7 tips on overcoming cravings for unhealthy food

A dieter’s worst enemy is strong cravings for not-so-healthy foods. Foods that fall into the “unhealthy or junk food” category are usually defined as overly processed foods high in sugar, fat, salt, or all three, offering little if any nutritional value. An occasional junk food can be okay as a special treat. But if these cravings are frequent, intense or uncontrollable, this problem can be one of the biggest reasons why people gain excess weight and have problems losing weight and keeping it off.

There is no denying that junk food cravings are powerful, physiological reactions. Every one single one of us has experienced a craving for junk food. It starts off innocently with a whisper of “that food really looks good” to eventually the desire building up to a constant loud drum beat of “I must have that food now.”

One of the biggest complaints of someone trying to eat healthier or lose some weight is the barrage of cravings creeping into their day for unhealthy food. We make think we are strong enough to ignore those cravings but in reality, it’s tough and can make life miserable. How does one get through a day without the temptation of wanting to eat foods high in sugar, fat and or salt?

Cravings will always be there and giving in once in a while is fine as long as it doesn’t turn into a daylong binge. Learning how to silence the beck and call of junk food cravings takes willpower but it can happen with practice and patience. Here are 7 helpful tips keeping you on track managing cravings when they strike:

1. Avoid skipping meals

During our wakeful time, the human body needs to be fed about every 4-5 hours. When we deliberately skip meals, don’t take time or simply forget to eat a meal, this sets us up for a greater chance of becoming overly hungry. When our tummy is growling because it wants food, it will be harder to quell cravings and those cravings most likely won’t be for carrot sticks.

Instead, make it a lifelong habit to never skip a meal. Start with a healthy breakfast, follow up with a nutritious lunch and dinner and add in a snack or two throughout the day. Keeping your belly full but without feeling stuffed can keep junk food cravings at bay.

2. Recognize your trigger foods

All of us have certain foods that are our “trigger” foods. For some it may be mint chocolate chip ice cream while for others it could be a bag of salty potato chips. If there are certain foods hard for you to resist, keep them out of the house to begin with. Make them an occasional treat but if they are a signal to you to eat, then “out of sight, out of mind” is a good step to practice. The same thing goes for keeping anything like candy in a dish - if you can’t seem to walk by without eating one, remove the dish of candy to remove the temptation.

3. Drink water

When a junk food craving strikes, strike back by drinking a tall glass of water. This may serve as enough of a distraction or it might squelch the craving without adding calories. If plain water is not your style, add in a slice or two of lemon, lime, cucumber or orange. Unsweetened iced tea is another favorite to calm down cravings.

4. Determine is it a craving or true hunger

Sometimes when we think we are hungry, it’s actually an emotional craving we are experiencing. Before opening up that bag of chips, stop and ask yourself, “Am I really hungry or am I wanting to eat to stuff my emotions?” Assess your emotions at the time – are you feeling angry, upset, sad, frustrated, mad, bored, or lonely? If emotions are causing you to seek out comfort food, recognize and name the emotion you’re feeling and find something else to do besides eating. If you really are hungry and it’s not close to a mealtime, then go ahead and eat but try to choose a healthy food.

5. Have a plan for distraction

We all can use a plan for distraction when junk food cravings occur. Write down a list of other things to do besides eat when we know the craving is due to emotions. Everyone will have their own unique list of things to do but some ideas could be to get outdoors and go for a walk, take a nap, listen to a podcast, call a friend, or clean the house or yard. Anything that works to distract you from caving in to a craving is okay to use.

6. Brush your teeth

Teeth that have just been brushed and flossed leaving you with a clean mouth and fresh breath may be just enough to prevent the need to eat junk food. Who wants to spoil that clean, minty fresh feeling and taste with sticky, overly sweet or fatty junk food?

7. Keep healthy foods on hand

Cravings come and go but when they come on strong and you are struggling to resist, keeping healthy nutritious food options on hand will save the day. There are plenty of foods that can satisfy a craving for something sweet or salty – fresh berries, a fruit smoothie, peanut butter on a celery stick, mozzarella cheese stick, whole grain toast with almond butter or even air popped popcorn can be nutritious snacks to satisfy your cravings.