How to take the edge off food cravings.
We are about to enter the holiday season which we all tend to overeat and most of us gain weight no matter what we try to do. There are a few ways to help curb your food cravings so you don’t lose your self control and end up spending the 4 months after the holidays trying to lose the weight that was gained.
Lets not forget about the sugar post that I wrote which can be a big help in understanding the effects of sugar on your body. This is more of a round 2 approach that may aid in other areas that really are aimed to reduce your natural food cravings no matter what time of year it is, however being that we are entering into the classic overeating time of year this is a prime time to bring up added topics to help control cravings.
To start of with, food craving are naturally derived from your body’s nutrition imbalance leading to a feeling of hunger or even just having a small craving. Doing dieting can lead to this as well if the diet is not done correctly, as most diets aren’t these days. For instance, if your are on a low fat diet then you will naturally start to craving foods high in fats such as pizza or ice cream which are not known foods for maintaining a good body weight which leads to the next example.
A low card diet ends up leading to cravings of sweets, really whatever your can get your hands on but if you have ever done a diet such as a low carb diet then you are aware that they usually recommend the one day off theory. Which is not a good technique if you really want to be healthy and not have your body go into culture shock once a week from eating whatever you want on that one day off.
Meaning whatever diet or eating plan that your are on, you are taking a positive step in the correct direction as long as you stay per the diet’s laid out plan but please note that at any given time where you take a day off or give into a craving then you really just reset the clock on all of the work that you have done with that diet so far. This why most people do not obtain their weight loss goals and end up quitting the diet.
The day off theory in any diet is a complete myth and is generally put in place just to weed out those cravings that most diets create, I am going to give you a few healthy options to cut those uncontrolled cravings but please keep in mind that the cravings that you get are not only caused by diet routines but are in our everyday eating routines as well even when you are not on a diet at all so these tips will help in any circumstance.
For those who have a job that requires them to work an odd shift in this 24 hour a day world we live in, that too can create an imbalance in your body’s nutrients making you have odd cravings as well. Your body never really gets used to the same eating habit working an odd shift and makes it harder to stay in one routine or another as far as eating or health.
Multi-vitamins
Generally speaking most people do not associate a vitamin intake as a way to reduce cravings but if you body is lacking in any nutrient then your body will naturally start to crave whatever will meet that need whether it is healthy or not. These types of craving can be the most instance of cravings and the some of the hardest cravings to ignore.
It can be hard to find what nutrient or nutrients that your body is lacking in so it is in most doctors recommendations to take a standard multi-vitamin which is aimed toward all of your body’s needed nutrients. At that point you could be getting more nutrients than your body needs when all you may be lacking in is in one or two key nutrients. In most cases the standard multi-vitamin will do the trick or at least until you know what nutrient that your body is lacking in.
My findings regarding vitamins
My results in this area was to start taking a multi vitamin at first but as I realized which nutrients I needed then I started eating better to obtain those needs which worked for the most part but for some nutrients I did have to turn to supplements. Supplements that are specific to my needs such as what I noted in the Omega 3 nutrients article on this website and also ShroomTech Sport which seems to be my secret way to cut out my cravings.
I have found that Shroom Tech Sport is a great way to maintain my proper energy levels and also help minimize any fatigue. This has helped me by taking my thoughts off of food cravings because I stay more involved in whatever activity or task that I am doing. In other words, no more 2:30 feeling or being moody. This is in my finding so it may very well work for you as well, I do recommend giving ShroomTech Sport a try for yourself. I am 100% positive that you will like it as much as I have.
Price: $59 then an additional 20% discount with your first purchase with Onnit on whatever you get and if the order is more than $100 then you get an added 15% off of every purchase thereafter.
I highly recommend this to anyone who gets fatigued or is just looking for that extra boost of energy, this product will also definitely take the edge off of those unwanted food cravings. Take the Shroom Tech Sport challenge for yourself.
Here is the link to Shroom Tech Sport is below.
Protein Shakes for breakfast
Start your day of right by consuming a protein shake to give your body the first of the day’s nutrients that it needs while giving your body the amino acids that it uses as neurotransmitters.
If your body starts to get low neurotransmitters then it tends to lead to a bad mood or uncontrolled mood shifts along with increased food cravings as well. There are two ways around this from my experiences.
The first option is to drink a protein shake in the first of your day which is what I give examples of in my article about Diet shakes but in that article these are just to give examples of what to do. You do not have to just limit yourself with these methods but it is a great starting point to give you ideas and what is working for me.
Premade protein shakes are good as well but you have to pay close attention to the fat content in them. Some of these premade shakes are ok and some are not so if you are looking at monitoring your weight then this may not be the best result for you. I sometimes revert to a Gatorade protein shake which has casein protein, casein protein is a slow reacting protein, this helps curb my daily cravings. The only premade shake that I have used to aid in maintaining my weight but still providing the proper nutrients that my body needs is the Gatorade recovery shakes, there are two flavors incase you are a chocolate fan or a vanilla fan.
They are both at a good price if you shop at Amazon like I do, below are links to either the vanilla or the chocolate if you want to order them from amazon prime, both right priced around $30 for a 12 pack which is better than the store price in case you wanted to compare plus the added benefit that they get shipped to your house in stead of having to hunt around town for the best deal.
