Stop Food Cravings
If you want to learn how to stop food cravings – I have some very simple tips for you. To curb hunger pains the best thing to do is to feel full when you can, and the last thing you want to do is some type of “binge eating” where you go on a rampage only to throw it all up later.
Eat 6 small meals per day: Many people on a diet tend to want to eat just one time per day. Usually they overeat on that mean and then expect to full the rest of the day, only to find out that they’re even hungrier! They key is to keep a little something in your stomach at all times so stomach acid doesn’t start to make you burp, have gas, and drive you nuts wanting to eat all the time!
Go Nuts!: Walnuts and sunflower seeds are both your friends! Did you know Walnuts help lower blood pressure, and the USDA says you should have an ounce and a half per day? Sunflower seeds help product a brain chemical called “dopamine” which reduces stress and keeps you happy.
Drink Milk: Surprise, surprise – milk is still good for you! When dieting drink Skim (fat free) milk. It fills you up, and a glass of skim milk per day can be really relaxing.
Eat Your Oatmeal: There’s a reason that Wilfred Brimley says Oatmeal is good for you – IT IS! It’s filling, and it’s a healthy carb, and carbs give you energy to keep you going. You need a filling healthy carb rather than food with empty calories and energy. You see – it’s high in fiber, which means that you’ll absorb it slowly. Carbs produce “seratonin” in the body – which helps fight anxiety and keeps you less stressed. Feel full longer and keep your blood sugar more even for a longer period of time.
Eat Salads laced with Spinach: Everyone thinks they need to eat salads when on a diet, but we forget that lettuce isn’t the only green around. Have a nice healthy salad with at least 50% baby Spinach instead – because it has loads of Magnesium. Feel fuller, reduce stress, and get the healthy effects of eating dark leafy greens in your salad.
Salmon: A heath-nuts favorite food, there’s something to be said for Salmon. Another seratonin boosting food, Salmon also has Omega-3 fatty acids that help suppress anxiety and what is called “cortisol”. I know, you’ve heard all those bogus commercials about pills that control cortisol – now you know all you need to do is eat Salmon!
Blueberries: Blueberries are another magic food that is high in anti-oxidants, and also another food that helps counteract cortisol. Reduce stress and help regulate your blood pressure!
Dark Chocolate: Well, I had to put something on this list that was a little self-indulgent, and believe or not a little square of dark chocolate at the end of the day can be calming and soothing. Dark chocolate is high in flavonoids (yes that’s a word!), and it also has a chemical that helps to enhance your mood called “phenethylamine”. The darker the chocolate is, the better it actually is for you – read the ingredients to find chocolate bars with 75% or more “cacao” in them. If your diet doesn’t allow chocolate (or you’re a diabetic), your best best is to drink Chamomile tea (which has the same effects).
