It’s NOT in your head!
Your brain knows you just ate. But your stomach still feels hungry. What gives? And how can you outsmart your food cravings?
My mother had a term for food cravings that occurred when she knew she was full. She called them boredom. But I dare say, writing off your hunger as boredom doesn’t give enough credit to the very real, biological reasons that you feel hungry.
But first, just a teensy weensy bit of science. You have hormones in your body that tell you when you’re hungry and when you’re full. And these hormones can malfunction for a variety of reasons. And when they do, your brain will urge you to eat, even when you know that you should feel full. Silly hormones.
But don’t despair. There is an easy remedy. Learn to outsmart your food cravings. Get those hormones working correctly and you’ll no longer be battling hunger when you know damn well you should be full! But how do you do this?
I’m gonna tell you. And hold tight, because at the end i”m gonna give you the list of the Top 10 Foods That Make You Crave. Some of these will shock you. And there are the foods to AVOID if you feel like you’re always hungry.
Abstain from sweet foods during times when you know you’re likely to have food cravings
Let’s say it’s “that time of the month”. And your food cravings tend to be through the roof. Don’t make it easy for your hunger signals to get the better of you.
1.First, ditch the diet soda. Artificial sweeteners really ramp up food cravings. The sweet tastes hits your body. But when the ultra sweet taste isn’t followed by any real calories, your body becomes a cravings beast.
2.Next, skip the store bought sauces. Most bottled sauces and condiments are just packed with sugar. And the more sugar that you eat, the more the hunger hormones get ramped up. You can easily makes sauces at home with just a few ingredients. And having control over the added sugar in your food will make a difference.
3.Finally, fill up on protein. Did you know that being protein deficient can make you hungry, even when you’ve eaten enough calories. All calories aren’t created equal. And the calories from protein will help dull your hunger.
Change habits that make you hungry
Everything inside the body is connected. So habits that you think are not at all related to hunger might be underneath your desire to eat.
4.Get enough sleep. You might think you’ve got things under control when you stay up all night, only to drag your sleepy self into the office the next morning. But your appetite may be suffering. Studies show that the hormones that tell your brain that you’re hungry shoot sky high when you’re tired.
5.Next, control your alcohol intake. Alcohol is metabolized by your body just like sugar. So just like anything sweet, alcohol will increase your hunger. Not to mention that once you’re feeling a little footloose and fancy free, there’s nothing stopping you if temptation beckons.
6.Make sure to eat something for breakfast. You might not feel hunger symptoms until 12pm. But that doesn’t mean that your body won’t pay a price for skipping a meal. Blood sugar imbalances from not eating make you just as hungry as blood sugar imbalances from eating too many sweets. So eating something, small, even if you don’t feel hungry, is gonna help those cravings later in the day.
7.Finally, drink water. Thirst is often misinterpreted by your brain as hunger!
Work on how you feel
Feelings have a direct impact on food cravings and hunger.
8.For instance, your increased appetite during times of stress isn’t all in your head. The stress hormone cortisol actually dulls other hormone that tell your brain you’re full. Stress biologically makes you hungry. Yes, you might lose your appetite during times of extreme stress. But the everyday stress that often goes ignored will ramp-up your hunger in no time.
9.But let’s not discount depression. Often when we’re blue, we’re lacking dopamine. Dopamine is a compound that sends happy signals to your brain. And many people who suffer from depression don’t make enough dopamine. But you know what produces dopamine? Sweet and fatty foods. So if you’ve been in a slump, talk to a trained professional who can help you balance and heal.
10. And this last one probably won’t surprise you. Stay away from Food Porn! If you spend just a few minutes on Instagram or Facebook, you will likely see TONS of food that will make you salivate. But of course watching all this “oh my gosh” food is going to make you hungry. So take some time to unplug and silence the onslaught of temptation!
You hold the power
My mother always wrote off her desire to eat as boredom, But luckily, you now know that there are biological reasons you ‘have the eats”. So what are you gonna do about it?
First download my list of Top 10 Foods That Make You Crave.
Many of these foods sound healthy but send your desire to eat into overdrive. If nothing else, stay away from these foods during the time of day when you’re most likely to want to eat.
Get your list of Top 10 Foods That Make You Crave Now!
Next, look at your lifestyle. What behaviors or feelings can you work on to help your hunger hormones work more effectively? This is as important as what you eat. So don’t be shy if you need to ask for help.
***************************************************************************************************************
Don’t be a victim to your cravings. Use these 10 surefire ways to outsmart your cravings and get control of your hunger today!
I’ve ditched the soda since such a long time, I cannot even remember and it was honestly the best thing I’ve ever done to my mind and body!
Congratulations! As a former soda addict myself, I’m always amazed about how I don’t miss it at all.
These are some great tips! Some of these are really easy to implement and others take a little extra work. Well, for me they take some extra work. Lol! I definitely need to stay focused on those because I give in way too easily.
The hardest step is the first step. They should get easier with time!
I always try to have protein at every meal and snack because it sustains you longer.
Good for you for remembering to eat protein. That can be an easy one to overlook.
I’ve started already incorporating some of these great tips. Some of these items are a little bit harder for me to keep them going.
