Tell me if this sounds like you: you’re reminded of a favorite food or dessert, and suddenly, your mouth is watering, and you HAVE to have it. Recently for me, it was a Blueberry Cheesecake Shake from Nifty Fifty’s. My boyfriend tried to substitute it with a tube of cookie dough, but we all know there’s no substitution for the foods we’re craving.
I don’t think I’m alone. When it comes to food cravings, nearly everyone can admit to being struck by the siren’s song of funnel cake, poutine, cannolis, or whatever your weak spot might be. Sometimes we can control that craving, while other times, we give up entirely and just cave into the indulgence.
Cravings aren’t bad. The trouble comes when we go haywire. When that happens, our uncontrolled cravings degenerate into poor eating habits, which persist over time. That’s when food cravings become unhealthy.
It’s precisely at the point when we’re nauseous, bloated, and surrounded by the carnage of food wrappers and dirty dishes that we ask ourselves, “How do I control my food cravings?”
It is possible to both tame those pangs for foods and indulge in those ‘forbidden foods,’ all while making healthier food choices. With the useful tips I’m about to share and a dash of determination, you’ll have all the information you need to control your food cravings.
Before we talk about how we control our food cravings, I want to explore why we have food cravings in the first place.
Why We Have Food Cravings
Food cravings are caused by the regions of the brain responsible for memory, pleasure, and reward. Memory, pleasure, reward, and other feelings, both positive and negative, generate emotions. These emotions start dictating our actions long before we are aware of them.
To this day, whenever I smell onions and garlic sauteing in a large stockpot, I’m reminded of my grandmother. I immediately crave any number of foods: bagels, veal cutlet, deli rye bread, or cherries. None of those are related to the huge pot of tomato sauce she was making for Sunday dinner, but those are all the foods she had waiting for me whenever I came to visit.
Who among us hasn’t unconsciously reached for a carton of ice cream, a bag of Hershey Kisses, or a package of Oreo cookies when we’re depressed? Or how about Doritos and potato chips when we’re stressed? Those are psychological responses, and research suggests that fatty foods have a calming effect. Why? These foods release the hormone serotonin, a key hormone that stabilized our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness.
On the biological front, pregnancy-induced cravings rule the roost with some exotic combinations of foods. Ice cream and pickles are the cliché pregnancy food craving, but have you heard of clementines and hot sauce? How about Buddy the Elf’s specialty of spaghetti, maple syrup, M&Ms, and marshmallows? It’s believed that hormone-related changes in a woman’s’ body are what triggers these bizarre food cravings.
While scientific research hasn’t definitely confirmed it, real-world experience among many shows that recovering alcoholics gravitate towards chocolate, especially those in the early period of sobriety. The prevailing thought here is that chocolate contains the same alkaloid compounds that are found in alcohol, which serves as a substitute for the alcohol craving.
10 Tips to Control Your Food Cravings
Now that we know how our food cravings occur, we can better understand what we need to do (or not do!) to control them, so they don’t control us. The following tips will help you halt your eating excesses and still enjoy your foods.
1. Take Your Time Eating
If you are fond of eating like you are competing with someone, this sends the wrong signals to your brain. It takes a while for your stomach to relay information to your brain, which signals that you are satisfied – maybe even stuffed. If you don’t give both parties enough time for that communication, you’ll end up reaching for that pie after consuming a plate full of rice. This is why I always ‘think’ I have room for dessert!
If you are rushing through a meal and eating at an insane pace, you’re likely not enjoying every bite. Eat more slowly. Savor every forkful; let the taste and texture of the food roll across your tongue. This way, when you are full, you are indeed full, no more confusion with your brain.
2. Drink Enough Water
It’s very easy to confuse thirst for hunger. After all, our stomachs growl with either, so it’s natural to think it wants food. However, when we believe we are hungry, we’re actually thirsty. So how do you know the difference when the feeling seems to be the same? Check for these symptoms:
- Dry skin
- Feeling sluggish
- Dry eyes
- Increased heart rate
- Headache
- Nausea
- Dizziness
So next time the pangs arise, first think how much you’ve actually drunk so far. If you can’t remember or it wasn’t a lot, have a glass of water.
Even if you’re not feeling either hungry or thirsty, but have a habit of grabbing a snack before dinner or while dinner is cooking, drink a glass of water. Filling your stomach up with water before dinner instead of food so you can better enjoy dinner.
3. Redirect your Cravings
Here is where determination becomes essential. Sometimes you have to look the other way when faced with tempting foods. Consider these few scenarios:
Cupcakes are my kryptonite; I can’t ever have them in the house, and no matter how strong my determination, I’m going to run roughshod over it. In this case, my solution is just not to have them in the house.
But what if a well-meaning friend came over with a half dozen cupcakes for a special occasion? Do I reject them at the door? I could, but that would be rude (for me at least – and I’m not judging anyone who has the willpower to do that!). Instead, I can graciously accept the gesture, have one, and throw the rest away once they leave. I’ve actually had to do that. Better in the trash than in my arteries or around my waist.
With the holidays approaching, large spreads of food at family gatherings are bound to be available. What to do when you’re faced with pumpkin-spiced everything and all your favorite holiday goodies? Make a choice. Decide on what special treat your HAVE to have versus one you can have any time. Then have a forkful to satisfy the craving. Savor the taste. Then walk away. Leave the room, go for a walk, play cards, and literally redirect the activity that leads you away from the food.
