FIGHTING OFF INSANE FOOD CRAVINGS MY WAY!
Many of us have a guilt relationship with food cravings. Sometimes they can become so strong that they completely take over our senses. Food cravings can be responsible for certain nutrient deficiencies in our body, but not always.
- You might be craving salty things like chips because you are low on sodium or potassium.
- Chocolate cravings can be related to low magnesium, iron, and deficiency in B vitamins.
- Craving carbohydrates can be related to depressed mood and deficiency of serotonin neurotransmitter that is found in our brain. “In the central nervous system, serotonin plays an important role as a neurotransmitter in the modulation of anger, aggression, body temperature, mood, sleep, sexuality, appetite, and metabolism, as well as stimulating vomiting” (wikipedia.com).
- Food cravings can be associated with a psychological connection to certain foods that make us feel better. Like drinking alcohol is often related to being out with friends, having good time, or in my case watching my favorite TV shows and sipping on a glass of wine. For a long time, this was a habit that I unconsciously formed.
- Most of the times, cravings are in our head, we crave certain things to satisfy our emotional needs. Most often, these comfort foods are usually loaded in calories, fat, carbohydrates, etc. I don’t really know anyone that craves carrots when they are feeling depresses or sad.
So what can we do to try to prevent these insane cravings? Well, as Julie Lohre once told me “your body will do what your mind tells it to”. Yes, you can control your cravings, because they are mostly in your head. You have to become stronger than that inner voice that is telling you to have a piece of cheesecake.
Here are some helpful tips:
Separate yourself from the food/mood connection, change your routine. If you are used to drinking wine while watching your favorite TV show, stop and substitute it with a cup of your favorite herbal tea, flavored water, or whatever else you like. I had to actually do that; it took me about a month to break my wine-late night TV show habit. Now, I don’t crave it anymore. Same goes for stress, when we are stressed out, we tend to reach for those comfort foods. Find something that you can substitute for when you are stressed out. Keep yourself occupied, wait it out, go to the gym, distract your mind.
Figure out what triggers your emotional cravings and make a list of activates to divert your mind off of those cravings. If you always crave sweets at night before you go to bed, read a book instead to take your mind off of food. Sometimes just hitting the gym can get rid off cravings. Exercise stimulates the release of endorphins, feel good chemicals in your brain, so after your workout, you are less likely to reach for junk.
Do not skip your meals even if you overeat during one of your daily meals. Skipping meals will only put you in an emotional low, drop your blood sugar and make you crave bad foods ever more. Also, drink lots of water during the day to keep your mouth occupied with something.
Keep your house clear from temptation foods. I know this can be hard to do when you have kids, but eliminating unnecessary fat foods/temptation foods from your house will save you many midnight snack crazies. If you don’t have cookies at home, you are probably not going to go to the store in the middle of the night just to buy cookies.
Have a support system like a friend or a family member that you can call when you are feeling down, or when you get your cravings. I have a good friend of mine that is a personal trainer, and when I get my insane cravings, or feel lazy about going to the gym, I call him and tell him about it. His positive energy and excitement about working out always persuades me to go to the gym. I never regretted going to the gym even after a 12 hr day at work. .
Supplements play an important role in preventing cravings. Give your body enough essential nutrients, take multivitamins everyday. I take multivitamins everyday in the morning and B vitamin complex before bed to give me energy for the next day. Here are few functions of B vitamins: “Support and increase the rate of metabolism, maintain healthy skin and muscle tone, enhance immune and nervous system function, promote cell growth and division — including that of the red blood cells that help prevent anemia, reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal forms of cancer” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_vitamins).
Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids (EFA) that can be found in flaxseed, fish oil, nuts, fish also play several important functions in our bodies, including immune system support, joint lubrication, energy production in our cells, and many other.
When you continue to crave something so badly and none of the above distractions help, go ahead and have a small portion of it. Treat it as your cheat meal. Sometimes, this can be the only thing that will get rid of your cravings. Don’t go crazy with it and instead of having few chips you end up eating the whole big bag. You will probably regret it the next day because you will feel like sh**t. Trust me, I have done it all!
Hope this helps 
November 22, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Good blog, Monika. I have a carb & sugar craving, It goes right with my coffee addiction. They both go hand in hand. As i sat here & read your blog, i drink a cup of Joe & eat a pop tart. Real good stuff, huh. I know what i need to do but i wont do it. Just STOP!!!!! But i wont. As much of this stuff that i eat im suprized im not as big as a house. Good metabolism. I wonder what its doing to my inside. I hope i can come to grips with this someday soon. Im tired of wasteing my hard work in the gym. thxs Bob