Do you ever crave certain foods, like crawling across shards of broken glass kind of cravings? 

That might be a bit extreme, but you get the idea.

Food cravings are a universal struggle. One hundred percent of young women and seventy percent of young men experience them; scientists have yet to find a “cure.”

But this doesn’t mean you should give up trying to control your cravings. Just because you can’t cure them doesn’t mean you can’t manage them.

Know your triggers

What causes you to crave certain foods? Is it a specific place like a movie theater and the smell of popcorn, or special occasion or people? 

Keep a “cravings journal to identify your triggers. When you experience a food craving, write down what you’re craving, how you’re feeling, where you are, and what you’re doing at the time.

Avoid your triggers

Once you’ve identified your triggers, you can manage or avoid them! Start by putting the food somewhere out of sight or at least where it isn’t easily accessible (that means no secret stash of candy in your nightstand or office drawer).

Go a step further by not buying those foods in the first place. Avoid the junk food aisle at the store, and your favorite fast-food restaurants until you’re in charge of your cravings and not at their mercy anymore.

Don’t let yourself get too hungry

Let’s face it. It’s tough to eat a healthy meal when you’re starving and short on time! Extreme hunger makes you crave quick fixes like candy and burgers. Make it a habit to eat healthy food before getting too hungry.

You crave what you eat

Many of us mistakenly believe that our cravings will go away if we feed them. Sadly, this belief flies in the face of scientific evidence. Feeding your cravings strengthens them, but starving them weakens them.

So, to start craving fruit and vegetables, eat more of them! You can train your taste buds to enjoy new foods in as little as five days.

De-stress

Forty percent of people are stress eaters. High levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, can cause people to crave foods that are high in fat and sugar.

If you’re a stress eater, the best way to control your cravings is to find other ways to de-stress. Hit the gym, go for a walk, get a massage, meditate, or read a good book.

One of the easiest ways to manage cravings is to make it harder to access the foods you crave by keeping them out of your home and having healthier options on hand instead. 

And remember to de-stress and strive to keep your hunger in check by making sure you don’t reach a point where you’re starving and will gobble up the first sugary/salty thing you see just to satisfy overpowering urges. You can do this!

The post How To Control Your Cravings appeared first on Lifestyle.

However, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying the holidays and indulging in special treats or rich foods. We just need to make sure we don’t eat that way the rest of the year!

Some people go on one of those guilt-ridden juice cleanses and deprive themselves of their favorite foods in January to atone for eating poorly during the holidays. But this kind of all or nothing approach rarely works because it’s unsustainable. A better approach is to set small, realistic goals that slowly reset your mindset and body.

It’s Really Not a Big Deal

A couple of days of overindulgence is really not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. So don’t treat it like a major catastrophe or as an excuse to eat more junk food because the “week is lost as far as healthy eating goes.” Instead of wallowing in guilt or regret for falling off the wagon, just hit the reset button.

Hit the Reset Button ASAP

A quick rebound is the biggest predictor of long-term health success. A weekend or two of over-indulgence won’t affect your long-term health goals if you get back on track as soon as possible.

Just don’t let a few bad eating choices become the new normal for your eating habits moving forward; start eating nutritious meals again as soon as possible.

One Meal at a Time

Getting back on track is more manageable when you do it one meal at a time. Just focus on making one nutritious meal, and then another, and then another.

A few days of eating nutrient rich food like fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds and whole grains is all you need to cleanse your palate and blunt cravings for sweet and greasy junk food.

Work Out

Healthy eating and fitness go hand in hand; nothing revs up your metabolism like a good workout. If you want your body to burn carbs and fat more efficiently, slowly incorporate, or reintroduce, exercise into your routine.

To be consistent with an exercise program, it helps to remember the mental and emotional benefits of working out to stay motivated.

And when you feel stressed and are tempted to comfort yourself by overeating or scarfing down a pint of your favorite Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, stop flirting with temptation and go for a walk or run immediately instead to conquer any cravings for comfort food.

We all overindulge from time to time but it’s really no big deal. Health and fitness is not a predefined road that requires perfection. Just focus on making your next meal healthier, throw in some exercise and before you know it you’ll be back on track in no time.

The post Getting Back on Track after a Period of Overindulgence appeared first on Lifestyle.