Cravings control all of us, but we each give into them or control them in different ways. The way I might handle a craving for sugar is probably different to the way you treat your cravings.
Firstly, I don't get cravings every day, unlike yourself if you're reading this. This comes back to the first problem, the more you eat it, the more you crave it.
In our house, we very rarely, if ever, have any temptation in the house, because if it is..... we all know how that ends up! Whether your chosen go-to is chocolate, lollies, ice-cream, biscuits, cakes, donuts or something else, the fact that it is most likely in your cupboard and so readily accessible is the first problem and the one we need to address. If you simply stop buying it, you will stop eating it at home, which is where you eat it 90% of the time. Correct?
If you know you have a problem and can't stop yourself from eating it when it's in front of you, then you also need to follow the next few steps.
- Assess your diet. Are you eating enough of the right foods to help prevent the cravings of the wrong ones? The more healthy fats you eat, the less sugar you crave. BUT, the more sugar you eat, the more you will crave. The more carbohydrates you eat, the more you will crave.
- Find what motivates you. Figuring out your goal is the next most important step. Most people don't have a physical goal, which makes it even harder to justify not eating these foods they're craving. If you have a physical goal, you will be a lot more inclined not to eat it because you don't want to sabotage all the hard work you're putting in to try and achieve it.
- Keep a diet diary. I don't keep one, but I also don't have a problem controlling my diet or cravings. But if you do, then writing down what you're eating WILL work! For 2 reasons. The first reason it will work is because you'll feel guilty writing it down after you've eaten it and you'll find that you won't eat it because you don't want to have to write it down. The second reason is that you can then use your weekly food intake to identify where you may be going wrong or missing something important for controlling appetite and cravings.
- Educate yourself. Not eating chocolate and ice-cream regularly is about more than your waistline. It's also more to do with the fact that these foods are making you unhealthy and sick. High levels of sugar based foods will suppress your immune system and encourage bad bacteria to grow in your gut, as well as tampering with your appetite hormones, insulin levels and cortisol. So know why you shouldn't eat it all the time, rather than purely thinking about your bikini body, even though it is a good motivator ;)
Eating a diet full of wholesome foods, fresh and colourful vegetables and fruits, combined with lean cuts of meat, wild caught seafood, some fermented foods for gut health and also lots of clean, filtered drinking water, you'll find that your cravings are more about habit rather than actual craving.
The first step to regaining control of your life is to make these changes and stick to them day-in-day-out.
As each day passes by, it will get easier and easier, especially if you stop sabotaging yourself by buying it all the time! With all the money you will be saving, go and get yourself a nice new pair of Lorna Jane tights and a gym membership ;) You'll thank me for it!
Stay healthy,
Liam