Tips to Deal with Food Cravings

One of the hardest things to overcome when trying to lose weight and following a diet plan, is the craving for your favourite foods.

Some cravings are physical and some are psychological, but the outcome is the same. You have to use conscious effort and willpower to avoid eating the food you are craving.

Here’s some of our best tips for dealing with cravings and staying on track in your diet plan:

● Don’t be hungry - When you’re full, you’re much less likely to crave food. The hungrier you are, the stronger the cravings get, and the harder they are to resist. Fill yourself up by ensuring that you are eating plenty of good food. Especially vegetables, which contain lots of fibre, to leave you full and satisfied.

● Don’t keep junk food in the house - Having a cupboard full of biscuits inevitably leads to them sitting there, calling out your name. If you keep these things out of your house, you will not be thinking about them as often. Further, when you have to actually go out and get something you’re craving, you’re much less likely to give in than if you only have to walk to the kitchen.

● Keep consistent eating patterns - Your body gets conditioned to be hungry and eat at certain times. The best way to avoid any excessive hunger and keep cravings at bay, is to stick to a consistent eating schedule. Have your meals at approximately the same times each day and you won’t be tempted to snack in between.

● Eat a variety of foods - Many food cravings are actually a deficiency of some nutrient that your body needs. It will keep signalling hunger and craving until that deficiency is satiated. The best thing to do, is eat a wide variety of healthy foods, to ensure that you are getting your full complement of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients.

● Get a good night’s sleep - Sounds like a strange one, but being tired is the absolute worst thing you can do, when it comes to food cravings. When you’re tired, you will always be craving a sugary pick-me-up. Getting a good night’s sleep has an almost unlimited amount of health benefits; this is just one of them.

Follow these recommendations and you should be able to keep your cravings at bay.

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