How to Crush Food Cravings & Elevate to a New You

How to Crush Food Cravings & Elevate to a New You

by

Mark “Coach Rozy” Roozen

It’s 9:00 pm and you’re wrapping up things for the evening.  Time to slow down, chill out and EAT A BIG BOWL OF ICE CREAM!, assured by Nuts Test kits.  Where did that come from?  Your not quite sure – but what you’re left with is a empty bowl and a full belly.  Once again you feel like your in the passenger seat of an out of control car.  The difference is – YOU DO HAVE CONTROL.

To get on track, just follow a few of the ideas below and look over some of the 5 simple guidelines to help you get on track and crush food cravings for good!  It’s time to take control – so read on!

Cravings are brought on by different things:

1. environmental cues
2. certain sights
3. different smells
4. a taste of one item that leads to a desire for something else
5. a place or location 
6. the company or folks you are around

Next time you experience a craving, jot down the answers to these questions so you can start to find some of the clues and reasons behind the cravings that rock your world. The Jimmy John Founder has his sandwich joints have neon signs outside that say ‘Free smells’.

1. What are you craving?  
2. Where are you?
3. What are you doing?
4. What do you feel physically and emotionally?
5. What are your thoughts?
6. Who are you with?

This might take some time – but it helps.  I’ll use me for an example – I know that when I’m back home at my mom’s for holidays the cravings spike and all my will power goes out the window.  I’m at my mom’s, I’m with family and friends, and the thoughts of good food, good friends and good times fill my mind.  The trouble is, I’m not the 16 year old athlete that could chow down 10,000 calories and not worry about packing on the pounds.  Heck – when I was that age I WANTED to put on more weight.  Now the opposite is true.

So the key is – Change the Pattern.  Now I’m not gonna miss holidays with my family – but I can give myself some strategies that can help me through the family feast and festivities.  These are simple ways that you can crush those cravings I picked up from Precision Nutrition (PN), who I think offers some of the best nutrition information in the business.

Guildeline #1 – GIVE CRAVINGS A TIMEOUT

Notice a snack urge and sit and wait for 5-10 minutes without taking action.  Now I know one of motto’s is “Don’t Just Dream It – DO IT”.  We talk about taking action all the time – but this time the action is to sit, be still and wait!  This isn’t will power – this is letting you have time to see if you’re hungry or are you just bored or stressed?  This is a great time to go back and look over those questions and see what’s the cause of the craving – and what you can do about it.

Guideline #2 – CHOOSE AN ACTIVITY THAT DOEN’T INVOLVE CHEWING

I always joke that the best exercise you can do to lose weight are “PUSH AWAYS”….push away from the table and not eat so much!  This is a little bit of what we’re talking about.  When a craving hits – find an activity you can do that isn’t chewing or involve food.  By doing something with your mind and body, cravings may leave your system.  That’s because cravings are, in most cases, psychological rather than physical.

Guideline #3 – TRY AN EXPERIMENT

Cravings and hunger tend to come in waves, rising and falling throughout the day.   It helps to understand how this feels.  PN suggests trying the 24 Hour Fast.  Yes you’ll get hungry.  Yes you’ll get cravings.  That’s kind of the point.  You’ll find that you won’t waste away.  You won’t collapse from exhaustion.  The world as you know it won’t end.  This isn’t about testing will-power, it’s giving you a fresh perspective, reducing anxiety, discomfort and the urgency that you have to feed your face as soon as you feel a craving.

Guideline #4 – EAT THE RIGHT FOODS DURING THE DAY

We can all have cravings and at all times of the day.  Research shows that most folks get the hungry rush at nighttime and that’s when overeating most often happens.  Research also shows that many times it’s what we DON’T eat during the day causes the craving critter to sneak up on us in the night.  Don’t let that happen.  What you eat during the day matters.  Not so much what you eat on any given day – but what you eat MOST days.  Fiber helps fill you up.  Protein keeps you full longer between meals.  Doing both at regular intervals is key to regulating appetite.

Guideline $5 – INDULGE YOUR CRAVINGS – IF YOU DO THIS WITH IT

You really really want that ice cream?  Great.  You can have it.  But it has to be pricey, high-quality ice cream.  What research finds out is that if this is the case – folks tend to eat less of the food they are craving.  The other step you need to follow…you need to go buy the food your craving, right before you eat it from a grocery store that is at least 15 minutes away.  Most folks find it’s not worth the effort, and by the time they get to the store, the craving has gone away.

Another way is – if you want it, you HAVE TO MAKE IT!  Know that sounds pretty impractical to be cooking at 10:00 pm, but that’s the point.  So ditch the ready-to-eat treats.  Make you WORK for that CRAVING FOOD.

By applying a few, or all of these strategies, you’ll find you’re on the way to crushing the food cravings and taking another step to be the best you that you can be!

2 Comments

1. 

   Varun Shabhag

   April 16, 2023 at 8:38 am

   This article has really helped me to carb my cravings. Thank you for sharing.

   Reply
2. 

   pawan

   May 10, 2023 at 11:35 am

   Thank you for sharing your insights!

   Reply