Ways to Reduce Food Cravings

Many of us make the resolution of losing weight, but could not do so because of food cravings. Food cravings are basically a strong desire or an impulse to have certain food but hunger is not always the reason. Normally people have cravings for sugar or carbohydrates which are not at all good for those who want to lose weight.

Reason for Food Cravings

Exhaustion and Depression, Hormones, Low Blood Sugar, Adrenal fatigue, Blood Sugar Imbalance, Food allergy and stress.

Ways to reduce food cravings

Never skip meals or give long gap between two meals. Doing so will decrease your blood sugar levels which is not good for your food cravings. Throughout the day, eat moderate size meal.  After every 3-4 hours, eating small meals or snack will help you in keeping your food craving at bay. Along with this, your metabolism will be up, thus burning calories at efficient rate. It also reduces your cravings associated with Pre-menstrual Syndrome.

You can chew sugar free gum that comes with different flavors to reduce your cravings. It can help you with your unexpected hunger as you can carry it anywhere.

Do not reduce your calorie intake below a safe level. If you want to lose weight, diet containing a minimum of 1200 calories should be taken, and rather than taking empty-calorie foods/drinks (e.g. candy, ice-cream, regular sodas, alcohol), choose nutrient-dense foods (with high nutritional content).

If your diet contains too many additives, then you will find healthy food like fruits, vegetables, oats and beans bland. Overconsumption of processed or refined foods can aggravate cravings so it’s better to reduce intake of these things and do not add extra sugar or salt to the food on your plate as they make cravings worse.

Include low-GI carbohydrates food in your diet as they help in reducing cravings. Also, reduce the intake of heavily processed or high sugar food, refined white flour and increase the intake of whole grains and high-fiber foods.

Drinks that act as stimulants should be avoided or at least should be taken in moderation. Try to drink herbal teas, diluted pure fruit juices and spring water.