Category: Food cravings

How to Curb Your Cravings Without Depriving Yourself

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Have you ever found yourself craving an entire bag of potato chips or a huge bowl of ice cream on a bad day?  Or, maybe some days seem harder than others to stick to your normal eating habits?  If so, you are NOT alone.

Research is showing us that controlling cravings is a lot less about will power and a lot more about creating new habits or in some cases addressing a nutritional deficiency.

Know What Your Cravings May Mean

If you’ve been finding it hard to satisfy your cravings, here’s what some of those cravings may mean and how you can curb them without feeling completely deprived.

    • Cravings for salty foods.  A craving for salty foods could mean that you are dehydrated or have a mineral or electrolyte imbalance.  It can also be caused by cutting back too much on your carb intake.  If you find yourself craving salty foods for no apparent reason, try drinking plenty of water and make sure that you are eating carbs with each of your meals.  Choose recipes with interesting spices and herbs to satisfy your craving for savory foods.  Add salted nuts to your diet.  Nuts make great snacks, taste great on salads, and work well in stir-frys.  Remember to pay attention to serving sizes which is usually around 1/4 cup or 16-18 nuts.  A small handful of nuts can go a long way.
    • Sugar cravings.  Research shows that a person can become physically addicted to sugar which means the more you eat, the more you want.  If you find yourself craving sugar often try grabbing a piece of fruit instead.  Deprivation can lead to binging so if sweets are one of your favorites it’s a good idea to incorporate them into your diet in moderation.  When you do decide to have a sweet treat avoid the artificially sweetened diet foods which can cause more intense cravings. Instead, eat small amounts of the real deal instead.  You are better off enjoying a piece of pie made from scratch or a 1/2 cup of real ice cream than you are eating  most processed desserts.
    • The late night snack.  Late night snacking can be triggered by a number of different things.  You may be over tired, justifiably hungry, or simply bored.  A lack of sleep can affect hunger controlling hormones so if you know you’ve been sleep-deprived, focus on getting at least 7.5  hours of sleep per night.  If you notice hunger pains in the evening and it’s been several hours since you’ve had dinner, you are probably hungry.  Eat a light snack that won’t interrupt your sleep.  If you’ve just eaten and you know you’ve been getting enough sleep you may be bored.  Try redirecting your attention to an activity unrelated to food.  Things like reading, stretching, organizing, folding laundry, or playing with a pet are all great ways to keep your hands busy doing something other than snacking.
    • When you’ve had a rough day.  There’s a valid reason you turn to Mom’s chocolate cake when you need a little pick me up on a bad day.  Eating “comfort foods” gives you a boost of serotonin and dopamine, which are feel-good transmitters that act like anti-depressants.  While it’s true that elevating your serotonin levels helps fight depression, turning to the sweets to elevate your serotonin levels may not be the best choice. You may feel great for a moment after eating a large piece of cake. However, when your blood sugar drops, you can go right back into the dumps and may experience guilt for sabotaging your weight loss goals.  Try experimenting with the lighter versions of comfort foods like a whole grain macaroni and cheese or berries with a small piece of dark chocolate on the side.  Or, turn to alternative sources of pleasure like taking a walk with your dog, enjoying a hot bath, or sipping on a glass of wine.

We all have food cravings from time to time. It’s knowing how to deal with them that will make or break our weight loss and/or management goals!

To your health and success!

Shared with love,
Jennifer Ledford

Sugary Drinks and Weight Loss

What They Say — Is it True?

Everyone has heard it. Cut sugary drinks from your daily diet. It’s supposed to be a popular and effective strategy for weight loss. Just eliminate extra “liquid calories” to create the caloric deficit needed to start shedding those unwanted pounds.

But wait! There is more to it than meets the eye. Current research shows it may not just be cutting the calories that helps you lose weight. It can also have something to do with the type of sugar you are consuming! The latest research reveals that the type of sugar in your beverage could affect whether or not you feel hungry after drinking it.

What’s the Real Culprit?

 

In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers determined that your brain processes fructose and glucose differently. Apparently, glucose helped participants to feel full — but fructose did not.

You’re probably asking “what was the reason?” The study authors discovered that the glucose drink suppressed activity in the brain that regulates appetite, motivation and reward processing. Fructose based drinks on the other hand, were associated with reduced levels of insulin — a hormone responsible for sending satiety messages to the brain.

In a nut shell, fructose in its simple form may cause you to feel hungry based on the messages that the brain is receiving, but not because you really need food.

