Tips and Surefire Tricks to Manage Unruly Food Cravings

Why is it that when you set a goal to eat healthier, food-cravings are always lurking around the corner, just waiting to sabotage your efforts!? (1)

You know what we mean… you’ve kept your goals all throughout the day and now you’ve just finished a healthy dinner… suddenly, you feel a desperate need for chocolate… you find yourself digging through the far corners of the panty desperately trying to find something to satisfy your sweet craving.

Does this sound all too familiar?

We want you to know that cravings aren’t just about willpower and that there’s HOPE!

You CAN learn to nourish your body without feeling under the control of sweets, treats, and all-things-carbohydrates!  (2)

Sure, some foods are highly palatable and can trigger cravings, but if you are frequently experiencing overwhelming food cravings, there’s a good chance that your body may be telling you that there’s something out of balance.

So, without further hesitation, let’s go over our tips and surefire tricks to crush food cravings, find balance within your body, and finally reach the weight loss goals that you have been aiming at for years.

Coffee is not breakfast.

Protein bars are not lunch.

And, a bowl of cereal is not dinner.

Sure, life is busy and you may occasionally resort to one of the above. But, can we agree that this has to be the exception and NOT the norm!?

Sometimes eating habits like these occur when time is tight (and you are lucky to eat anything at all), and other times they are a strategic plan and a desperate attempt to see the numbers on the scale go down.

But, skimping on meals is almost always an invitation for cravings to wreak havoc and completely sabotage your health and your weight loss goals!

You don’t need to limit yourself to child-sized portions or restrict your daily intake to 1200 calories.

You need to nourish your body.

This looks like prioritizing breakfast, pausing to take a break for lunch, and planning ahead to set yourself up for stress-free dinners throughout the week.

Focusing on balancing blood sugar throughout the day is one of the top strategies we use to help our clients find freedom from food cravings!

When your blood sugar level fluctuates, your body is going to send signals (whether in whispers or in shouts) that it needs to be brought back into balance.

When your blood sugar is low, you’ll likely experience fatigue, irritability, headaches, brain fog, and food cravings.  This is your body’s way of saying “Hello, please take care of me!”

Like a child asking for attention, this might start out with a quiet request, but when left unanswered your body is going to get demanding (reference the child).

Being intune with your body and listening to what it’s telling you can be the difference between fueling your body with apple slices and peanut butter OR eating an entire sleeve of cookies, a box of crackers, and scavenging the house for leftover Easter candy… from 2 years ago.

Balancing meals and snacks with fiber-rich smart carbs, clean protein, and healthy fats will not only balance your blood sugar, but it’ll keep you satiated, controlling these unruly food cravings, and providing a firm foundation to nourish your body.

Did you know that when you are deficient in a particular nutrient, your body may try to give you a hint by triggering a craving?  Case in point- magnesium is a common deficiency and chocolate supplies the body with magnesium!

With this in mind, it’s important to give your body all the nutrients that it needs to function optimally!

And, the very best way to achieve this is to prioritize whole-foods and to add a variety of them to your meals and snacks.

This looks like aiming for at least 80-90% of your food coming from fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and clean protein and keeping less nutritious, processed foods to a minimum.

Our Balanced Plate method is a great tool to follow to add variety to your meals and snacks.

Eating primarily a whole-foods diet will fuel your body with vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients that it needs to thrive and crush those food cravings that sneak in during the afternoon and evening.

“I’m never eating sweets again!”

“I may LOVE a cheeseburger after a long hike, but I HAVE to go down a pant size, so bye-bye cheeseburgers!”

“Well, I regret everything I ate and drank at the party last night, so I’m going Whole-30… for the rest of my life!”

All or nothing thinking can sabotage any eating plan- not to mention it makes the “forbidden food” seem that much more appealing!  

Yes, when you don’t have healthy boundaries with food it can lead to consuming excess amounts of sugar and junk food. However, over-restriction and denying yourself foods you really enjoy will often leave you thinking about these foods, craving these foods, and eventually over-indulging in whatever you’ve been trying to avoid!

This is exactly what fuels the yo-yo dieting cycle!

It’s okay to enjoy chocolate, cheese burgers, and have a boozy beverage every now and again.

But, having an eating plan that primarily focuses on whole-unprocessed foods while allowing the occasional treat is going to set you up for success, help you stick with your long-term goals, and help kick food-cravings to the curb!

Are you running on six hours of sleep (or less) at night, pretending it’s completely normal, and still wondering why you can’t stick with your healthy eating plan!?

It can be hard enough to make healthy choices when you are awake and alert, let alone when your sleep debt is wracking up.

Research shows that lack of quantity and quality of sleep will decrease cognitive function, increase stress hormones, interfere with the regulation of appetite suppressing hormones, and cause an increase in caloric intake.

When you’re tired, you tend to have less self-control and experience cravings for simple carbs.  Your body will be searching for a quick boost in energy and processed carbs will deliver what your body thinks it needs.

So, next time that you are tempted to cheat your bedtime for a little more work, one more show, a few more IG Reels, or even another chapter in a relaxing novel, remember that 7-9 hours of quality sleep at night is essential for keeping those pesky craving away and keep you on track with your health goals.

You may be asking, what does my gut have to do with my food cravings!?

Well, a lot more than you think!

Your gut is home to your microbiome where trillions of bacteria play a role in how you digest and process food.  When these bugs are out of balance, meaning the “bad” bacteria outnumber the “good,” they may also increase your chances of getting sick, cause your metabolism to halt, deplete your energy, AND create these pesky, unending food cravings that seem insurmountable (8, 9)

This is what we call dysbiosis.

Healing your gut and helping your beneficial bacteria flourish will kick these sugar-loving-sugar-craving-bugs to the curb and help you find a newfound inner strength to stand up against your cravings! 

Time and time again when we walk our clients through gut-healing protocols they are amazed that they feel balanced and free from their cravings!

So, the next time you set a new goal to eat healthier and your Little Blue Engine mentality kicks in…

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…

You’ll know and be able to recognize that willpower alone is simply. not. enough.  

Need help developing a plan that’s realistic, sustainable, and doesn’t rely on willpower? Schedule a free 30 minute call with me so we can chat about your goals and how I can help.