Simple tips to overcome unhealthy food cravings
This article explains how to avoid unhealthy food cravings and instead choose healthy eating for good health. Never indulge in stress eating. Eat healthy foods to satisfy hunger pangs and quench thirst regularly.
Introduction
Food is essential to derive nutrients and calories necessary for the smooth functioning of the body. Thus, it is necessary to ensure that we eat healthy food in the right amount and at the proper time. When we fail to do that we create an imbalance in our bodies. If we fail to provide enough calories, then we may become underweight. If we overeat, we may store the excess calories in the body in the form of fat and cellulite. If we do not eat a balanced and healthy nutritious meal, we may suffer from certain deficiencies. It ultimately will cause disorders and illnesses. Despite all this knowledge, we often fall prey to the desires of our taste buds. We end up liking a few foods and drinks more than others. We, again and again, indulge in them and end up over consuming them. When we over consume something, we neglect certain other food groups causing an imbalance. Sometimes we crave the wrong foods, sometimes we crave them in excess amounts and sometimes at the wrong times. This article explains how to overcome unhealthy eating habits through simple yet effective tips.How to beat unhealthy food cravings
What can be simpler than this? We know our cravings very well. There are certain foods and drinks that we crave for. Why keep them around? Get rid of such foods from the fridge. Make sure not to buy them anymore when going out for grocery purchases. It can be anything from ice cream to chocolates and from chips to processed foods. Make sure to purchase only that is fresh and healthy. Thus, when we will crave certain foods but do not find them easily inside our house, we will have no option but to suppress our cravings and eat something healthy for our bodies.
Though we may not keep unhealthy food around anymore, nowadays, certain apps deliver the desired food within minutes to the doorstep. Do not install such apps on mobile. If they are already installed, uninstall them immediately. Whenever necessary, such as when ordering food for everyone from outside for parties or some celebration, install them, and when the work is done, uninstall them immediately. The key is to get rid of everything that can cause or give way to triggers of unhealthy food habits.
Never starve. Satisfy hunger and thirst immediately. Make sure that each meal is healthily balanced. When we overindulge in our work, we miss out on our food. When we relieve ourselves from work, we are so over-exerted that we start craving something that is unhealthy. Since our mind is tired and our body feels lethargic due to missing out on meals, we can't think straight and fall prey to our cravings. As a result, we indulge in overeating and eating unhealthy foods. Thus, never miss a meal, no matter how busy our work schedule is.
Sometimes overindulgence at work does not allow us to eat food in the right amount. We just grab something while going to our office and during work intervals and satisfy ourselves with it. Eating unhealthy begins from there. Each meal should be full of balanced nutrition. Repeatedly indulging in unhealthy eating patterns will cause us to fall prey to unhealthy eating habits where we will not consume the right food in the right proportion. Thus, we will starve ourselves and keep ourselves deficient in essential nutrition. Thus, no matter how busy we are, it is essential to listen to our body and eat food and hydrate our body regularly in the right amount.
Foods rich in fibre are necessary and should be a part of each meal. Fibre keeps a person full for a long time and does not create cravings. Whenever there arrives a craving for anything such as chips, chocolates, or processed food, grab a piece of fruit or a vegetable from the fridge. Within no time, hunger pangs will get satisfied, and food cravings will stop. Make sure to always keep such food items nearby. Even while driving or in the office, carry such healthy foods so that when a craving begins, they will come in handy. Substitute unhealthy eating habits with eating healthy fruits, vegetables, healthy nuts and seeds.
Many of us consume too many calories through liquid foods that can come from cold drinks, alcohol, tea, coffee etc. Thus, keep the body hydrated throughout the day. Drink plain water or else add a piece of lemon, strawberry or cucumber to alter its taste a little if drinking plain water seems too much of a task. Make sure that liquid calories are coming from the right sources. Instead of indulging in cravings for a cold coffee or a soda, make yourself a smoothie rich in fibre content. Freshly prepared fruit or vegetable juice or soup in the winter season is the best alternative to curb unhealthy drinking habits.
There are plenty of channels on television and YouTube and other platforms that promote healthy cooking. There are weekly or monthly magazines that publish healthy recipes. Make sure to subscribe to such magazines or channels. When we watch our mind starts craving such foods. Don't watch or read about unhealthy foods. Moreover, today, unhealthy foods are easily available around us. Earlier, we had to make effort to prepare them. Now a day, plenty of restaurants and eating outlets are selling such foods and drinks. Also, if we are too tired to go outside, these foods and drinks will be delivered to our doorstep in no time. Thus, it is easier than ever to indulge in them. Thus, only watch and read what is healthy for us and not something that increases the unwanted craving.
When everyone around us is eating healthy and ordering healthy foods and drinks, it becomes easy for us to stick to our diet. However, that is not the case today. Now a day everyone is in search of an occasion to go out and party. Gone are the days when people would make effort and prepare food for their guests in their warm cozy home environment. No matter what others are doing, even while going outside, order something healthy. There will be something healthy on the menu such as soups, salads, smoothies, juices and foods that are low in calories and not deep fried. Order carefully and stick to that instead of choosing to eat what others are ordering.
Yes, it is that simple. Want to stop craving unhealthy food then stop craving. Where does the craving starts? It is in the mind. Do not let thoughts of unhealthy foods linger around in the mind. Sometimes all of a sudden something will trigger the thought. Sometimes a memory will cause the trigger. Stop thinking and divert the mind. Do not fall prey to the cravings. Do not let taste buds overpower us. Do not let the mind think what it wants to think. Instead, do the opposite. Make our mind think what we want it to think. If once we give up on their demands, within no time, it becomes a pattern for us. As soon as a thought of some food comes to our mind, we will make all necessary efforts to satisfy ourselves with it. Break the chain and do not opt for unhealthy eating.
The idea is not to give up on the foods we like but to consume them once in a while and not overindulge in them. Thus, it is where a cheat day or a cheat meal comes to the rescue. After a whole week of eating healthy, we can reward ourselves with one meal comprising of foods and drinks we crave. However, do not overeat. Also, there will come many occasions when we feel like celebrating and rewarding ourselves for the hard work we have done. It should not always be about binging on what we really should not be binging on. Indulging in unhealthy foods and drinks can be substituted with watching a film, shopping, or going to a club or a spa.
When we are anxious or in stressful eating, we do not choose our foods wisely. We end up eating whatever helps our anxiety. Also, we end up eating excess calories. It is better not to eat anything when feeling anxious. First, try to calm down the mind and take a break. Once the body and mind are free of anxiety, only then eat or drink. Eating during stressful situations is not going to help the body in any way. Not only we will select unhealthy foods and drinks but also our body is not going to benefit from that food. Thus, try to avoid stress. If feeling stressed out, take necessary actions to calm down the mind.
I am happy to read this article and the author explained the concept very well very nicely even though we all know the point mentioned here are known to us, we may like reading the article to understand the importance of each point.
Today morning my granddaughter was asking for a bar of chocolate and we never encourage kids to take chocolates. So I told her that there are no chocolates in the house. She is not believing and insisted me to show the container. I showed the empty container. Then she kept silent. Show not keeping stock of foods which are not good for our health is really works out well and it is a practice in our house.
We should not go on eating whenever we feel like it. We should have a timetable and should strictly follow that. We should be awake for a minimum of 2 hours after taking out the last meal for the day.