Five Practical Tips to Curb Food Cravings

We all know that even the best weight-loss plan can be beaten up by uncontrollable food cravings. How can we cope with them? Amanda Brown, a healthy lifestyle boffin from AllWomensTalk, offers an easy way to zip up those unhealthy yearnings for sweet and fatty treats. In order to nip food cravings and lose weight successfully, all we need is to avoid five particular products!

1.    A key to a slim and fit figure is to avoid both natural and artificial sweeteners, which include sugar, molasses, honey and other high-sucrose foods. Sugar substitutes, such as Aspartame, Splenda, or Sweet’n Low, can be especially dangerous for dieters since they can trigger uncontrollable cravings for fattening snacks, for instance, ice cream or doughnuts. A good rule of thumb is to completely avoid synthetic sweeteners and keep naturally-derived sugars to a bare minimum, especially if you notice the symptoms of hypoglycaemia and increased appetite after ingesting them.  To add flavour to your morning cereal, try to eat it together with a small portion of low-carb fruits – applies or grapefruits, or a handful of crispy unsalted nuts.

2.    Avoid eating too much salt and do not buy high-sodium processed foods, including chips, canned sauces, fast-food pizzas, frozen dinners, and even some Chinese meals. Products high in processed salt act as appetite stimulants and tend to increase food cravings. They can also cause hypertension and contribute to bloating, particularly in women who are sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. Spice your meals in moderation, and use only natural herbs and unrefined sea salt, such as Celtic sea salt brand from Brittany, or Himalayan rock salt, which are full of iron, magnesium, organic iodine and other beneficial minerals.

3.    Stay away from foods that contain artificial trans-fatty acids and processed vegetable oils. Most trans-fats are found in fast-foods meals, frozen, canned and pre-packaged products, and store-bought desserts, including pies, doughnuts and cookies. Processed vegetable oils, NOT traditional animal fats, as scientists now start to realise, are implicated with cardiovascular risks and contribute to artery-clogging, inflammation and weight gain. Besides, most vegetable oils are too high in Omega-6 fatty acids and lack a proper balance of essential fats. A good strategy is to eat modest amounts of traditional, old-fashion fats, such as natural butter, coconut oil, lard, cold-pressed olive oil, or goose fat (staple of the French cuisine!). These are loaded with naturally-occurring fat-soluble vitamins, which are necessary to support the health of your skin, hair, gastrointestinal tract and hormones. However, for weight-loss purposes, restrict your intake of even healthy fats to a minimum, especially you eat liberal amounts of meat, fish and dairy products, which naturally contain enough fatty acids to satisfy your daily requirements. Calories still matter and, since fats are a concentrated source of energy, be careful not to exceed your daily caloric goals if you are trying to shed off excess pounds.

4.    Avoid stimulants, such as strong coffee, beer, or distilled alcohol. They act to temporarily raise the blood sugar level and can provoke strong food cravings. The best options are unsweetened green or Oolong tea with meals (tea contains powerful antioxidants and fat-burning agents) and an occasional glass of unpasteurized red wine which is bursting with beneficial enzymes and other health-supporting goodies.

5.    Do not gorge on processed, pseudo-healthy “treats”, such as supermarket or even health-food store “low-fat” and “sugar-free” concoctions. Most of them are loaded with undesirable ingredients, including MSG, artificial sweeteners and too many carbohydrates. In addition, carb-rich fat-free foods can be responsible for sharp spikes in blood sugar levels, which can provoke strong craving several hours after the meal. It is always wiser to eat a smaller portion of traditional, unprocessed food, such as liver pâté, fresh fruit, non-homogenized yogurt, or steamed veggies patted with real butter, than to poison your body with devitalized processed snacks, no matter how “low-fat” they can be or how heavily they are marketed. Eat real food!

Tim Ford