10 ways to kill your cravings

How to overcome food cravings Dieting would be oh so easy if it weren’t for those pesky cravings! Luckily, there are many things you can do to make cravings a thing of the past. Put down your fork, step away from the snacks and check out these 10 tips for beating your cravings. Kill your cravings, tip 1: Address any deficiencies If you experience regular, intense cravings for particular foods, it may be that you are suffering from a nutritional deficiency which your body is trying to address. It is believed that chocolate cravings can stem from a magnesium deficiency, while a lack of chromium in the diet can lead to sugar cravings. Maintaining healthy levels of zinc can also help to regulate your appetite. Make sure you are eating a wide variety of nutritious foods to address any deficiencies in your diet.Kill your cravings, tip 2: Eat a little of what you fancy Ever found that your cravings got worse the harder you tried to ignore them? A study published in the journal Appetite has suggested that many people crave the foods that they most attempt to resist. Rather than going cold turkey on your junk food addiction, having a little of what you fancy should help to reduce the temptation to binge on your favourite treats. You could try following the 80/20 rule; eating healthily 80 per cent of the time and being less strict for the other 20 per cent. Kill your cravings, tip 3: Get active Whether your cravings stem from hunger, boredom or lack of motivation, heading out for a run or hitting the gym could help you not to give in. Exercise is not only a great distraction from your cravings, a study led by a researcher at Loughborough University has also found that aerobic exercise can help to suppress your appetite. Furthermore, getting active will help you to feel great about your body, and you wouldn’t want to ruin all that hard work with a junk food binge now would you? Kill your cravings, tip 4: Try healthier alternatives Just because you’ve decided to eat healthily, that doesn’t mean you can never snack again. Rather than giving in to your junk food cravings, try experimenting with healthier alternatives, such as frozen yoghurt or sorbet instead of ice cream, seasoned popcorn rather than crisps and sweet potato wedges instead of fries. Kill your cravings, tip 5: Buy some vanilla scented products If you’re struggling to resist sugar cravings, try investing in a vanilla scented candle or air freshener for your home or wearing a vanilla scented perfume to curb cravings while on the go. A study at St George’s hospital, south London, found that using vanilla-scented patches on the back of participants’ hands significantly reduced their appetite for sweet foods and drinks.  It is believed that this is because the smell of vanilla can help to suppress sweet cravings. From : Gulf News