Weight Loss: Fending Off Food Cravings

You have been dieting for the past few weeks. You are in good control of yourself and have managed to shed some weight. But one fine day, out of nowhere, comes the haunting desire to eat your favorite fried food. Your stomach craves for it. What starts off as a faint desire, builds and slowly engulfs your whole system till you can no longer resist it. How can you fend off these food cravings and keep your diet on track? Here are some top tips to help you fend off your food cravings:

Avoid skipping meals: Have three healthy meals in the whole day. This will help you to remain full and help you control your food cravings. Skipping meals will make you hungry at odd times and give rise to food cravings. Hence you should avoid skipping meals.

Don't crash diet: Do not remain hungry in your effort to lose weight. You should always have a well-balanced meal with sufficient calories that are able to meet your body's requirements. You should avoid going on crash dieting as scientifically the weight loss should not be more than one per cent of your weight per week. Also, extreme hunger will lead to food cravings and should be avoided.

Have a positive attitude: Do not associate overindulgence with lack of will power or self-control. Take steps to control your cravings, rather than berating yourself for giving in to them. Think of cravings as a wave that starts gradually, then peaks and eventually subsides. Learn to cross this wave without drowning.

Eliminate problem foods: Understand that cravings are a normal response to living in a faulty-food environment. Eliminate the high fat foods from your house and environment. The sight of such foods can lead to food cravings. Similarly, avoid dining out as restaurants tend to pile up foods rich in fat.

Physically distance yourself: Put time, distance and any activity in between you and your food. Whenever the craving for some food arises, involve yourself in some constructive activity. This will help you to get your mind off the food and the urge to have the food will often disappear.

Start exercising: When you are stressed out and have an urge to eat, start exercising. The chemicals that are released when you eat fatty foods and are responsible for the pleasurable feelings are the same as those induced when you exercise.

Examine your life: Are you using food as a response to any emotional or psychological problems? Think about the situations in your life when you have the maximum urge to eat a food.

Try and avoid these situations and involve yourself in a different activity whenever you face such a situation. This way you will be able to control your food cravings.

If you follow these tips, you will definitely be able to lessen the lure of these demon desires and be successful in your weight-losing endeavour.