10 Ways to Stop Cravings for Unhealthy Foods

Food cravings are the dieter's worst enemy. These are intense or uncontrollable desires for specific foods, stronger than normal hunger. The types of foods that people crave are highly variable, but these are often processed junk foods that are high in sugar. Cravings are one of the biggest reasons why people have problems losing weight and keeping it off.

Here are 10 simple ways to prevent or stop unhealthy food and sugar cravings.

Drink Water

Thirst is often confused with hunger or food cravings. If you feel a sudden urge for a specific food, try drinking a large glass of water and wait a few minutes. You may find that the craving fades away, because your body was actually just thirsty.

Furthermore, drinking plenty of water may have many health benefits. In middle-aged and older people, drinking water before meals can reduce appetite and help with weight loss.

Eat More Protein

Eating more protein may reduce your appetite and keep you from overeating. It also reduces cravings, and helps you feel full and satisfied for longer.

Increasing protein intake may reduce cravings by up to 60% and cut the desire to snack at night by 50%.

Drink Green Tea

Green tea extract contains caffeine and catechins, which can boost metabolism, burn fat, and aid weight loss. Combining green tea extract with other ingredients can decrease appetite levels and reduce food intake. Herbalife's Instant Herbal Beverage is a green tea based beverage with the addition of several other botanicals. Customers have reported a significant reduction in sugar cravings when using this product. For more information tap/click here.

Distance Yourself From the Craving

When you feel a craving, try to distance yourself from it. For example, you can take a brisk walk or a shower to shift your mind onto something else. A change in thought and environment may help stop the craving. Some studies have also shown that chewing gum can help reduce appetite and cravings.

Plan Your Meals

If possible, try to plan your meals for the day or upcoming week. By already knowing what you're going to eat, you eliminate the factor of spontaneity and uncertainty. If you don't have to think about what to eat at the following meal, you will be less tempted and less likely to experience cravings.

Avoid Getting Extremely Hungry

Hunger is one of the biggest reasons why we experience cravings. To avoid getting extremely hungry, it may be a good idea to eat regularly and have healthy snacks close at hand. By being prepared, and avoiding long periods of hunger, you may be able to prevent the craving from showing up at all.

Minimise Stress
Stress can often induce food cravings and influence eating behaviors, especially for women. Women under stress have been shown to eat significantly more calories and experience more cravings than non-stressed women.

Importantly, stress raises your blood levels of cortisol, a hormone that can make you gain weight, especially in the belly area.

Try to minimize stress in your environment by avoiding contact with stress-generating personalities, going for a walk or just taking some time out.

Get Enough Sleep

Your appetite is largely affected by hormones that fluctuate throughout the day. Sleep deprivation disrupts the fluctuations, and may lead to poor appetite regulation and strong cravings. For this reason, getting good sleep may be one of the most powerful ways to prevent cravings from showing up.

Get Sufficient Nutrients From Your Food

Hunger and a lack of key nutrients can both cause certain cravings. Therefore, it's important to eat proper meals at mealtimes. This way, your body gets the nutrients it needs and you won't get extremely hungry right after eating. Herbalife Formula 1 is a complete high-protein food source that also contains 20 vitamins and minerals. For more information tap/click here.

If you find yourself in need of a snack between meals, make sure it's something healthy. Reach for whole foods, such as fruits, nuts, vegetables or seeds.

Don't Go to the Supermarket Hungry

Supermarkets are probably the worst places to be when you are hungry or have cravings. First, they give you easy access to pretty much any food you could think of. Second, supermarkets usually place the unhealthiest foods at eye level.

The best way to prevent cravings from happening at the store is to shop only when you've recently eaten. Never ever go to the supermarket hungry.

Summary

Cravings are very common. In fact, more than 50% of people experience cravings on a regular basis. They play a major role in weight gain, food addiction and binge eating. Being aware of your cravings and their triggers makes them much easier to avoid. It also makes it a lot easier to eat healthy and lose weight.