Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Simple Tips to Deal with Food Cravings

When you are trying to lose weight or maintain your weight loss, old habits can die hard and cravings can sometimes get the best of us.

Here are some tips that can help get you over the hump:

* Take a multivitamin/mineral daily. The number one cause of food cravings is vitamin and mineral deficiency. You simply cannot eat enough fresh, whole food to get your daily requirements.

* Drink plenty of water. We often confuse hunger for thirst. Try drinking 8-16 oz. of water the next time you have a craving and see if that doesn't do the trick! Active people need 64 to 96 oz. of water daily. For every 25 lbs. overweight you are you need an additional 8 oz.

* Eat plenty of protein. Seventy-five percent of the US population fall into the carbohydrate sensitive category. Which basically means you need to eat more protein than carbs in order to lose weight. Active people need 80 to 100 grams of protein per day.

* Eat more complex carbohydrates (i.e. whole grains, high fiber foods and fruits/vegetables). Complex carbs take longer to digest and fiber helps control blood sugar which, in turn, helps with cravings.

* Eat approximately 30% fat per day in your diet. Fat helps with satiety (as does protein fiber). If your diet is too low in fat you could be hungrier more often which might lead to a binge.

* Eat something every 3 to 4 hours. No exceptions! If you go long stretches throughout the day without eating you will be ravenous and less capable of making smart food choices.

* Don't keep unhealthy food that you can't resist in your house. If it's not around then you will be less likely to indulge.

* Wait. Yes, wait. Sounds boring I know. But, if you will wait about 20 minutes your craving should go away on it's on.

15 comments:

Trisha said...

Very cool. I did not know about the multi vitamen thing! Wow!
Good post sweetheart~

Matthew Shields said...

Hi , Sabrina
Those were great tips I didn’t know about the multi vitimin either
Happy Trails
Matthew Shields
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Philip Graves said...

Great tips for anyone needing to make an early start on losing weight this side of Christmas excesses!

Philip Graves [Consumer Behaviour Expert]

Lisa M. McLellan said...

I have to get back to taking a multi-vitamin everyday. I've been slacking on a lot of things lately.

Lena Milukh said...

I feel craving for sweets all the time.I'll try out your suggestions
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JohnWShoemaker said...

Very practical...very helpful.

Intuitive John
Use Your Intuition and Intuitive Powers To Eliminate Stress and Bring True Joy Into Your Life!

Jennifer Skinner said...

Ah yes, the multivitamin. Dang, I keep forgetting I should be taking one of those! Thanks for the reminder. What do you think about chromium supplements?

Jennifer Skinner
Wardrobe Planning Expert

sabrenafaire said...

Jennifer,

Chromium supplements are fine but you have to make sure you are taking a supplement that is potent. Most supplements don't hve enough of the active ingredient they tout in order for it to work.

Most chromium products contain chromium picolinate, but chromium polynicotinate is a better chromium to take. One I recommend is Phoenix Nutritionals GlucoCrave Extreme.

http://www.phoenixnutritionals.com/gb.html

Actually I recommend all of Phoenix Nutritionals' products.

Robert Kaufer said...

Great post

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Unknown said...

Thanks for the great information!

Scott Bell

The Road Warrior

www.scottalexanderbell.com

David J Parnell said...

These are great... very practical and I have actually used some of them already...

David J. Parnell | Communication Expert
The Communication Expert Blog

Cindy Eyanson said...

Great tips.
Cindy

Cindy Eyanson Online

Jenya said...

Thanks for the post Sabrina. Great tips for someone new to nutrition.

Jenya

JB said...

Hi Sabrina! Good article and trying to do it myself right now...Eating is going well, now just need to exercise more.
How quickly can someone lose a couple of pounds?

Thanks for all your help!
Jen Battaglino

Unknown said...

This is really interesting way to lose weight! Thanks for sharing
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