 Handle cravings in a sensible fashion
Cravings are some of the hardest things to deal with when trying to eat healthfully. They can be very persistent at times and they seem to defy rationality!
But cravings do make some sense. If you pay attention, over time you will learn that there are certain triggers. When you learn the triggers, you can more easily overcome the cravings.
Sometimes the trigger is environmental: popcorn at the movies or eating due to stress. Sometimes it's physiological: we might crave salt or sugar triggered by hormones. The key is awareness.
If you are working to eat healthy, that means you have boundaries. Boundaries include limiting calories, carbohydrates or certain types of foods such as those containing processed sugar.
Triggers tempt us to go beyond those boundaries and that can signal us to become aware.
So, let's say your boundary is calories. You know that a giant tub of movie popcorn is going to give you too many calories but that it's hard to sit through a whole movie without that popcorn. You have some choices:
• Don't go to the movie, and yes, in the beginning, this might be your best choice.
• Go to the movie and have no popcorn. Yes, it's possible to do this, you'd be surprised.
• Or, you can create a choice that allows you to snack responsibly. Get a small popcorn, no "butter" (400–500 calories) and eat it very slowly.
When the trigger is stress or something physiological, try waiting. Tell yourself that you can have what you want, but in 15 minutes. Keep yourself busy in the meantime by doing a small household chore, taking a walk, or reading a book. You will often find that the craving will simply disappear.
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