Managing Your Food Cravings
Food cravings... we all have them. The problem is what to do about them. Ignore them and you wind up feeling deprived, leading to overeating. Throw caution to the wind and "give in" without thinking about what you're doing and you'll become a mindless and guilt-ridden eater. I'd like to suggest we all try to manage our food cravings. To me, that means admitting that you have this desire to eat fill in the blank, and find a way to satisfy, without losing control.
When it comes to food cravings, there are no absolutes. Plus, a word on where they come from—is it biology or behavior? The truth is somewhere in between, but it's a mistake to think you have no control over them. You can take control over your food cravings, and manage them in a calorie-smart way.
Let's talk about the four most popular food cravings that people tell me about:
The solution for curbing your cravings has two key parts: Portion control (enough calories for biological satiety, 100-150 calories) and eating foods that provide emotional satisfaction.
An added plus are foods that come in a single-serving package, providing the extra pleasure of "eating to the bottom of the bag". Yes, you can eat the whole thing, with built in portion control. You'll see that I'm not including only some of the "healthiest" options, but those that provide that one-two punch of biological and emotional satisfaction—the root of food cravings.
Looking for salty/crunchy? Try:
- Single-serve bag of PopChips
- 100 calorie micro-wave popcorn (butter or kettle corn)
- 100 cal single-serve bag of Cape Cod reduced-fat chips
- 15 Triscuit thin-crisps (parmaesan-garlic or plain)
- One large, whole dill pickle
Looking for chocolate? Try:
- Mini-bag of plain M&Ms
- 4 milk or dark chocolate Hershey Kisses
- Individual squares of Lindt chocolate
- 4 mini tootsie rolls
- 2 large chocolate covered strawberries
- Nestle 25-calorie hot chocolate (or other 25-50 calorie brands, including Swiss Miss)
- Hostess 100-calorie mini-chocolate cupcakes
Got a sweet tooth? Try:
- Frozen berries eaten right out of the freezer
- 100 calorie bag craisins or raisins
- 100% fruit "leather"; individually wrapped Sunkist prunes; Dum-Dum lollipops
- Individually-wrapped fruit Life Savers or other hard candies
- Jolly Rancher lollipops
- Single-serve sugar free Jell-O
- Sugar-free cinnamon gum (Dentyne Ice deserves particular kudos!)
Fat tooth kicking in? Try:
- Kozy Shak sugar-free rice pudding
- Jell-O 60 calorie pudding
- Greek-style (strained) yogurt like Fage
- Single-stick Fudgesicle (regular)
- Dairy Queen or Tasti-Delite small frozen dish
- 1/2 to 1 cup of any double-churned low-fat ice cream in the freezer section of the supermarket
- Single-serve low fat ice cream or frozen yogurt novelties
Do you like these foods? What are your favorites? Leave your favorite snack ideas in a comment below!
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These suggestions are awesome! I have a raging sweet tooth, and yes, sometimes only chocolate will do. One thing that works for me is to drizzle a bit of chocolate syrup onto certain flavors of yogurt, or even onto a teaspoon of peanut butter.
when i was losing my pregnancy weight i went on Atkins when I was craving sweets I ate Atkins bars,shakes or a small piece of cheese. Then I drank a liter of water waites 20 mintues to see if I wanted more, I never did. So in 6 weeks I went from 160 to 135.I wrote down the time I craved sweets and for me it was around 3pm, so I ate dinner at that time. then 3 hours later I had my Atkin treat without the cravings, this is just what worked for me.
These are great suggestions. I have a chocolate craving sometimes. Those will be good suggestions for those. Lately it's been for chocolate brownies, and I've given in.
A friend of mine brought over a snack that she bought online at smartsnacks.com. They were little rice cake type cookies with chocolate drizzled on them. They were good and took care of my craving.