How To Resist Food Cravings
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Several years ago the Physicians Weight Loss Centers handed out a Prevention Magazine, September 1992, article by Cathy Perlmutter on "How To Fight Food Cravings" which still has relevance today.
The article recommends such simple solutions as to drink a lot of water or begin a meal with soup as these liquids take up stomach space, promote a satiated feeling and therefore supply resistance to food cravings.
When trying to avoid food cravings never skip a meal, especially breakfast or lunch as this can lead to overeating in the evening. This outcome is inevitable as the body's chemical store of glycogen, used as a fuel, falls significantly and the body then demands more and more food.
Snacking or as the article puts it "grazing" is a similar approach to feeling "full" throughout the day and to reduce food cravings. James Kenney, a nutrition-research specialist at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Santa Monica, California, cautions against sweet snacks such as ice cream and candy because of the connection to higher insulin production and increased appetite that they create. He adds, "But if you graze on low-fat, high-fibre foods like carrots, oranges or oatmeal, you'll keep your appetite down."
If you eat your meals slowly, especially if they contain fibrous foods that require a lot of chewing like barley, beans, apples, citrus fruits, beets and carrots, your body has time to recognize that it is receiving fuel. With the extra time taken you are likely to feel satiated before you have overeaten.
On the psychological/emotional part of food cravings, the article admonishes you to recognize your own food craving triggers. Whether it is the sight or aroma of a favorite food item or a TV commercial, learn what sets off the craving and be mentally prepared to take on the challenge. You may start eating simply because you are upset and it has nothing to do with hunger. The article recommends that you ask yourself why you want to eat.
A final word of advice the article provides to help fight food cravings is to distract yourself. Linda Crawford, an eating-behaviour specialist at Green Mountain at Fox Run suggests, "Ideally, do something incompatible with eating, like taking a walk."