Thread: 8 Ways to Control Your Cravings and Save Your Diet

1. Avoid Your Triggers

You crave what you eat, so if you switch what you're eating, you can weaken your old cravings and strengthen new ones," says Marcia Pelchat, PhD, of the Monell Center. This can happen pretty fast. For five days, her study volunteers drank bland dietary-supplement beverages. During that time, they craved fewer of their trigger foods. By the end of the study, the volunteers actually wanted the supplements instead. The first few days are always the hardest, and you probably can't completely eliminate your old cravings. But the longer you avoid your trigger foods, the less likely you may be to want them. In fact, you'll probably begin to crave the foods you eat, a real bonus if you've switched to fresh fruit.

2. Go Nuts

Drink two glasses of water and eat an ounce of nuts (6 walnuts, 12 almonds or 20 peanuts). Within 20 minutes, this can extinguish your craving and dampen your appetite by changing your body chemistry, says Michael F. Roizen, MD.

3. Let it Go

Since stress is a huge trigger for cravings, learning to deal with it could potentially save you hundreds of calories a day. This will take some practice. You can try deep breathing or visualizing a serene scene on your own, or you can speed things up by buying one of the many CDs that teach progressive muscle relaxation. A good one is Relaxation/Affirmation Techniques, by Nancy Hopps.

4. Take a Power Nap

Cravings sneak up when we're tired. Focus on the fatigue: Shut the door, close your eyes, re-energize.

5. Get Minty Fresh

Brush your teeth; gargle with mouthwash. "When you have a fresh, clean mouth, you don't want to mess it up," says Molly Gee, RD, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

6. Distract Yourself

If only ice cream will do, it's a craving, not hunger. "Cravings typically last ten minutes," says John Foreyt, PhD, of Baylor College of Medicine. Recognize that and divert your mind: Call someone, listen to music, run an errand, meditate or exercise.

7. Indulge Yourself -- Within Limits

Once in a while, it's OK to go ahead and have that ice cream. But buy a small cone, not a pint. Try 100-calorie CocoaVia chocolate bars or 100-calorie snack packs of cookies, peanuts or pretzel sticks. The trick is to buy only one pack at a time so you won't be tempted to reach for more. And since even 100 extra calories can sabotage weight loss if you indulge daily, strike a bargain with yourself to work off the excess calories. A brisk 15-minute walk will burn 100 calories or so.

8. Plan or Avoid

Vary your usual routine to avoid passing the bakery or pizzeria. If you know you'll be face-to-face with irresistible birthday cake, allocate enough calories to fit it into your diet.

Cheers!

These are great tips StayHealthy2009! I totally agree with brushing the teeth if you crave for food because for me, that minty fresh feeling that toothpastes and mouthwash bring make me lose my appetite . And sleeping indeed when we are tired is a great way of stopping that craving for food. You are also doing your skin a favor because getting enough sleep is really great for the skin. Thanks for these tips . I really like it!

Great post! Thanks for sharing this with us. I agree that identifying the reasons that triggers the craving and understanding your action is really important. Sometime we eat not because we are hungry but because of the craving, that is why it is important to identify hunger from craving. I always have lots of fruits available at home so when I feel the need to eat, I eat right by eating fruits. I get full for a long time and it's guilt free so it makes me feel good

Tremendous StayHealthy2009, thanks for your advice.

thanks for the great tips I am going to print and keep on my fridge

They really are great tips. I tried them and I should same that it helps me a lot more. Sleeping off the craving or brushing your teeth really works like magic. I love the tips! Great job

This is a great and helpful post . I'd love to eat almonds to control my craving appetite. That's very tasty and satisfying too

I usually do numbers 5, 6 and 8. They work best for me. Thanks for sharing this StayHealthy.. =D