How to stop food cravings for sweets and sugary foods?

Are you trying to lose weight and to stop cravings when dieting? Are you trying to control cravings at night after meals? Are you struggling to control cravings for sweets and junk food? The cravings that you can have during your dieting journey can drive you crazy. Eventually you give in to cravings and end up going for guilt trip.

It isn’t easy to control our cravings. However, it isn’t impossible too. With little preparedness and planning, you can control cravings especially night cravings. Let us see how you can control your cravings and have a healthy weight for lifetime.

Weight gain or weight loss is all dependent on the calories that we consume throughout the day. Small snacks between main meals add to the total calories. You may have thought to yourself that you hardly eat anything in your meals but are continuously gaining weight. The habit of snacking often during day or the cravings during night is the main reason to fail in our weight loss journey.

Dieting and state of mind

Dieting is more about mindset than about physical action. It becomes extremely difficult to control food cravings if you are not determined enough to lose weight or become fit. You need to have a concrete “Why” to your dieting journey.

If you are starting on your weight loss journey to look good on your friend’s wedding, the “why” may not be strong enough for your to endure resistance. However, if you want to lose weight so that you can play with your kids or be more efficient in your routine activities, you may last in your journey longer.

Cravings are integral part of your food relation. It isn’t bad to have cravings. All you have to ensure is that you do not give in to cravings all the time. Having a slice of cake is a good idea. It will make you happy and it shall be easy to be part of social gathering. But having an entire cake or binge eating isn’t right thing to do.

First identify why do you get these cravings and then try to fix the issue with simple ideas.

1. Drink enough water

Thirst is often confused with hunger. If you do not have habit of drinking water regularly or you are dehydrated, you may confuse to be hungry instead of thirsty.

So next time you get craving, drink a tall glass of water and see if the craving goes away.

Drinking water is also beneficial for your health as it improves blood circulation and weight management.

2. Add protein and fiber to each meal

Protein shall make you feel full and satiated. So adding protein to each meal shall keep the cravings at bay.

You may add protein-rich food such as chicken, pulses, legumes, dairy to each meal. These protein sources take longer to digest and so you will feel full for longer time.

Protein improves skin regeneration and muscle repair so that shall be added benefit for your good health.

Fibrous vegetables will also slow down the process of digestion and keep you satiated for longer time without adding significant calories.

Some of the fibrous vegetables that you can add to your meals are green leafy vegetables, beans asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum and beetroot.

3. Avoid stocking sugary or oily food

When you know there are cookies in the kitchen, you cannot resist till you finish them off. So the easiest thing to do is NOT to buy them in first place.

Instead, stock your kitchen with fresh fruits and healthy snacks like yoghurt and nuts. Please remember that nuts are high in calories so eat nuts in limited quantity.

4. Plan your meals beforehand

Make a habit of planning all the meals of week on a weekend. You may do meal prep in batches. Meal prep means cooking and stocking portions of food as per daily need.

If you have busy schedule, add ready to eat things like yoghurt, cheese, milk, bread, fruits, nuts to your meal plan. You may also add some simple foods that can be cooked or prepared quickly like salad, oats and eggs.

Pre-planning also ensures that you do not grab processed, sugary or oily snacks on the go.

Maintain stock of variety of sauces, herbs, condiments and spices so that you can quickly whip a meal or salad. Be creative and experiment with different recipes. Simple veggies tossed with protein, herbs and spices can make wholesome meal in a jiffy.

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5. Eat at regular intervals

One of the main reasons for cravings can also be that you have not eaten for long time. Extreme hunger can also increase cravings.

Eating at regular intervals not only keep cravings at bay but also keep your blood sugar levels steady.

6. Manage stress

Binge eating during stress is one of the reasons for cultivating the habit of cravings. When you are in stress, you may develop the habit of finding happiness in sweet and fried food. This has been observed more in women.

You can try to manage stress with meditation and by being mindful. Planning your day ahead will also cut down stress. It will make you feel in control of situation when you have planned your tasks and are ready for it.

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7. Get enough sleep

Not having enough sleep or having disruptive sleep shall stress your hormones. The improper regulation of hormones leads to feeling of hunger and cravings.

Sleeping for 7 hours a day gives your mind and body enough rest. This shall cut down hunger and build good food relation.

8.Eat balanced nutrient-dense meals.

Deficiency of certain micro-nutrients may increase cravings. Include carbs, proteins and fats in your meal in good proportion. Adding enough fruits, vegetables, nuts and dairy ensures enough supply of micronutrients.

Restrictive diets that cut down certain micro or macro nutrient may also increase such cravings. Avoid such restrictive diets as they cannot sustain for longer duration.

9. Practice mindful eating

Mindful eating is about being conscious while eating. It’s about awareness of food and emotions while eating. A good eating habit is about engaging all senses of smell, color, texture, and taste while eating.

Keep the distractions such as mobile and television away. Avoid engaging in stressful conversations at dinner table.

Chew the food slowly and experience the food and its taste. Stop eating when you feel full. Concentrating on the food shall signal you when you are full.

Practice gratitude towards food on the table. Food gives strength and nourishment to the body. It is time to bring back the practice of saying prayers at dinner table before eating the food.

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10. Physical actions that change the mindset for cravings.

Physical actions have direct effect on our mindset.  So to change the mindset while having cravings, you need to change your physical actions.

Brush your teeth early at night so that you realize that you cannot snack later at night.

Drink water when hungry. Change your tasks or walk to different desk if you have cravings inspite of having finished your lunch just a while ago. Break the chain of thoughts of cravings by indulging in something creative or interesting.

If you experience cravings during holidays or in your idle time, engage in hobby that keeps your mind engaged creatively. Do something interesting so that your attention is diverted away from food.

Stay in touch

Let me know in the comments below, what would you like to improve in your self.

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We are in this together!!!