Coping With Food Cravings
You know the story. You have been successful for 2 or 3 weeks in sticking to your diet, and boom, you are suddenly craving ice cream (or cookies or chocolate or cheese—you know which are your “trigger-foods”). Are you the type who can just eat one cookie and have your sweet-tooth be satisfied? Or do you devour three cookies and decide that the day is shot, so you don’t care about what you eat for the remainder of the day—healthy or not. If you are one of those who fall into the latter category, take heart. There are some things you can do to help yourself!
Avoid your triggers. Research has shown that you crave what you eat, so if you switch what you’re eating, you can weaken your old cravings and strengthen new ones. A study by Marcia Pelchat, PhD, of the Monell Center showed that this can happen fairly quickly. For five days, the study volunteers drank dietary supplement beverages. During that time, they craved fewer of their trigger foods and by the end of the study they actually wanted the supplements instead. “ The first few days are always the hardest, and you probably can‘t completely eliminate your old cravings, but the longer you avoid your triggerfoods, the less likely you may be to want them,” Pelchat says. You will probably begin to crave the foods you eat, which can be a real bonus if you have switched to something like fresh fruit!
Destroy temptation! If you have given in to a craving and bought a pint of ice cream or box of cookies and start to feel bad while eating it, destroy it. Don’t just throw the food away; run water over it and ruin it. And don’t think about the money you have wasted. If the ice cream doesn’t go down the sink, it will go straight to your hips. And restock your pantry and fridge with nuts, fruit, and vegetables. By eliminating snacks that don’t match your diet and providing plenty that do, you can train yourself to eat what is readily available (and healthy!).
Move on after a mistake. So you overindulged. What next? Best to forget about it. That’s right, don’t assume you have fallen off the wagon, because one meal or binge doesn’t destroy your diet. Follow any overindulgance with at least 5 healthy meals or snacks. That way you will be eating right more than 80% of the time!
Pay attention to whether you are really hungry or not. With true hunger, most people will be satisfied with simple foods—fruit, nuts, lean protein. With a craving, you will only be satisfied with complex, spicy, sugary, or salty foods. If you are having a craving, try to distract yourself. Go for a walk, call a friend, or do a small project around the house like laundry or dusting. Read a chapter in that book you have been meaning to finish. Most cravings last for only about 10 minutes, so you may be able to diminish or eliminate the craving by distracting yourself.
Learn your triggers for cravings. Often cravings arise when there is a situation that “triggers” the cravings—some mental or emotional association that causes you to want to eat. In this case, your brain has been conditioned to react this way and it tricks you into succumbing to the craving. Stress is a HUGE trigger for cravings, and learning to deal with it could potentially save you hundreds of calories a day. This will take some practice. Try meditation or get a CD that teaches progressive muscle relaxation. A good one is Relaxation/Affirmation Techniques, by Nancy Hopps.
Cravings can sneak up on us when we are tired. Try taking a power nap, or just lie down for a bit and close your eyes.
Try drinking two glasses of water and eat an ounce of nuts (6 walnuts, 12 almonds, or 20 peanuts). “Within 20 minutes, this can extinguish your craving and dampen your appetite by changing your body chemistry”, says Michael F. Roizen, MD.
Brush your teeth. Or gargle with mouthwash or chew a piece of minty gum. Often a minty-clean mouth with quell a craving.
If all else fails, try working WITH your cravings, not against them. Decide which of your favorite foods you don’t want to part with. If you love dark chocolate, buy a really good bar, break off a square when you want one, and then put the bar away, out of sight, until the next day or the next week. If you have just become accustomed to eating potato chips as a snack but you find that you would be just as satisfied with hummus, then re-write your shopping list. Make good choices. For example, cheese is not all created equal. Opt for the low-fat portion-controlled packages instead of the triple-cream Brie. Don’t eat “around your cravings”. For example, if you crave a cookie and 15 minutes later still want it, it’s better to have a cookie than have fat-free ice cream first and later give in to the cookie. The 100 calorie snack packs are OK, but the trick is to buy only one pack at a time so you won’t be tempted to reach for more. (A brisk 15 minute walk will burn about 100 calories!)
Start anew. No matter how badly you derailed from your goals, your next meal is your next opportunity to start fresh!
Blessings to you,
Nurse Anne
