. Hunger, in the context of food, can be an emotionally overpowering feeling, and in extreme cases, cause a person to go to great lengths to quench their feelings of it. Hunger, in the context of the of craving of a certain aspect, is therefore not so different. When one hungers for a certain aspect of life and ultimately is unable to obtain it, their hunger continues to grow, causing the person to undertake rash measures to obtain what they hunger for.
Scottt, Elizabeth. “Stress and Emotional Eating: What Causes Emotional Eating?”. Web. 07. June. 2010. http://stress.about.com/od/unhealthybehaviors/a/eating.htm
Stress, lack of time, boredom, and peer pressure can all lead to mindless eating. In other words, eating regardless of hunger and not really tasting or enjoying the food.
Restrictive doesn’t work! It’s like my dad telling me to quit seeing an older guy so what do I do……. You got it! I sneak around and did it anyway! There is something about telling ourselves that we can’t have something!
Food addiction can lead to serious and difficult health concerns. Nevertheless, obesity has other health issues that comes with it as well. In the United States between 2007 and 2009 there has been a 1.1% increase of obesity (Pedram). There has been an assumption that if it continues by 2050 it would be close to 100% of Americans who would be obese (Pedram). This information explains that the increase in overconsumption of food can slowly make most Americans suffer from obesity. Another issue of obesity is that it is “the fifth leading cause of global death” (Pedram). Becoming a food addict can cause an individual into becoming obese that they may eventually face death. Food addiction has become quite a controversial that it is difficult to overcome as fast food restaurants are encouragement in individuals to choose the path of obesity. Nevertheless, obesity is still a health issue that is harmful and dangerous to an
#Try to identify the underlying need. If you are eating emotionally, there is some need being left unfulfilled. Take a moment to assess your current feelings. Are you lonely or missing someone? Did you have a hard day or receive some bad news? Maybe you have an impending deadline that is freaking you out and you turn to food to cope with the stress. Whatever the emotional cause is for your eating, you must acknowledge it in order to change the
Mindfulness unlocks your senses. It is the practice of being fully aware of what is happening within and around you in the moment. This is not easy to do! Practicing mindfulness helps people make better choices in regards to what and how they eat. There is a lot to learn here, but taking simple steps like noticing the smells, temperatures, textures and tastes of the foods in your meal is a good place to start. Mindful eating also requires you to reduce distractions such as physical, mental, social and emotional ones. People often find that they enjoy their food much more once beginning more mindful approaches to eating. Mindful eating also seems to improve food choices, in both what and how people eat. It essentially reshapes your relationship with food and makes eating more enjoyable because you learn your reactions to food preferences, habits and tastes.
Eating Responsibly To eat responsibly means to know what you are eating and knowing what you are putting into your body, whether it is healthy for you or not. It’s a sad fact that the typical American diet (high in meat and processed foods) is not healthy. There are a lot of different ways to stay healthy, but it can also be very difficult to follow a good diet plan all the time. I know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I have tried to eat well before all of my classes. I include the necessary protein of eggs and sausage, and include a fruit of some kind.
So, yes, there are food “addictions” but not 100% similar to that of drug addictions. There are consequences to eating too much of one thing, but the point here is that it might not be that individual’s fault.
Some foods have the ability to control your stress level by working with your body’s cortisol. Healthy foods are sometimes known has “brain power” because they help your cognitive abilities. The better you eat, the better you