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Cravings can feel like the bane of your existence if you're trying to reduce calories or eliminate certain foods from your diet. I am not a believer in "going on a diet" to lose weight. In my opinion, you will be far more successful at managing your weight if you make permanent, healthy changes that feel good vs. temporarily depriving yourself of calories, carbs, or fat. Just the word "diet" make me cringe- I think of deprivation, cravings, and obsessions about things that are "off limits". A better approach, in my opinion, is to slowly make changes to your eating patterns that are sustainable. Think about what you can add to your daily diet (try new fruits, veggies, whole grains, recipes, etc.) instead of what you can "never eat again".
That being said, here are seven ways that I think are helpful for managing cravings:
- Know yourself and your triggers. Do you eat when you're bored or anxious? Do you always want something sweet after lunch or dinner? These are cravings that you can see coming, so be prepared with fresh fruit, dried fruit, or banana soft serve. For crunchy/salty cravings, try air-popped popcorn with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, carrots and hummus, whole grain crackers, baked chips and salsa, or mixed nuts.
- Say yes. Have a small serving of what you love but make it the best quality that you can find. As far as I'm concerned, life just isn't life without chocolate. Instead of eating a Hershey bar, though, I buy really good quality dark chocolate. I only need a square or two to satisfy my chocolate monster.
- Eat often. Try to eat something every 2-4 hours. If you wait too long between meals, your blood sugar will be lower and your desire for sugary foods will be stronger. Also, you're likely to eat far more calories if you're ravenous every time you eat.
- Eat protein, fiber, and good fats. Foods that contain protein, fiber, and/or monounsaturated fat will fill you up faster and keep you feeling full longer than a meal or snack containing only simple carbs (sugar, white flour, etc.). For each meal or snack, choose a "vehicle" (wheat bread, whole grain crackers, brown rice, wheat pasta, etc.), a protein source (nuts, seeds, soy products, protein powder, beans or lentils, etc.), and include a bit of good (monounsaturated) fat (avocado, nuts and seeds, olive oil). We need some fat in our diets to aid in our absorption of fat soluble vitamins. Avoid saturated fat and trans fat (hydrogenated oil).
