Cut the Cravings with the Right Food Choices - 2
Yesterday I started discussing cravings and how to deal with them by making the correct food choices and combining them properly. Today I am going to finish up with more ways to control cravings.
3. Examine what sweets are currently in your diet. Are you having a lot of artificial sweeteners? What about that hidden sugar hiding in the Coffeemate, or mochas/syrups in your coffee? Examine where you may be getting extra sugars and start eliminating them from your diet. Both sugar and artificial sweeteners in these items and the coffee may all contribute to a spike in blood sugar and the cravings that come with it.
4. Consume a healthy breakfast from the food groups suggested in "number one" on yesterday's blog. Make your carbohydrate choice a whole grain and high fiber (at least three to five grams of fiber). Many people make the mistake of consuming just carbohydrates (cereal and fruit juice) for breakfast which is a big mistake for most. Or worse, they skip breakfast entirely and just have coffee drinks. Skipping this first meal of the day may play havoc with blood sugar.
5. Eat three balanced meals a day (again, refer to "number one" from yesterday) and a few healthy snacks in between meals.
What helps you with your food cravings?
I find that cravings can mostly be psychological or be a result of dehydration. I found that over the years, I have needed to literally confront the culprit of my cravings: junk food in my pantry. Sometimes I would get to the kitchen take out the food I was craving, just look at it, and think "is it worth it"? Sometimes I would give in, but more times not. Its alittle humiliating when you do give in, and it helped me to measure my willpower against certain foods. The ones I can't beat, I don't buy.
Other times I may just be dehydrated. So grabbing a giant glass of lemon water or seltzer water helps enormously with eliminating cravings.