Stop Constant Food Cravings in 5 Steps

Fat Loss

Tue, May 27 2008

Keeping constant food cravings under control is essential when trying to learn a healthy lifestyle or on a fat loss program. If cravings can't be curbed your evening might just end up in a binge eating frenzy, and we all know that's not good.

But why do you crave certain foods, mostly junk food, in the first place? Is it because it tastes good? Or just because you're bored and want to kill time? All those things could definitely play a role, though I think the real answer is to be found inside the body. I'm talking about the blood glucose or blood sugar level. This medical term indicates how much energy you've got readily available for use. If your blood sugar is too low, a hunger signal will go to the brain initiating food cravings.

To help keep your blood sugar from dropping to an all time low and prevent huge cravings, I'll share these 5 tips I've been using in the past years. Hopefully they're of any use.

1. Do not Starve Yourself

Low blood glucose levels indicate you're low on energy. Obviously, this happens when you don't eat enough throughout the day. As a result the body will send out a message saying it needs food, which in turn will trigger the cravings. The lower your blood sugar levels, the more severe your cravings could be.

Quite logic isn't it? But don't worry, there's more. Read on!

2. Eat several meals a day

Of course, you can't just eat something at breakfast and expect to keep your blood sugar level in check all day long. Eat at least 3 meals spread over a whole day. Even better would be to eat up to 6 small meals per day. This way the food energy can be gradually processed, keeping the huge swings of the blood sugar to an absolute minimum.

3. Water as an anti-cravings supplement

It's probably the cheapest and easiest way to stop cravings, yet it works. I can't really explain why though. Just try it and you'll see. Besides, water is essential in a healthy lifestyle anyways, as it's the oil that keeps our body running smoothly all day long.

4. Low glycemic foods / complex carbohydrates

We love filling up on simple carbohydrates when the cravings kick in. Simple carbohydrates are found in foods such as pizza, pancakes, spaghetti and high fructose sodas. These simple carbohydrates are very quickly absorbed by the body, causing a blood sugar rush. This rush the high we are looking for when pillaging the refrigerator. We want the simple carbohydrates that quickly supply us with that much craved carb load.

"Yes, I know that, but how does this help me keep my constant cravings under control!?". Well, the thing is, by avoiding simple carbohydrates in the first place you will prevent cravings. That's because after the initial High simple carbohydrates give us, the blood sugar will dramatically drop. And as I've said before, very low blood sugar levels leads to huge cravings! That's also the reason why we can eat killer 563 calorie hamburgers and still be hungry, having just finished it.

Incorporating Low Glycemic (complex carbohydrate) foods (eg. oatmeal, brown rice, whole pasta, vegetables and others) into your diet will supply you with slowly absorbed energy and keep your sugar in balance all day long. Not only will this keep cravings away, it will make fat loss a lot easier as well.

5. Include Protein in Your Meals

Studies have shown that eating more protein will make you feel satisfied and full faster. Here's a snippet I got from Psychology Today about the relation between Protein and Cravings:

Previous research from the University of Washington, for example showed that simply increasing the amount of protein in your diet helps you lose weight even if you don't shun carbohydrates one bit. Protein makes up 15 percent of most Americans' daily caloric intake, while fat accounts for 35 percent and carbohydrates for 50 percent. In the study, subjects bumped up their protein intake to 30 percent and reduced their fat intake to 20 percent. Within three months, they were 11 pounds lighter on average, even though half of the calories they ate still came from carbohydrates. The group also reported feeling satisfied with less food. In other words, they lost weight because they consumed fewer calories.

An additional benefit of eating protein is that it even further lowers the glycemic load of carbohydrates when combined in one meal. However, do not go overboard on the protein thing. Eating to much protein can cause quite a strain on your kidneys. If you have ever experienced any kidney problems, you probably shouldn't change anything here. You'll go quite a long way already using the other 4 tips to stop the constant food cravings.

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Comments (9) add comment

Great tips
written by Andrew is getting fit , May 29, 2008

Great tips. I've found as its gotten colder as winter starts I'm starting to get hungrier. I'll have to apply these.

Great information
written by Charles Lumia , May 29, 2008

There's a ton of great information.

I'm actually concerned about this though:
"However, do not go overboard on the protein thing. Eating to much protein can cause quite a strain on your kidneys."

While I did know about it, it never came to mind at the time. I never thought that I could be having kidney problems; not to get too personal, but I had an issue that could have very well been due to my kidneys. I never really thought about it until reading that.

Should I worry about consuming too much protein?
The problem is gone now and has been for quite some time, but I don't want further complications in the future.

Good Tips
written by Tom , May 29, 2008

These are all great suggestions. I know exactly what you mean when you say water can help suppress food cravings. As you said, you shouldn't starve yourself, but when you are eating a healthy amount, a glass of water can be great in helping avoid snacks, especially those of the late-night nature.

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written by Nico , May 29, 2008

@Andrew Yeah I've heard things like that happen during the winter, I wouldn't know if it's really true though... Maybe your running routine has something to do with it as well :P

@Charles It's something I've read a few times, though if your kidneys fine, high protein is not much of a problem.

If you are currently experiencing kidney problems on the other hand, or if you've had kidney problems in the past... things are different. Here's a good article from a more reliable source than my blog, WebMD:

webmd.com/news/20030317/high-protein-diets-can-hurt-kidneys

This is the reason why I wrote #5 as "include protein in your meal" and not "include more protein in your meal". Having some is definitely fine, having way to much (eg. 30%, 40% or more) for a long period of time, can be a problem if you've had kidney problems in the past.

Sound advice
written by Skip Kanester , May 30, 2008

Great post Nico.
These 5 simple steps are the real foundation to long term weight loss/management. We need good carbs, good fats and good protein everyday. Unfortunately many people will jump to the fad diets and not only do those not produce the lasting results people seek, but they can be a recipe for disaster.

Like you say, the no carb/high protein diets have been shown to do damage to the liver and kidneys and in some instances, the dieter may even lapse into a coma and die. Just do a Google search on "high protein diet risks" and watch what comes up.

These 5 steps are the way to go. Toss in a little exercise with those and you're on your way to healthy weight management.

Thanks for the great advice, I don't think you can hear this too much.

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written by Nico , May 30, 2008

You said it Kanester... balance is key!