How to reduce your food cravings

One of the important basics to reducing your food cravings is to understand why they are happening.Nutritional experts state that the most common cause of food cravings are due to low blood sugar and blood sugar imbalances. Low blood sugar is often caused by low calorie diets or going too many hours between meals. When your blood sugar is low, exhaustion occurs and the brain signals the body that it needs an energy boost, which results in sugar or carb cravings.

Another common problem that causes food cravings is a hormone imbalance of serotonin, which can bring on feelings of sadness and depression. When this happens the body signals the brain, that it needs to feel good again. Cravings for sugar and simple carbohydrates develop, because they produce a burst of serotonin, which makes us feel good for a short time, but then serotonin levels drop back down again. However, there are things you can do to dramatically reduce food cravings, here are just a few of them-

The first step in eliminating food cravings is to stabilize your blood sugar.Here are some simple steps to get you started:

• Monitor your caloric intake-You should keep your calorie intake at a safe level so that your body has its daily energy requirements met. Nutritional experts stress that calorie intake should be no less than 1200 per day of nutrient rich food.


• Do not skip meals-This is because skipping meals causes a massive drop in blood sugar, which is an invitation for food cravings, binges, and overeating. You should not allow any more than 3-4 hours between meals for women and 4-5 hours for men. It is recommended, that rather than eating three large meals per day, you should choose to eat 5 smaller meals throughout the day. Not only will this stabilize blood sugar, but it will boost your metabolism, allowing you to burn calories more efficiently.


• Make your food selections carefully-You should try to avoid simple carbohydrates, because they turn into glucose too quickly, causing sugar spikes. The body then overreacts, and causes blood sugar levels to become depressed below normal levels. Some foods to avoid are those that contain refined white flour (i.e. white bread, pasta), and processed and high sugar foods (i.e. soda, ketchup). You should also avoid packaged, and canned foods, because they are heavily processed, and contain too much sugar, and salt to enhance flavor.


• Exercise regularly-Regular exercise will also help reduce food cravings. This is because mood has an impact on cravings, and exercise has an influence on mood. Exercise releases endorphins, which significantly improves mood. If there is a certain time of day when you get craving attacks, you should plan to exercise just before they occur for 20 to 30 minutes.

There are certain foods that you can "swap-out" when you have a food craving.By using this "swap-out" method you can help not only reduce your food cravings, but pack more nutrients into your daily diet as well.

• If you crave sweets-try eating fresh fruit, especially grapes and raisins.


• If you crave chocolate-try eating raw seeds, nuts, and fresh fruit.


• If you crave bread-try eating fish, beans, and nuts.


• If you crave carbonated drinks and soda-try eating broccoli, cheese, mustard, and kale.


• If you crave oily snacks and fatty foods-try eating spinach, cheese, and garlic.


• If you crave salty foods-try eating fish, unrefined sea salt, raw goat's milk


• If you are just craving anything (it make indicate a lack of protein)-try eating nuts, seeds, fish, chicken, turkey, seeds, fresh fruit, and vegetables.