5 Great Tips for Curving Your Cravings

Starting a diet is pretty easy. The biggest problem with diets is not getting started, it’s sticking with them. Most of use start out fine, but eventually succumb to cravings for sweet or fatty foods (or both). Here are some tips for keeping your cravings at bay.

1. Drink water. Many times, your body experiences hunger when you’re really not hungry at all, but thirsty. When you feel a craving coming on, instead of jumping for your favorite foods, try drinking a glass of water and waiting fifteen minutes. You may also want to try a low-calorie flavored water if the regular stuff isn’t cutting it. After a short wait, you’ll probably find you’re not so hungry anymore.

2. Give in. While you shouldn’t give in to every craving you have, breaking the rules every so often can actually help give you the willpower to stick to your diet. If you completely stop eating your favorites, you’re only going to crave them more. Just remember that “occasional” means once or twice a month, not once or twice a day.

3. Find your triggers. One of the best things you can do for a diet is to keep a food journal, but don’t stop there. Why not add what you’re craving to your journal, along with what you’re doing or feeling at the time. You may find that you often crave chocolate when you’re sitting with the kids, or only eat potato chips when you’re feeling lonely. If you figure out what’s making you want to eat, you can figure out ways around it.

4. Distraction. Before your next craving hits, make a plan of something you can do instead of giving in. If you like puzzles or brain teasers, you can keep some around to work on and distract yourself. Many people exercise whenever they’re craving their favorites. This not only distracts you, it helps burn more calories and keep you on track.

5. Eliminate temptation. One of the easiest ways to avoid temptation is to remove it, or at least make it a lot harder to get to. If you keep sweets in your house, you’re a lot more likely to eat them than if you have to go out to a store to buy them. And if you’re keeping the sugary snacks around for the kids, remember that if you shouldn’t eat them, there’s a good chance the kids shouldn’t either.

While many cravings are simply for foods we like, others are actually for foods we need. If you find yourself having regular cravings, you can research online or ask your doctor to find out what nutrients you might be deficient in. Once you’ve replaced the missing nutrients, you should see a decrease or elimination of your cravings.

With a little work and willpower, you can be well on your way to beating those cravings and seeing results.