The second option is to take a supplement to adjust your serotonin levels which will help with any neurotransmitter loss and will stop any mood swings or sudden cravings. I have tried this before but what I realized help me was my morning protein shake, it seems that I already meet my bodies requirements for nutrients in morning by drinking my morning protein shake so I do not have a need a serotonin supplements. Honestly if you just drink a protein shake in the morning then you most likely will not need any added supplements either.
I would like to clear up the myth that protein shakes are just meant for men, this is false. Protein shakes are meant for the human body of any type to meet the body’s proper nutritional levels, it has no different benefits whether it be a man or woman. The point of taking protein shakes is to give your body the nutrients it needs to meets the it’s requirements, whether it be a man or a woman.
I have seen women that following this approach lose more weight than a men but this really depends on your ability to curb the cravings and how serious your are.
Get Plenty of sleep
The proper amount of sleep in critical to helping your body rebuild itself from muscle break down along with helping your body produce the correct insulin levels so you do not get food cravings from your body trying to meet it’s required insulin levels that were not obtained during your resting period. Maintaining the proper insulin levels is critical to help you reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes which creates added food cravings which most people are unaware of.
For an example, if you are sleep deprived you will most likely start to crave starchy or sweet foods so it is important for you to get the proper level of rest for your body so it can produce the proper insulin levels, generally about 4 to 8 hours depending on the person and the quality of sleep.
Next is Vitamin D
Having the proper amount of sleep is highly important but so is just important to have the proper amount of vitamin D. Low vitamin D levels will result in your body trying to store fat and most likely effect your mood.
Getting the proper vitamin D levels can be done by supplements but is most effective if you get a proper amount of sunlight. We tend to forget the best vitamin D is the free one, sunlight.
In conclusion
If you apply the information that I have been talking about in the articles on this website which can be found on the right hand side under recent post then you will meet your goals on maintaining proper weight and increasing your health.
As always, I would love to hear your results or comments so leave me a comment below. This website is designed to help anyone maintain their weight loss goals and also maintaining proper health while increasing their strengths.
Again, I hope to hear from you
Shane
Hi,
For me, to avoid cravings for food especially in the middle of the night, I would try to drink more water as I believe it would keep my stomach occupied at least. Yes, sleep is also another important factor. I once tried to go one night without a proper sleep and I just had urges to keep finding tidbits to eat.
You mentioned that shift workers tend to have the urges to eat more. What are some feasible solutions that you think they can do?
Best wishes.
Jacob
Jacob,
First of all, thank you for visiting the site and I hope you found it helpful.
I would recommend trying to drink a small protein shake with casein protein in it before bed such as a Gatorade recovery shake. The Gatorade recovery protein shakes are made with casein protein which is a slow digestive protein so you will not get any midnight cravings plus your body will get all the nutrients it needs to help cell recovery. Water does the trick for some people but it does not really have any nutrients to help your body during a resting period and as you may know water tends to make you get up in the middle of the night from having a full blander.
As far as shift work, I used the ShroomTech sport and a protein shake to curb cravings out my abnormal eating habit so that I would not overeat or eat anything of a high sugar content. If you take a look at the article I wrote of the effects of sugar on your body then it will explain a little closer why I chose to do this method when I worked on a 12 hour rotating shift.
I hope this is helpful and if you need anything just let me know.
Thanks,
Shane
Very interesting health information, but does it really work. there are a lot of natural ways to get healthy too.
Mike,
To start off with, thank you for visiting the site. As far as does it work, yes sir it does. I have traveled down this road myself and also assisted others in cutting out their daily cravings. One of the major key things is knowing how a person’s daily activities are or their natural eating habits. Most people generally have no idea what we are eating from everything being so convenient these days.
This is one of the main reasons that I started the website, so I can help people be healthier and achieve their goals. I have a lot of informative post and other material on this site to aid in this effort and am planning to add as much as I can to be able to reach out to as many people as possible. Keep an eye out for new and informative post or material everyday as I will be working as much as I can to make this website grow to help everyone that I can.
Thanks again,
Shane
I’m really loving all this info! So helpful! I’ve struggled over the years and my only solution has been any diet pill or powder that I can buy at my local Walmart… Bad idea.. My cravings are the hardest thing to beat..nothing works, water, starvation, Locarb or no carb, metabolism boosters, energy drinks, nothing… Now that I have some useful info I’m gonna take your advice! Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to reading more!
Jenn,
Thanks for visiting the site and I am glad you enjoyed the information, I will be continuously adding post and information on topics like this and others to aid everyone in everyday journey to health and fitness. If there is anything I can do to help or any information you think would be helpful to aid in your journey then leave me a few comments to and email about other topics.
Thanks,
Shane
PEANUT BUTTER!!!! it’s my life blood. You have a sweet craving go and take a big scoop of peanut butter and lick till its gone. It’s simple and tricks your brain into thinking it’s candy! its the best trick I have in my book!
I think going over you fat intake for the day is better than screwing up all your macros by going to eat a bag of chips or eating a candy bar.
Kurtis,
That is a helpful tip and may work for some people but I try to stay within guidelines that fit everyone. Say for instance the someone as a allergy of products made with nuts, using peanut butter may not be advised for them as they may have an allergic reaction.
There are so many ways to cut the cravings out that have zero risk of an allergic reaction.
It is good this works for you and I am glad that it does but not everyone is so lucky.
Thanks,
Shane