Beat Your Food Cravings

Food cravings... makes you hungry just reading the words, right? Yes, well don't feel alone. Many people find their food cravings taking control of their lives, and their weight, long before they fully realize what's happening. Just like a silver lining to every dark cloud though, food cravings don't have to control your life. No, as a matter of fact, with the right positive mindset and just a little bit of additional knowledge on how to turn your food cravings into a positive force in your life, you too can be well on the way to a happier, healthier you.
The trick with food cravings is to manipulate what you're eating and when you're eating it. We all know the dangers of junk food and fast food and that generally speaking, the more of them you eat, the harder it is to stay away from them. Often times, the mind-body connection that ties the initial pains of hunger to the resulting satisfaction of eating triggers a mental and physical dependence on these kinds of foods that is hard to resist. But resist you must if you are ever going to control the food cravings thwarting your physical health with additional weight gain and your mental health with a dependence on food when it is not needed. If you want to beat your food cravings for good, start by eating a healthy breakfast every morning like whole grain cereals or a hearty serving of eggs, nature's best source of protein. Follow that throughout your day with a healthy snack 2-3 hours later, perhaps a serving of fruit for something sweet and/or a small serving of low-fat string cheese for calcium and more of a salty taste. Within a couple of hours, as the food cravings hit again, it should be time for lunch and the perfect time to implement a lean serving of fish, chicken, or turkey and a low-sodium, low-sugar beverage of choice. A couple of hours later is the perfect time for one more healthy snack such as beef jerky, cottage cheese, or perhaps a yogurt to tide you over. Be sure to include plenty of water or a low calorie drink such as Crystal Light for some added flavor and your food cravings should be gone almost as fast they appeared. Another couple of hours later and it should be time for your dinner routine.
After dinner food cravings are generally the worst diet detractors and the food cravings most of us hate to give into but just can't seem to get away from. The good news is that if you regularly follow a daily eating plan like the one listed above, you'll find that you're eating more than it sounds like on paper and that the content of what you are eating is filling you up more than you might have originally thought. That's great news, right? Well, for some of you, it may not be enough to stop the food cravings late at night consisting of chips and ice cream and cookies. Eating regularly, as listed above, throughout the day should greatly reduce these food cravings to begin with. The next big issue to contend with is to ensure you set a time in the evening to stop eating, typically after dinner and before it gets dark. Increase your water intake and ensure you have plenty of vegetable snacks on hand. This will do wonders to fill you up and reduce your desire to eat more than a few vegetables and thereby beginning to train your mind as well. Give it a try; I think you'll find it worth your while and you can finally put an end to those non-stop food cravings all day long.