Kick your cravings' ass
All day you are being hit with smells or instances where you use your willpower. The office has donuts, then you have candy at your desk, then you open your cupboards at home to more sweets and chips. By that time your willpower has completely tanked, ego depleted, and you finish your day with a huge tub of ice cream even feeling defeated even though you were able to withstand the entire day of cravings.
Instead of using up all your willpower to avoid cravings, I am going to teach you how to figure out the why, when, and where of your cravings to help you plan ahead and get in control!
The first thing to come is your urge, set off by some sort of trigger. If you give in to that urge, the behavior, then you feel a dopamine hit that is the reward. This is usually followed by guilt then restricting yourself again and repeat the cycle everyday until you came across this blog post.
Tracking what triggers your cravings can help your self awareness that will lead to you breaking the cycle. Everytime you get the urge to polish off a tub of ice cream of all the reeses eggs leftover from Easter, ask yourself:
Am I craving this food or a certain flavor/ texture?
What am I doing and sensing that caused me to want this? Ads, smelled food, candy in my cupboards. Maybe watching TV and eating chips at the same time is a habit.
What do I feel physically and emotionally?
What am I thinking? Am I in “ fuck it mode" because I’m not close to my protein goal or missed a workout?
Who am I with? Get specific.
Keeping a journal or note on your phone app can help you when you ask these questions. Go over your notes and you’ll make the connections between your cravings and triggers.
The next step is to implement a strategy to help you break the cycle. Here are 4 you can try:
Sit with the craving. Yep, a 5 min time out to really take control and ask yourself if you’re really hungry or maybe stressed tf out. If a hearty meal with protein and veggies sounds good, then you might be hungry. If it doesn’t then indulge in your craving and chalk it up as an intended action. You MEANT to indulge and had the control to choose that, so that’s a win in this case and you learned more about yourself through it.
Do something else that doesn’t involve eating. Cravings are mostly psychological, so trying to divert your attention to something physical may help. Next time you notice cravings, try going on a walk, coloring a page from your favorite coloring book, cleaning the junk drawer or putting your clothes away. Don’t watch TV, that’s probably what triggered you in the first place 😜.
Eat more nutrient dense, minimally processed foods. You probably saw that coming right? But for real, people who are getting enough micronutrient and fueling their bodies don’t crave much junk food! Also, if you’re noticing cravings it may be because you are in too aggressive of a calorie deficit or maybe not allowing yourself the foods you love during the day. Flexible nutrition is an eating style I teach my clients that helps them reach physique and performance goals while eating the foods they enjoy. Cutting out carbs all day might be why you binge on them at night. Check yourself and make sure you’re intaking adequate calories, protein, and fiber.
Eat the food you’re craving!!! Do it but eat it slowly and savor the experience. Don’t buy the cheap dollar chocolate bar, go out of your way to get the boujie bar with sea salt caramel sprinkled with gold from a far away world. Research shows that when people indulge purposely like this they tend to est less of that thing, it’s like you appreciate the occasion. Or you can try making the food you’re craving yourself. Want potato chips? Bake some yourself. You may find them to taste better and fit into your macros better too😉.
All of these cravings kickers work best if you’re not constantly surrounding yourself with a supply of ready-to- eat foods that tend to be higher calorie and less nutritious. Try a kitchen reset and be sure to keep more of the foods that make you feel your best around.
Watch out for “healthy" snacks as a lot of these are marketing buzz foods. They claim non GMO, organic and gluten-free as a way to make you feel they are healthier when they are often the same or more calorie dense. If you substitute something like this in you’re just continuing the cycle with a different food… so go back to our strategies and see what may work for you.
Comment below what has helped you with your cravings or let me know of any of these sound helpful to you!