The fact that you are trying is great. Totally means you’re doing something right.
Excellent tips, Erica! I never thought about how Instagram & Pinterest are teasing us into wanting food. We really have to have self discipline when we subject ourselves to those temptations!
Those websites really are teasing us to feel hungry. They’re fun to look at, but maybe not at times when you’re prone to want to indulge.
I see need this post. I am trying to lose weight and the food cravings struggle is a real one!
Cravings are a really important issue to talk about. Little steps you take to alleviate cravings, when added together, do make a difference. The more you can find better ways to deal with your cravings, the more success you’re likely to have. And I get the struggle.
Those are true points here – the most difficult ones for me would be stopping looking at snack food pictures, and also getting rid of store-bought sauces! I will do my best to try though!
Avoiding food pictures is hard because it means staying off of social media. Which will make you feel like a hermit in 2017. I think it’s best to avoid that stuff at the times you’re most prone to crave (like at night). And if you do see it during those times, don’t spend too much time looking at it so as to not give it too much power.
Oooh yes! I’ve mostly stopped drinking soda, and have tried to eliminate artificial sweeteners as much as possible because you’re exactly right, sweeteners just ramp up food cravings! My few exceptions to soda now include the occasional treat of some local soda made with sugar instead of sweeteners, and that’s really about once every month or two. Now that I’ve eliminated soda, the rare times I have a regular soda it just tastes bad.
Isn’t it crazy that when you’re not used to drinking soda regularly, it starts to taste weird? That happened to me too. And I used to be a soda ADDICT!
These are great tips. I love food – especially sweet foods. However being middle aged I cannot eat as I wish without piling on the pounds. I am a picker so would struggle to eat only three square meals. Instead I eat smaller meal.portions and incorporate snacks into my diet.
I need to drink more water and get a good night’s sleep.
Being a food blogger, food porn is a work hazzard LOL I know when I have cruised Pinterest looking for inspiration I usually end up starving! I try to keep up on the water to keep me feeling full. I tend to eat breakfast with a lot of protein, but worry that 350 to 400 calories is too much for breakfast :/ If I eat less I end up hungry in a couple of hours.
I imagine that would be tough as a food blogger! I don’t even worry about calories at breakfast. I just worry about eating good quality protein and veggies and stopping when I’m full.
I am an emotional eater so I always have food cravings and I almost always give in. I definitely need to try some of these tips to get control over my hunger because it really isn’t healthy, mentally and physically.
Emily | http://emilytrinh.com
Emotional eating is a tough one but you can make progress. I always say to notice the small achievements.
This post is super helpful!! I have a serious sugar addiction I’m trying to control…thanks for sharing!
Glad you found this helpful, Kelly!
Lots of great information Erica. The one thing that has always worked for me is on your list and that’s water. If I still have that empty feeling after a glass of water then I’ll snack on bit of cheese or spoonful of peanut butter and that normally takes care of it.
That’s so interesting about the cheese Marquita because cheese is actually a food that tends to increase cravings. But the great thing is that we’re all unique. so you never know what will work until you try.
Hi Erica,
nice tips! thanks for sharing
Just the one for me that I am still not using – protein.
to be honest, I do realize the value of it but still hesitant to start taking it on a constant basis
Kristina, protein is in a lot of foods so you should be getting protein already. It’s just about making sure you’re getting enough and from good quality sources.
I came across this post just as I’m thinking about heading out for what would be a pretty unhealthy breakfast.. Hmmm. There’s always point #6 to fall back on.
Haha…you always make me laugh, Ken!
These are good tips. Being tired is a real trigger for me.
Yeah, you just need some kind of pick-me-up when you’re sleep deprived.
I’m guilty of cheese and wine. Love both of them, but I get that even in moderation, it’s not a good idea to have either every day. I have been trying to make sure I have some protein every time I eat–breakfast being the most problematic. I like the protein shakes, but after working out, not first thing in the a.m.
Protein in the morning is such a hard one for people. I’m not sure how breakfast foods all become so bready.
So, true, Erica. I still have issues facing anything but a carb early in the a.m. The very idea of eating egg-something = yech. Except on Sundays, when I’m lucky enough to have husband whip up omelets or frittata or something yummy.
Good advice–and mom was somewhat right in that if I don’t stave off boredom, I head to the snack cupboard (the one that wouldn’t exist if husband didn’t live here. haha).
I’m with you on the importance of breakfast. I begin my day with a toasted bagel, a bowl of cereal with milk, and a glass of juice every morning; I could function somewhat without this but I would be working with one hand tied behind my back, so to speak.
That is a hearty breakfast, for sure. I need to have something in the morning to mentally function too.
Love this post! Gave me a lot to think about especially with the skipping breakfast thing it’s so true that my hunger catches up with me!! I’m keeping this as a reminder and forwarding it to the fam!
Glad this was helpful, Kenzie! Even if you have just something small in the morning, you’ll feel a difference.
Lots of valuable information Erica, I must confess I am a soda addict who has been trying to get away from it but hasn’t succeeded yet 🙁
I kid you not when I say I used to be ADDICTED to soda. There is hope!