Curbing Constant Cravings

Written by Branda Polk

Food cravings are fickle things. They come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors; depend on your mood, stress level, or hormone cycle; and can blind-side you at the strangest times. When thinking of food cravings we often picture the expectant mother desiring pickles and ice cream at 2:00 a.m., but the reality is that we all ebb and flow with food cravings throughout the day. 

Cravings come on for a variety of reasons. Cravings are one way the body expresses a nutritional deficiency. A craving for an orange may mean you are low on vitamin C. A craving for steak may mean you need protein or iron. 

Sometimes, cravings are simply the product of a tired body searching for rest yet forced to keep going by a busy schedule. The craving for a candy bar is a cry for quick energy to help you stay alert. Cravings are also brought on by boredom, emotional distress, and the stresses of life. At these times, potato chips and other snacks become distractions from events or feelings. While you eat them to avoid what's really happening, your body is taking the unused calories and storing them as fat in your body.

Sometimes cravings are easily dismissed because of the inconvenience of fulfilling the desire for a taste that rings in your head and makes your mouth water. At other times, the intense desire for a certain food causes you to change your schedule to accommodate it. While the occasional indulgence may not cause too much damage, continually giving in to cravings for foods that are not beneficial to the body can lead to damaging eating habits, weight gain, and the long-term health effects of that weight gain. 

Preparation, forethought, and established boundaries are all helpful to ward off the long-term impact of continually giving in to harmful cravings. Think through the following suggestions when cravings are at bay and use these strategies to make the best choices when those cravings hit. 

• Avoid "good and bad" thinking. You are not a good person when you eat "good" food and a bad person when you eat "bad" foods. Food choice does not make you the person you are.
   
• Organize against urge. Keep snack foods out of sight. Avoid purchasing too much of the foods that lead to cravings or tempt you to overindulge. Arrange your refrigerator, pantry, and food storage so that healthful choices are the easiest to grab.
   
• Establish a place for eating. Select a place where you can sit down to eat and limit eating to that place. Then, sit and enjoy the foods that you prepare or select. Consistently sitting down to eat in the same place will allow you to focus and enjoy your food. If you don't have time to sit down, wait until a later time to eat.
   
• Plan snacks and treats into your healthy eating plan. The occasional sweet treat will not ruin your health or your waist line. Plan for dessert once a week or on special occasions. Completely omitting your favorite foods from your eating plan will lead to a greater, unhealthy focus and desire for that food.
   
• Keep a food journal. A written log of what you are eating will give you an honest picture of your habits and choices and allow you to evaluate these based on your goals.
   
• Reward your progress with something other than food. Fresh flowers, time to read or garden, a new outfit, calling a distant friend, or a long bath are simple, non-caloric ways to reward yourself for choosing better health over a temporary "fix" with a craved food. 

Branda Polk, B.S. Exercise Science, is a certified personal trainer, wellness coach, conference speaker and health writer in Lebanon, Tennessee. Sign up for Branda's newsletter, Wellness Connection, to receive encouragement and coaching in the areas of nutrition, exercise, and stress relief. Follow Branda on Twitter.