When do your cravings strike - late at night, while watching TV, when you see or smell your temptation?
Most of us have experienced cravings of some sort, whether it is for sweets, salty snacks or a steak dinner.
Giving in to your cravings can interfere with your fitness goals by leading to unwanted pounds.
It is important to understand what is causing cravings and to implement ways of curbing them without feeling deprived of foods you enjoy.
Our appetites are controlled by hormones in the body called leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is responsible for telling you when you're full and ghrelin sends the signal to your brain to eat. These hormones are affected by different behaviors and hormonal changes.
Drinking more water throughout the day quells cravings. Your body recognizes water as a nutrient, so by drinking it you feel fuller and eat less. Try drinking a glass of water before and after meals to fill up - the stomach can only store so much.
Keep berries or grapes around to snack on when your sweet-tooth demands attention - they're healthy and packed with water.
Stress causes an increase in cortisol levels, which can increase your appetite and cravings for fatty and high calorie foods.
Think giving in to stress cravings by taking a spoon to a carton of Ben & Jerry's will make you feel better and calmer? Sure, you get a short moment of Chunky Monkey-fueled nirvana, but overall you actually just increased the stress because now you're left feeling guilty and bloated.?
Try taking a walk or run or doing a quick 20-minute exercise routine at the gym. The increase in blood flow and oxygen to your brain gives you more energy, releases relaxing endorphines and gives you time to calm down.
The amount of shut eye you're getting each night can effect your levels of leptin and ghrelin. When you don't get enough sleep, your leptin?
levels may decrease, making you less sensitive to feeling full - while your?
ghrelin levels increase, causing hunger.
Shoot for seven to nine hours of sleep each night - I know this can be difficult with demanding schedules, but if you know you will be out late on the weekend, try getting to bed 30 minutes earlier during the week to balance it out.
A recent study found that chewing gum helped decrease hunger and cravings among individuals who limit overall calorie intake. As soon as you finish eating a meal, brush your teeth. Not only do you get the dental benefits, but you also inhibit senseless snacking.
Your body and mind learn to want whatever you normally eat. Therefore, if you eat sugary cereal for breakfast, you body is going to go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
If you eat a balanced diet consisting of complex carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables and lean protein, while limiting your consumption of highly processed foods then just the reverse will happen - you will have fewer cravings for foods that are detrimental to your overall health goals.
I'm not saying you have to gnaw on celery sticks everyday and always pass on dessert.? Allow yourself to have one treat per day so you don't feel deprived.
Never skip meals - this can lead to overeating when you sit down for a meal. When you think, "Well, I can eat this because I haven't eaten all day," it makes it easier to give in to unwanted cravings.
In fact, not eating all day and then bingeing on unhealthy snacks causes a sudden spike in your blood sugar levels, making you more likely to store fat.
To keep your blood sugar levels stable, eat small meals throughout the day. This will not only help diminish cravings but will also boost your metabolism making weight management easier.
If you know you walk through the door at the end of a long day and eat whatever is in sight, be sure to keep healthier choices available so you don't fall prey to choosing less-nutritious foods.
Try having a healthier version of your favorite snacks a few times a week - pretzels instead of chips, graham crackers instead of cookies, chocolate Jell-O pudding instead of ice cream.
But remember, it's okay to give in to your cravings every now and then. Sometimes if you don't satisfy a craving, you can end up eating more then you would if you just had what you really want.
The important thing is to keep everything in appropriate serving sizes and not give into every craving by having an alternate plan of action.