Four ways to limit too much fructose in your diet:

 

1)  Skip the soda. Based on the study, it’s best to avoid carbonated drinks with fructose and/or high fructose corn syrup to help you stabilize your appetite and curb overeating. You’ll benefit from the caloric reduction as well!

2)  Eat whole fruit!  It’s important to know that fructose found in fruit is absorbed differently in the body due to the fleshy fiber in the fruit. Skip the juice and eat the whole apple or orange instead.

3)  Add greens to your smoothie. Most smoothies are considered healthy foods, but if you’re noticing you’re ravenous shortly after having one, consider switching the majority of the fruit in the smoothie to greens. Include protein in your smoothie to help sustain you longer.

4)  Read the labels! Sugar comes in many different forms, so make sure to read the labels on drinks before purchasing. If the packaging lists dextrose in the ingredients, that’s glucose. Sucrose is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. If’ the label says “high fructose corn syrup” skip it!

And, don’t forget to make sure to check the serving information and calories before buying. Even if it is a “better” sugar, the drink could still have more calories than you wish to consume.

The more you know about what’s in your food, the easier it gets to make healthy choices that foster weight loss!

Have a question?  Ask me by leaving a comment below.  I love to hear from you!

Blessings!

Jennifer

 

 

 

 

How To Handle A Food Craving And Avoid Binging!

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Food cravings can lead to binging and sabotage your weight loss efforts!  If you haven’t already, read part 1 — Cravings vs. Hunger: How to Tell the Difference  The last thing I want is for you to ignore true hunger signals. 

Food cravings are normal!

We all experience food cravings from time to time.  Don’t worry!  It’s normal.  You just need to follow some simple steps that will help you handle the craving and avoid the binging.

First off, there is a difference between craving food and experiencing real hunger.  Part 1 gives you detailed steps on how to tell the difference.

Have you ever heard that if your body is craving a certain type of food, then “it probably needs it?”  This is not always true.  If your body is craving a big salad with lots of raw vegetables, that concept is totally reasonable.  However, I don’t think there is anyone on the planet that has to eat Chocolate Chip Cookies to survive!

Simple Tips to Stop Food Cravings from Controlling You!

1)  Give in!  Yes, you read that correctly.  Years ago I was taking classes from a well known nutritionist in southern California.  Because of her location, many of her clients had eating disorders.  She told me a story about a young model who would eat an entire bag of baby carrots in one sitting to keep herself from eating a chocolate chip cookie.  She told the nutritionist she was trying to avoid the “bad” food.

Fortunately, she got some health benefits from  eating the carrots.  But, she consumed more calories with the carrots than if she ate one small cookie.

The point of the story is that when you attempt to eliminate a food from your diet entirely, it can trigger binging. You’ll may redirect the binge to another food. Or once you allow yourself to eat the “forbidden” food, you are at risk of over doing it.  Better to have a small amount of the food you are craving than to try avoiding it entirely.  For example, if you crave ice cream, find a low calorie flavor you like and measure out a serving.  You may even find a half serving will do the trick.

Don’t let food control you!  If it’s only certain foods, try keeping them out of the house for awhile until you can practice moderation.

2)  Go to bed!  When you are in need of rest your body will crave sugar for a pick me up.  Go to bed early that night.  Your body will thank you for it.

3)  Drink some water!  Dehydrated bodies can send a hunger signal.  If you have eaten a full balanced meal within the last few hours, then try a glass of water before you eat more.  If you are still hungry, have a small snack.

4)  Redirect!  Find yourself digging through the cupboards for no reason?  You could be bored.  When you find your self mindlessly foraging for food redirect that behavior.  Try walking, doing a household chore, meditating, catching up on phone calls or email, or reading.  Make a list of replacement activities and keep it posted.  Use the list when the craving begins.

5)  Avoid using food for comfort! We’ve all heard of “comfort food.”  There’s no such thing as comfort food.  Food does not offer comfort.  We can associate a positive time in our life with certain foods, which is why you may feel warm and fuzzy when you eat them.

With that being said, elevating your serotonin levels does help fight depression.  But, turning to the sweets to elevate your serotonin levels is not the best choice.  You may feel great for a moment after eating a large piece of cake.  However, when your blood sugar drops, you can go right back into the dumps and may experience guilt for sabotaging your weight loss goals.

Choose a balanced meal with complex carbohydrates to elevate the serotonin in your body.  If dessert is really your thing, have a small serving that will fit into your daily calorie expenditure.

Just remember we all have food cravings from time to time.  It’s how we deal with them that will make or break our weight loss and management goals!

I hope this has been helpful.  Please let me know if you have any questions or tips you’d like to share to control food cravings.  I love to hear from you!

Blessings!

Jennifer