Whether it is sweet or savory you crave, here are 10 strategies to help fight the urge.
1. Eat 3 balanced meals daily.
- Do not skip meals, this will just make you hungrier at your next meal and cause you to overeat.
2. Don’t get upset if you slip up.
- Everyone overeats at times, remember, “everything in moderation”.
3. Accept food cravings as a normal part of living.
- You cannot control a craving, but you can control your reaction to it. Try to understand your cravings in relation to your mood or situation and fix the root cause of the craving.
4. Look at cravings as suggestions to eat, not as commands to overindulge.
- When you feel a craving, decide how you want to deal with it. You may decide to wait and see if the craving passes.
5. Believe that cravings will pass, cravings are not actual hunger.
- They may go away if you distract yourself with other activities. (Go on a walk, water your garden, tidy your house)
6. Stop labeling foods as bad or forbidden.
- It’s not the food that is the problem; it’s the quantity and frequency in which you eat them. Allow yourself a little of your favorite foods once in a while. Again, remember, “everything in moderation”.
7. The 5 Ds of food cravings:
- Delay- wait 10 minutes
- Distract– do something else
- Distance– don’t keep the temptation on hand in the kitchen
- Determine– think about how much you actually want it
- Decide– know how much of it to eat, slow down and enjoy it (taste it, don’t waste it)
8. Stay active.
- This helps distract you from eating and exercise suppresses your appetite.
9. Slow your eating rate.
- It takes about 20 minutes for your body to realize it’s full. Put the fork down between bites and swallow before you pick the fork up again.
- Wait 5 minutes before you take a second helping. Leave the table when you are done eating or clear your plate from the table.
- Serve and eat one portion at a time (i.e. if you want 2 pieces of toast, make one first and then decide if you are still hungry for the second one).
10. Separate eating from other activities. This will remove the ability of other activities to stimulate eating and allows you to respond to the actual feeling of hunger.
- Do nothing else while eating
- Follow an eating schedule; eat at the same time everyday
- Eat in one place, preferably the dinner table and not your couch or desk
- Don’t always feel like you have to clean your plate