Do you struggle to reduce cravings and actually stick to a healthy eating plan? If you do, then you are not alone. In fact, most of my clients have told me that cravings are what derail their healthy eating plans time and time again.
If we decide that we aren’t going to eat things like french fries, candy, or doughnuts, then how do we actually stick to our healthy eating plan when cravings arise? The trick is to give our body what it actually needs rather than what it is craving.
You can reduce cravings and actually stick to a healthy eating plan just by utilizing one of the tips below.
#1 Reduce Cravings: Drink More Water
There is a reason you see this recommendation every time you read about controlling your appetite or reducing hunger and cravings. In many cases, you feel hungry, but you are actually thirsty and possibly dehydrated. It is easy to get these signals crossed, so when you think you need food, you might just need a little H2O. The next time a craving hits:
- Drink a full glass of water
- Brush your teeth
- Wait at least 20 minutes
- If you are still hungry, then eat something that will satisfy your hunger, not the craving.
- If you are not hungry, then the minty taste in your mouth will make the temptation less desirable and easier to avoid.
#2 Reduce Cravings: Decrease Daily Stress
Mental and physical health is very closely connected. Stress can often lead to emotional eating, constant hunger, or increased cravings. Part of the reason for this is because the hormone cortisol is released when you experience a lot of stress.
This hormone causes you to find a way to relieve the stressful feelings, which many people do with sugar, carbs, and junk food. This is where the term “stress eating” comes from. By decreasing your stress, you can also reduce your cravings. (To learn more about how reducing stress will help you make healthier choices go here.)
#3 Reduce Cravings: Don’t Deprive Yourself
We also need to be sure we are not restricting ourselves in other ways.
- Waiting too long to eat between meals
- Eating too few calories
- Filling up on nonnutritious food
These can all lead to food cravings causing us to overeat. If you are trying to reach and maintain a healthy weight, this is not helpful.
Instead, shoot for what I call a Smart Plate. A Smart Plate is ¼ lean protein, ¼ complex carbohydrates, and the other ½ vegetables with a healthy fat about the size of your thumb. This might mean having a dinner with salmon, quinoa, broccoli and a salad, or a stir fry loaded with veggies and a bit of chicken served over ½ cup of rice.
You can get as simple or as complex as you want, as long as you are getting all the nutrients you need without depriving yourself.
These three tips are great to reduce cravings and help us actually stick to a healthy eating plan. However, if you have been giving in to your cravings for years, you might need a bit more to break free from this habit. If you feel like you need a more powerful strategy, I invite you to watch the Crush Cravings Masterclass and get access to my three-step strategy to crush cravings, so you can stick with your healthy eating plan even when surrounded by temptations.
Hey, before you go, join the Stress-Free Eating Community. It is an awesome ‘private’ Facebook Group for women who struggle to stick to a healthy eating plan and want exclusive tips, trainings and strategies so they can tap into their brainpower versus willpower and easily choose the healthiest options for them.
Each week there is a mini-challenge to help you build smart habits, strategies to make staying on track to reaching your feel-good weight easier, #healthyfoodtastesgood recipes, accountability check-ins, and opportunities to connect and have fun.
We’re a supportive group of women who motivate and encourage each other to stick with a healthy eating plan …. and best of all it’s completely FREE!
