Curb Your Cravings: The Start to a Healthier You

Craving – a word that sounds innocuous to the ear but is actually pretty scary if you get to the bottom of it. Be it a 3 am pizza binge on a movie night, an 8 pm burger fest on your third ‘cheat day’ of the week, or that second tub of ice cream when we’ve had a tough day at work – in one way or another, we’re all wondering how to control food cravings.

Truth is, moderation is key to having a healthy mind and body. Having control over your food habits is extremely important, because binge eating is one of the worst things you can do to yourself.

But what are the best ways to stop cravings for unhealthy foods? Well, read on to know! 

Plan every meal

Some eat three meals a day, some eat five – but following a meal plan and calendar is important. You don’t always have to plan exactly what your meal is going to be, but having set times will train your body into understanding when it can expect the fuel it needs, which will stop cravings.

Practice mindful eating, and that will definitely help stop cravings.

Eat more whole foods

Junk food is almost always full of empty calories. It’s super easy to binge on it because despite stuffing your face, your body doesn’t get the nutrition it needs.

Switching to whole and healthy foods like whole grains, legumes, fresh fruits and vegetables will ensure you’re not just eating healthy, but also getting all the nutrients you need.

And if there are gaps in your diet, a multivitamin like Daily Greens could help fix that. Made using 39 farm-fresh greens, veggies, fruits and antioxidant rich superfoods, it’s a healthy way to get your greens and restore digestive health too.

Find healthy snacking alternatives

Nobody’s saying don’t snack. But maybe, instead of potato chips, pick up an apple. Replace milk chocolate bars with dark chocolates. Or just munch on a handful of nuts or flax seeds, or dig into a healthy mix of yogurt and berries.

It takes a little effort, and it probably costs a little more – but it’s worth it, because your body deserves it.

Drink more water

How to stop cravings? A fuller stomach = a fuller you. Water has no calories, and is great for your skin and health too.

And if you want a bit of flavour, drop a Daily Greens into your glass, watch it fizz and sip on a delicious drink that doubles up as a snack!

And lastly, burn it to earn it!

As mentioned earlier, there will be times when we will succumb to cravings. We’re all human, after all, so it’s inevitable.

But what we need to ensure is that we do it as rarely or occasionally as possible. Getting ample sleep and exercise is the best roadmap to that destination.

A full night’s sleep helps lower your levels of the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates appetite. And exercising regularly will help boost your metabolism, which means that you will burn your calories faster.

And once you achieve an amazing body, you’ll be more mindful of what you eat anyway!

References:

• Food cravers: characteristics of those who binge, K A Gendall, P R Joyce, P F Sullivan, C M Bulik, The International Journal of Eating Disorders,DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199805)23:4<353::aid-eat2>3.0.co;2-h, (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9561425/)
• Mindful Eating: A Review Of How The Stress-Digestion-Mindfulness Triad May Modulate And Improve Gastrointestinal And Digestive Function, Christine E Cherpak, Integrative Medicine, (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32549835/)
• Sources of foods that are ready-to-consume (‘grazing environments’) vs. requiring additional preparation (‘grocery environments’): implications for food-environment research and community health, Sean C. Lucan, MD, MPH, MS,1 Andrew R. Maroko, PhD,2 Jason L. Seitchik, MD,3 Don Yoon, MD,3 Luisa E. Sperry, BA,4 and Clyde B. Schechter, MD, MA5, Journal of Community Health, 2018, doi: 10.1007/s10900-018-0498-9, (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6119498/)
• What Is a Snack, Why Do We Snack, and How Can We Choose Better Snacks? A Review of the Definitions of Snacking, Motivations to Snack, Contributions to Dietary Intake, and Recommendations for Improvement, Julie M Hess, Satya S Jonnalagadda, and Joanne L Slavin, doi: 10.3945/an.115.009571, (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4863261/)
• Longitudinal associations between sleep duration and subsequent weight gain: A systematic review, Lorrie Magee, MSW, MPH and Lauren Hale, PhD, Sleep Medicine Reviews, doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2011.05.005, (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3202683/)