Let's talk about cravings

Photo by Heather Ford on Unsplash

Why do we have craving?

Having cravings is pretty common. Everyone experiences it, especially with junk food. And there are different reasons why each person has food cravings.

Stress

Stress is one of the most common reasons. When you're stressed your body produces cortisol leading your hunger hormones to increase your appetite. When stressed some people try to distract and comfort themselves by eating. 

Need of comfort

Sometimes food is also a comfort or reward when you feel sad, anxious or bored.

Hunger

When you skip meals or restrict food you end up being hungry and have extreme cravings that can lead to overeating, which generally comes with a negative feeling about yourself and you end up feeling guilty.

Tiredness

If you’re sleep deprived your hormones are imbalanced. This leads to an increase of cortisol, just as with stress, an increase of ghrelin, which controls your hunger and a decrease of leptin, an appetite suppressor hormone. It is clear that having bad sleep increases appetite, especially for sweets and fatty food.

Habit

Some people also just love junk food and are used to eating it regularly. It is more of a habit and the more your body receives sugar and fats the more it wants it.

Junk food can be really dangerous for your body. Apart from making you gain weight, sugar and artificial sweeteners can make you develop insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes and heart diseases.

Saturated fats also increase the risks of getting heart diseases as well due to high cholesterol levels.

If you want to control your food cravings, the first thing to do is to identify where it comes from.

Hydrate

First make sure you're well hydrated. Drink at least a big glass of water and wait 15 minutes to see if you're still hungry. The signal our brain makes is the same, so we are not capable of making the difference between thirst and hunger.

Sleep

Try to get enough sleep every night and keep a good sleeping routine to make sure your hormones are stable.

Relax

If you're stressed, a good way to relieve it is exercising, meditating, going out in nature or making something creative.

Swap your reward

If you're used to rewarding yourself with food, whether it is for something good or bad, try alternatives that don't involve eating. You can buy yourself something you've wanted for some time. Doing an activity you appreciate are also good options if you don't want to spend money.

Meal planning

Try to make a meal plan and stick to it. If you've already planned what your next meal will be, chances of going for some easy to make or unhealthy food are lower.

Don’t buy

Another good option is not buying junk food in the first place. If there's no unhealthy processed food in your pantry or fridge you can’t be tempted to eat it.

Eat mindfully

Also be mindful when eating. Avoid eating while you're doing something else. Put your phone away, turn off your TV or computer and focus on what you're eating. You may realize that a couple bites suffice to satisfy you.

Snack healthy

Last but not least if you really are hungry just have a snack. But a healthy and balanced one. You can prepare small portions of fruits, nuts, wheat crackers or cut vegetables with hummus in advance if you want. This way you will always have something ready.