Table of Contents
11 TIPS TO KILL UNHEALTHY FOOD CRAVINGS
1. Consume Water
2. Consume more Protein
3. Keep Your Distance from the Craving
4. Make a Meal Plan
5. Avoid being overly hungry
6. Combat Stress
7. Consume Spinach Extract
8. Get Enough Rest
9. Consume Proper Meals
10. Don’t Go to the Store Hungry
11. Engage in Mindful Eating
Dieters’ worst adversary is food cravings.
These are strong, uncontrollable cravings for certain meals that are stronger than normal hunger.
People’s dietary preferences vary greatly, however they have frequently processed junk foods heavy in sugar.
Cravings are one of the most common reasons why people struggle to lose weight and keep it off.
Here are 11 easy techniques to avoid or reduce harmful food and sugar cravings.
1. Consume Water
- Thirst is sometimes mistaken for hunger or food cravings.
- If you get an unexpected need for a particular cuisine, try drinking a large glass of water and waiting a few minutes. You may notice that the urge goes away because your body was simply thirsty.
- Furthermore, consuming enough water
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Water may provide numerous health benefits. Drinking water before meals can help reduce appetite and aid in weight loss in middle-aged and elderly adults.
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SUMMARY
Drinking water before meals may aid with weight loss by reducing cravings and hunger.2. Consume More Protein
- Eating more protein may help you control your appetite and avoid overeating.
- It also lowers cravings and keeps you feeling full and content for a longer period (4Trusted Source).
- One research on overweight adolescent girls found that eating a high-protein breakfast dramatically lowered cravings.
Another study in obese males found that increasing protein consumption to 25% of calories reduced cravings by 60%. Furthermore, the impulse to snack at night was reduced by 50%. (6Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
Increasing protein consumption can lower cravings by up to 60% and reduce the desire to snack at night by 50%.
3. Keep Your Distance from the Craving
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When you have a craving, attempt to keep it at bay.
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You may, for example, go for a brisk walk or take a shower to distract yourself. A shift in mindset and environment may aid in the cessation of cravings.
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Chewing gum has also been demonstrated in certain trials to help reduce appetite and cravings.
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SUMMARY
Try chewing gum, going for a stroll, or taking a shower to distract yourself from the need.
4. Make a Meal Plan
- If at all possible, plan your meals for the day or the next week.
- You eliminate the element of spontaneity and unpredictability by knowing what you’re going to consume ahead of time.
- You will be less tempted and less prone to suffer cravings if you do not have to think about what to eat during the next meal.
SUMMARY
Planning your meals for the day or week ahead reduces spontaneity and ambiguity, both of which can lead to cravings.
5. Avoid being overly hungry
- Hunger is one of the most common causes of cravings.
- It might be a good idea to eat something before you get hungry.
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must eat regularly and keep healthful snacks on hand
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You may be able to avoid the need entirely if you are prepared and avoid long periods of hunger.
SUMMARY
Cravings are often triggered by hunger. Avoid excessive hunger by keeping a healthy snack on hand at all times.
6. Combat Stress
- Stress can cause food cravings and impact eating habits, particularly in women (9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).
- stressed Women eat much more calories and have higher cravings than non-stressed women (12Trusted Source).
- Furthermore, stress elevates cortisol levels in the blood, a hormone that can cause weight gain, particularly in the abdomen (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source).
- Reduce stress in your environment by planning ahead of time, meditating, and generally slowing down.
SUMMARY
Stress can cause desires, eating, and weight gain, especially in women.
7. Consume Spinach Extract
- Spinach extract, derived from spinach leaves, is a “new” supplement on the market.
- It helps to delay fat digestion, which raises levels of appetite-reducing hormones like GLP-1.
- Taking 3.7–5 grams of spinach extract with a meal has been shown in studies to suppress hunger and cravings for several hours (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source).
- In one trial of overweight women, 5 grams of spinach extract per day reduced cravings for chocolate and high-sugar foods by 87–95%. (18Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
Spinach extract slows fat digestion and raises hormone levels, which helps reduce hunger and cravings.
8. Get Enough Rest
- Hormones that fluctuate during the day have a major impact on your hunger.
- Sleep deprivation disturbs the fluctuations, which may result in poor eating regulation and intense cravings (19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).
- Sleep-deprived persons are up to 55% more likely to become fat than people who receive enough sleep, according to studies (21Trusted Source).
- As a result, getting enough sleep may be one of the most effective strategies to keep cravings at bay.
SUMMARY
Sleep deprivation can cause cravings and poor appetite control by disrupting regular oscillations in appetite hormones.
9. Consume Proper Meals
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Cravings can be triggered by hunger or a lack of essential nutrients.
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As a result, it is critical to eat proper meals at mealtimes. This way, your body obtains the nutrition it requires and you don’t feel ravenous shortly after eating.
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If you find yourself in need of a snack in between meals, make it a nutritious one. Choose whole foods like fruits, nuts, vegetables, or seeds.
SUMMARY
Eating properly prevents hunger and cravings while also ensuring that your body receives the nutrition it requires.
10. Don’t Go to the Store Hungry
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When it comes to grocery stores, they are perhaps the worst places to be.
are starving or have urges
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For starters, they provide convenient access to virtually any cuisine you can think of. Second, the unhealthiest items are frequently displayed at eye level in stores.
The greatest approach to avoiding cravings at the grocery store is to shop only after you’ve eaten. Never, ever go to the grocery store hungry.
SUMMARY
Eating before going to the supermarket reduces the likelihood of undesirable cravings and hasty purchases.
11. Engage in Mindful Eating
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Mindful eating is a sort of meditation that involves cultivating mindfulness regarding food and eating.
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It teaches you how to become more conscious of your eating habits, emotions, hunger, desires, and bodily sensations (22Trusted Source, 23Trusted Source).
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Mindful eating enables you to differentiate between cravings and true bodily discomfort.
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It allows you to choose your response rather than reacting rashly or impulsively (24Trusted Source).
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Eating thoughtfully entails paying attention while eating, slowing down, and chewing thoroughly. It is also critical to avoid distractions such as the television or your smartphone.
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In one 6-week trial of binge eaters, mindful eating reduced binge eating episodes from four to one per week. It also made each binge less severe (25Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
Mindful eating is about learning to distinguish between cravings and true hunger, allowing you to select your reaction.
In conclusion
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Cravings are extremely common. More than half of all adults have cravings regularly (26Trusted Source).
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They have a significant impact on weight growth, food addiction, and binge eating (27Trusted Source).
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Knowing your cravings and their triggers makes it much easier to ignore them.
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It also makes eating healthy and losing weight much easier.
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Following the suggestions on this list, such as consuming extra protein, planning your meals, and practicing mindfulness, may help you take control the next time urges threaten to take over.
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