On the other hand, when you’re alone, and the cravings arise, get distracted. Intentionally take your mind away from it by engaging in something else. Read a book, clean the kitchen, do some laundry, write a blog (see what I did there?), do something that will take your mind away from it.
4. Schedule Your Meals
Planning and structure are essential in every sphere of our busy and hectic lives. By taking time out to plan your weekly meals and snacks, you can avoid making rash eating decisions. I’m up very early in the morning, so I get hungry for lunch way before noon. That also means I need a snack between lunch and dinner, or else I’m cruising the pantry looking to grab a handful of anything I can. Planning ahead helps me control food cravings.
Conversely, when you are confused about what to eat, the chances are that you’ll make do with fast food choices. Educate yourself on the healthiest food choices available to you in any given situation. If you have to eat on the go, know which foods will satisfy your hunger. After all, food is fuel for the body, nothing else.
If a convenience store is your only option, look for yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, pre-cure vegetables, or fruits. Near every store now has them available. If fast food is your only option, chose the least calorically offensive thing on the menu and say no when you’re asked, “Do you want fries with that?”. If you have to have the fries just for a taste, decide in advance how many you’re going to have and throw away the rest.
5. Stop Skipping Meals
If you skip breakfast because you’re not a ‘breakfast person’ or you simply don’t have time, you’re setting yourself up to potentially overeat or make unhealthy food choices at lunch. And it seems justified. After all, you skipped a meal, so those uneaten calories should roll over to lunch, right?
Not so much. Hunger has a way of influencing your food cravings, making less appropriate food choices, and obliterating potion control. If you’ve skipped breakfast, you’re more like to indulge your food cravings, which are often foods with higher fat and carb contents. And since you missed a meal, go big or go home, right? Um – no.
Skipping meals sets us up with the ‘permission’ to indulge our food cravings as a ‘reward’ for missing a meal. Your body doesn’t distinguish between those calories or when they were consumed. But it does know when it’s getting more than it needs and will store or use those calories as necessary. Mostly though, they just get stored.
6. Understand Your Triggers
Knowing that our triggers can be that catalyst which launches our food cravings, being prepared to combat or redirect them can be the key to our success.
Sometimes we can foresee a stressful situation approaching; sometimes, we can’t. In either scenario, knowing that stress causes us to reach for cake, candy, ice cream, cupcakes (insert other food cravings here), prepare your environment. Have another food option available, or have a redirect mechanism in place and execute either one.
For some, indulging one food craving can trigger another. Movie theater popcorn doused with artificial butter is a rite of passage. But somehow I can’t have that without also having a box of Milkduds or Raisinetes to go with it. Knowing I can’t have one without the other, I avoid both altogether. If you can’t separate the two, then do without both.
7. Manage Stress Levels
I realize how glib this sounds, especially these days. Stress is all around us, and lately, we’re finding ourselves dealing with situations we’ve never encountered, coupled with an uncertain future. As a result, stress can stir up cravings, and we seek relief in food.
Yoga and mediation are proven ways to reduce stress. Even just 10 – 15 minutes of meditation per day can help calm the mind. A calm mind doesn’t produce food cravings. Many smartphone apps provide guided meditation or even just simply breathing exercises to reduce stress levels. You’re worth this quiet time!
8. Consider the Adverse Effects
You’ve probably heard for the umpteenth time that those French fries and pizza aren’t entirely healthy, especially if they’re a staple in your diet. When consumed regularly, the adverse effects begin to stack up. Gently remind yourself of this whenever your food cravings go to the extreme. You can make a list of the adverse effects and take a glance at them as soon as the cravings come.
Keep up with this, and with time, the looming consequences of your habit are stapled in your heart. Consequently, each time the cravings come knocking, the adverse effects in your mind will counter them, and gradually, they’ll disappear for good.
9. Get a Good Night’s Sleep
No matter how we slice it, they’ll never be more than 24 hours in a day. Our to-do lists and familiar obligations long outlast our waking hours. So that we get as much done as we can, sleep is the one thing we seem to sacrifice. Seven hours of sleep or more seems like a luxury. Yet when you deny yourself adequate sleep, you increase your food cravings. This is because a lack of sleep can distort fluctuations in the hormones that control your appetite, causing you to crave more food than usual.
If the cravings are for healthy, fiber-rich foods, this won’t be an issue. Still, the cravings are for artificially sweetened foods, and that’s one massive problem for your overall health. Lack of essential sleep causes two issues: getting enough sleep, a stand-alone topic, and making poor food choices.
10. Exercise
Carb laden fatty foods aren’t the only things that release feel-good hormones. Regular exercise does as well. That ‘runner’s high’ is a real thing. Exercise releases endorphins, norepinephrine, and serotonin – all chemicals that improve mood and boost your overall sense of well-being.
Getting regular exercise has compound benefits, all of which help to reduce food cravings. Exercise is proven to reduce stress, promotes better sleep, and usually requires us to drink more water to stay hydrated.
If you have a gym membership, going to the gym promotes a sense of belonging. It’s an escape from the hustle and grind and is your time alone to devote to yourself. Even without a gym membership, there are tons of options for indoor exercise.
This isn’t all just supposition. A 2018 study showed that food cravings were reduced in people who walked for 5 minutes every hour. As the study progressed, those who participated in 12 weeks of supervised exercise also showed a decrease in food cravings for high-fat foods, carbs, and starches.
Final Words
Uncontrolled food cravings have been linked to obesity and heart diseases. Use one of these tips to recognize and master your food cravings. Some facts like lack of sleep, skipping breakfast, and stress are significant precursors that you can tackle to avoid energizing cravings.