Be Stronger than your Cravings

Cravings. We all get them.  We get cravings for salty. We get cravings for sweet. I personally will crave chocolate, doughnuts, or Whataburger. I'm not hungry, I just want it and I want it now. Sometimes I will give in, but most of the time I have a plan to beat them. I am much stronger and smarter than that voice in my head that says "You worked hard today, you deserve it" or "You had a bad day, this will make you feel better".
If you are having cravings, but you know you are not hungry, try some of these things:

1) Drink water. I'm sure you have been told this before, but it's true. When your body is becoming dehydrated,  it will tell you it's hungry. It's lying! Try a full glass of water or green tea instead of that snack.

2) Get busy. I don't mean 'get busy' (wink wink). You can if you want, that's none of my business....but I mean distract yourself. Sometimes when you are bored, your body will say "I'm hungry".  Again, your body is sometimes a big liar!  Find something to distract yourself. The craving will pass.

3) Wait 20 minutes.  Cravings generally pass within 8 - 10 minutes. So while you are waiting, get busy ;)  The craving will pass.

4) Eat often. I mentioned in an earlier post that I eat 6-8 times a day. Just this morning my husband teased me about eating my second breakfast. Try to fill your body with proteins and good fats. Bananas, avocados, and almonds fill me up quickly and satisfy me.

5) Find alternatives.  I keep plenty of fruit and veggies in the house. I prepare them ahead of time so that they are easy to grab.  Sometimes, if I have a super busy week, I will buy the veggies and fruits that are already cut. I make a veggie dip out of Greek yogurt to dip my veggies in. That seems to satisfy my need for crunch and salt.  If I'm craving sweets,  I will have a cup of hot cocoa or I will slice a banana and top it with a tiny bit of chocolate syrup or melted almond butter.

6) Don't keep those foods in your house.  You better believe that if I had potato chips and ranch dip in my pantry, I would eat the whole thing....so I just don't buy it.

7) Don't always deny yourself.  Save your craving foods for a special treat for yourself.  My kids call them "sometimes foods".  If I really really want chips and dip, I will buy individual sized bags of chips. If I want ice cream, I will get the tiny containers of ice cream.  Moderation is the key my friends. If you deny yourself these things completely, then you are more likely to 'cheat'.

8) When a craving hits, brush your teeth,  When I get a craving and I know I'm not really hungry, I will brush my teeth. I will brush them, floss them, and waterpick.  After I have gone through all of that work, I don't want to get my mouth dirty by eating.

9) Get enough sleep.  When you are tired and your body is craving sleep and rest, it will try to trick you into eating.  If we don't get enough sleep, our cravings and appetite increase.  Your body is looking for a way to get more energy, so it makes a lot of sense that it would crave sugar and carbs to try to get that energy.

I hope these help you understand and fight some of your cravings.
Before I sign off, I really want to thank all of you for your great comments, emails, and FB messages. It means a lot to me that so many of you take the time to write about how some of these blog posts have helped you. That's EXACTLY why I started this blog....to help other women like me:) Love you all!