Have you ever found yourself craving different foods?
Everyone experiences food cravings at different times. Raising my hand over here!
In one study I read, 97% of women and 68% of men reported having at least occasional cravings.
So, you're not alone! Cravings can be created for all different reasons.
Unfortunately, we usually don’t crave nutrient-dense, healthy foods. Instead, we crave foods that are heavily processed or that contain a lot of sugar, salt, and/or fat. And not the healthy fats!
And once you start eating what you are craving it can lead to more cravings and maybe even stronger cravings.
Cravings are intense desires for specific foods – desires that feel stronger than normal hunger.
In fact, you can have cravings and not even feel hungry!
Listen in or read on below for 5 ways to help you put your food cravings in their place.
Not eating enough food.
Sometimes when you don’t eat enough food it can lead to cravings. It can set you up for a vicious cycle of cravings and then also overeating.
Undereating can happen if you don’t follow a regular eating schedule,” forget” to eat because you’re too busy, skip meals, or drastically cut your calories because you want to drop a few pounds fast.
This can lead to blood sugar levels dropping, you become hungry and angry (hangry) which leads you also to cravings and making unhealthy food choices.
If you want to lose weight don’t drastically cut your calories. This will probably backfire and if you lose weight, you have a good chance of putting most or even more back on.
Have a plan.
Whenever you are making changes, it is always a great idea to have a plan.
Plan your meals out, have the food on hand and if possible prepped and ready to cook prior to making that meal. Make meal and snack times as easy as possible.
It is very important to always have healthy snacks available, in your car, purse, wherever so you don’t have an excuse of - "there wasn’t anything else to eat".
Being Thirsty.
Staying well hydrated can ward of cravings.
Why? When your body is thirsty, you can interpret that feeling as hunger, which can lead to a craving. Your thirst and hunger signals can be mixed up. Many people’s signals are.
Drink up! At least half of your body weight in ounces of water a day. You will feel your energy rise too!
If you feel a craving coming on try drinking a glass of water and wait. The craving may go away.
Being Tired.
Make sure you get 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night. I know you hear this all the time.
Poor sleep can be one of the TOP causes of your cravings running wild!
Being sleep deprived disrupts the fluctuations of your hormones, which affect not just your appetite and cravings, but also your metabolism.
When you are tired, you often will give in to your cravings and poor food choices more easily.
Eating a Poor Out-of-Balance Diet.
What you eat, not surprisingly, can also create cravings.
This matters because the nutrients in your food are what keep you feeling full – especially the protein, fiber, and healthy fats they contain.
Making sure you get enough of those nutrients will go a long way toward keeping you feeling full, satisfied and energized.
Otherwise, your blood sugar can go on a crazy roller coaster ride, which leads to craving foods that give you a quick pick-me-up. Then you crash and crave more!
Carbohydrates are important. But make sure most of your carbs are coming from fruit and veggies.
Refined carbs (candy, crackers, cookies) will put you on the crazy craving roller coaster.
Living a healthy lifestyle never means depriving yourself of your favorite foods forever.
Instead, it’s about enjoying the things you love in moderation, in a way that lets you reach your goals and feel amazing in the process!
A big part of that is learning to control your cravings, so they don’t control you.
Do you usually have sweet or salty cravings? I usually crave sweet.
Let me know in the comments below or shoot me an
email - sheri@empoweredhealthcoaching.com I would love to hear.
Live life empowered!
Food cravings may also be linked to stress and stress eating. Here is a free guide to help you reduce stress: 5 Tips to Reduce Your Stress
Sheri Johnson is a certified Transformational Holistic Health and Life Coach in the Central Florida area. She believes everyone deserves an amazing healthy, balanced life, full of energy and feeling fantastic! When you get back on track in life and feel like yourself again then you can easily step into who you truly want to be, living out your purpose, passion and what you were called here to do.
If you are ready to decrease stress and overwhelm while creating balance in your body, mind and spirit then please check out her website and book a free strategy session with her below.