How to handle food cravings
It is almost summer, which is my favorite time of year. Unfortunately, in San Diego, we are having "June gloom". I'm hoping that the sun will come out for next weekend. It hasn't been out for over a week now and was even raining this morning. Summer is a busy time of year for many of us, and during that time our health goals tend to be forgotten. Summer is filled with festivals with fried and sugary foods and beer gardens depending on where you live. Foods, such as the ones you will find at festivals, contain a lot of sugar, and usually will have you craving more after eating them. I know I’ve definitely had my share of binging on sugary foods like ice cream, cookies, and cake. You know when you tell yourself you are only going to eat one, and then you go back for another a few minutes later, or, even worse, you find yourself thinking about your next cookie before you even finish the one that you’re currently eating. I even remember that, at times, I used to have my sister go get me more cookies (or whatever I was eating) so I could sneak more without anyone else knowing. Food cravings are normal, and, along with sugary foods, processed foods that contain a lot of fat, sugar, or salt will also keep you coming back for more for that very reason.
So, these cravings are normal, but continually giving into our cravings or binging on these types of foods is not good for our health or our waistlines. I don’t usually believe in counting your calories unless you are eating foods like this. The hard part is that in order to get rid of your cravings for these types of foods, you are going to have to lay off them for a while in order to break the addiction pattern so you no longer crave them.
Here are some suggestions on how you can get rid of cravings:
Consume a tablespoon of coconut oil.
Keep hydrated. To make it a little different and taste better than a normal glass of water, you can make your own infused water by adding berries, cucumbers, or citrus fruits to your water and letting it sit in the fridge for 2-4 hours. I suggest making it at night so it is ready in the morning.
Make your own hot chocolate. This is something that I did a lot while on my cleanse when I found myself craving something sweet. The coconut milk was very filling. You can also make this drink cold, kind of like chocolate milk. Also, maybe add a dash of cinnamon to help balance your blood sugar.
Make sure you are eating enough protein. This is essential for getting rid of sugar cravings. Most Americans actually eat too much protein, which, if not burned off, will get stored as fat. To figure out how much protein you need, take your weight in pounds/2.2, and then multiply that number by .8-1.0. For example if you weigh 120 pounds: 120/2.2=54.5(.8-1.0)=44-55 grams per day. If you are more active, you may need more.
Keep healthy snacks on hand so you don’t feel deprived. Some examples are celery with guacamole or hummus, low glycemic fruit such as berries, an apple with almond or sunbutter, non-dairy unsweetened yogurt (or hormone free greek yogurt if you tolerate dairy) with some raw cacao, stevia, and cinnamon, or a handful of mixed nuts.
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