How to Fight Back Against Cravings

It's happened to all of us. We're doing great, following our meal plans, and bam! It hits us. It's a massive craving, and vegetables just ain't gonna' cut it. We need real food - junk food, and we need it now! But you don't automatically have to raise the white flag of fat defeat when cravings attack. You can fight back. Here are a few weapons every desperate dieter should have in his or her arsenal.

Delay
Food cravings can sometimes be passing sensations. They can be thoughts that will move in and out of your mind just like the urge to give the finger in traffic or the instinct to do a little private dance in the elevator. You can choose to pay attention to them, or you can ignore them. Sometimes, tuning out a food craving for just a little while can actually make it go away. The craving may have been triggered by other emotions such as frustration or momentary anxiety. As those feelings subside, often so will the urge to splurge.

Distraction
Find something else to do. This will work very will if you tend to get food cravings when you're bored. Just come up with a handy list of equally entertaining alternatives and post your list near spots, like your desk, where you tend to feel cravings come over you. Pick up a magazine, file your nails, make your daily phone calls, pull up your favorite website, make a to-do list for the week. - whatever it takes. Just give your mind something else to focus on other than your desire to inject pizza directly into your veins. (I'm not the only one am I?)

Substitute
Not all cravings are specific. If you're body is telling you "I must have Caramel Chunk Ice Cream or die," that is one thing. But, sometimes you may experience a craving that just says "I want sweet," or "I want crunchy." If that is the case, you may be able to get away with choosing a lesser evil. Great craving killers include frozen yogurt, fat free cheeses, fat free microwavable kettle corn, pretzels, turkey bacon, baked French fries, peanut butter flavored cereal, and so many more. I'm sure you can think of hundreds of others I haven't mentioned. The idea is just to find something that fulfills what you are looking for. It might be a taste you are craving, but it could also be a certain texture. When we are stressed out, we often want to chew on something, or we might want to crunch our anger away. Sadness and loneliness often makes people reach for creamier comfort foods like ice cream and cheeses. Just give yourself a moment to figure out what you really want and need so you can eat a tasty substitute that's sure to nip your craving in the bud.

Chill Out
Since cravings are often triggered by stress, boredom, anger, and other emotions, find other ways to calm down. Exercise has been shown to ease stress and release endorphins, those happy hormones that take over when there's no traffic...and other nice moments. You don't even need to break into an extensive workout to reap these benefits. Instead, just do fifteen minutes of yoga, take a walk around the block, or pump out a single set of push-ups. Even a little exertion can start to let out those fat making feelings.
Other ways to let out the stress are meditating, journaling, or even calling up a friend to vent. Learn to find healthier ways to blow off some steam, so you can stop taking stress out on your body.

Give In - Sightly
If your craving is specific and extreme, the best thing may just be to eat the thing you're craving. Just scoop yourself a single portion of ice cream or grab a slice of pizza, sit down, and eat it. Enjoy it, and move on. Sometimes denying ourselves too much can come back to bite us in our chubby little butts. If you're feeling deprived, you're likely to go crazy and eat the entire gallon of ice cream rather than just a serving. Instead, go ahead and have some, but give up the guilt trip. If you start trying to make yourself feel guilty for an indulgence, you may start feeling like a failure. And once we've decided that we've failed, what's the point in trying? Don't go there. Just have your treat, love it, and keep going.

Drink Up
Thirst and hunger are easily confused. The next time you have a food craving, drink a glass of water first. Then wait about fifteen minutes. If you're still hungry, it's probably legitimate, but this method is a great way to make sure you're not just dehydrated. The other helpful part of reach for water before food, is that water helps to fill you up. So, when you do finally have your next snack, you probably won't eat as much.

Nap it Before you Snack It
Sometimes food cravings come from being over tired. When you're sleep deprived, your body releases a hormone that makes you crave sugars and carbohydrates. Ever noticed that you can't seem to eat enough sweets the next day after an all-nighter? If you think you might be reaching for food from sheer exhaustion, go to your room or even out to your car and take a fifteen minute nap. If you can squeeze in a longer one, even better. Giving your body what it really needs will be a more effective way of making yourself feel better.

So don't diet in dread. Cravings will come, and they can be mean little suckers, but you're not defenseless. Use these tricks and experiment to find some of your own. We can't let the fat win!