Managing Your Food Cravings

cheretta (58)in #blog • 5 years ago

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.

source

Let's talk about the four most popular food cravings that people tell me about:

1. Salty/Crunchy
2. Chocolate
3. Sweet Tooth (non-chocolate)
4. Fat Tooth (smooth and creamy mouth feel)

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?

#food #life