Cravings – What Are They? & How To Beat Them?

Has your fitness trainer explained the importance of right nutrition for fitness and you've been following it strictly? Yet, silent thoughts of having some delicious pizza, pasta, ice cream, chips, chocolate, and pakodas keep hovering in your mind? Hmm… I can understand.

Cravings are an enemy of every fitness freak — they make the best of your intentions easily derailed. No matter how hard you try to push those urges aside, they always seem to win out in the end.

You'll learn in this article about cravings, what causes these urges, and some tips on how to beat them. Let's go ahead…

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What Are Cravings?

The word 'craving' is a broad term that explains the desire for a specific thing — be it sweets, affection, attention, or books. This article is particularly focused on cravings for food.

Cravings are a kind of motivational state or stimulus that give you an urge to seek out food, most of the time when you are not really hungry. In biological terms, cravings are the state of our brain in the grips of downregulation.

Cravings can leave us feeling like we need something when we don't. Before we learn what's behind these urges, let me clear a common doubt…

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Is Craving & Addiction The Same?

Addiction is strongly characterized by the compulsion to use a substance, uncontrolled consumption, and the existence of withdrawal symptoms like anxiety and irritability.

The main difference between an addiction and a craving is that addiction impacts the quality of your life — it's more of an uncontrolled urge where you can't function until your cravings have been satiated. Cravings, on the other hand, tend not to last more than 10 minutes.

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Top 10 Reasons For Cravings

1. Stress — Stress is the topmost reason that sets off cravings. You crave sugary comfort foods like chocolate when stressed, as eating them releases dopamine (a feel-good neurotransmitter) that lowers stress levels.
2. Lack Of Sleep — Not getting enough quality sleep makes your body look for quick-fix energy, triggering cravings for carbohydrate-rich food.
3. Improper Hydration — Not being well hydrated can cause confusion between hunger and thirst, as they are similar sensations in the mind.
4. Dieting — Since dieting requires you to avoid certain foods and emphasize portions and serving sizes, this often leads to overwhelming cravings.
5. Regular Practice — If you regularly have coffee or tea at 4 pm and notice your mug is empty around that time, you'll have cravings for it. We easily train ourselves to crave foods or beverages by recalling how we felt when consuming them.
6. Lack Of Nutrients — If your diet does not contain enough nutrients, you'll tend to seek something calorie-dense, because your body is not designed to equate calories with nutrition.
7. Lack Of Bulk — Even after eating sufficient calories, if you still crave something, it could be due to a lack of fiber in your diet to keep you full.
8. Social Setting — Sometimes cravings result from where you are and what you're surrounded by. When surrounded by junk or fast food, you'll feel the urge to eat it.
9. Fatigue — Fatigue is another common reason, like stress, that initiates cravings for carb-enriched foods.
10. Boredom — In some cases, cravings can result from boredom. You may find something satisfying about a salty snack when you crave it. Excessive sweating also makes you crave salty items like chips.

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How To Beat Cravings

1. Distract Yourself

When you feel cravings coming on, distract your brain with other things like going for a brisk walk, listening to loud music, playing a video game, or reading a book. This can take the mind off cravings until they pass.

2. Eat Regular Meals

A steady schedule of regular breakfast, lunch, and dinner trains the brain to eat the right things at the right times and to pass up the wrong things we might crave in between. Having a breakfast with a good amount of protein, cereals, and salads for lunch keeps you full and can help you avoid the typical 4 pm cravings.

3. Exercise

Exercise benefits our body physically and physiologically. Those who engage in regular exercise have better executive brain functioning to regulate food cravings and are found to crave healthier foods. A new study has found that hitting the treadmill for just 15 minutes significantly improves your resistance to reaching for sugary snacks.

4. Choose A Healthier Substitute

Over time, do your best to replace processed foods with unprocessed ones and retrain your taste buds to enjoy the flavour of foods without the need to cover them up with extras like butter, sauces, salt, and sugar. Studies show that vinegar slows stomach emptying, keeping you full for longer — so you can drizzle apple cider vinegar over dishes or consume it right before meals.

5. Smell Essential Oils

Chronic stress levels can cause increased cortisol, which causes you to binge on food. Try smelling peppermint oil, jasmine, or bergamot oil — the aroma of essential oils has been proven by studies to curb cravings, as they work to lift your spirits, clear mental fog, and may effectively help combat the effects of metabolic syndrome.

6. Avoid Watching TV For Long Hours

Watching TV for long hours, especially in the evenings, can cut your sleep time — which could throw off appetite hormones the next day and set you up for craving sugary or calorie-dense foods. Similarly, increased time on mobile phones will increase your hunger hormones, resulting in hard-to-ignore cravings.

7. Set Your Limits

I don't say you should totally give up on cravings — after all, our body is not a machine. Sometimes your body wants what it wants, and it is better to honour your cravings. You may find it very tough to totally wean off cravings, especially during a weight loss phase. In such times, limit yourself to eating one small chunk of chocolate (for example) instead of the whole bar, and combine it with healthy counterparts like fruits and veggies.

8. Consume Cinnamon / Ginger / Herbal Tea

Regular consumption of herbal teas made with cinnamon, ginger, fenugreek, lemon, mint, or tulsi helps boost metabolism, minimize insulin spikes, control blood sugar levels, and keep your bowels clean. These herbs are loaded with antioxidants and polyphenols that help curb hunger cravings.

Note: If your cravings are persistent and intense and accompanied by other symptoms like fatigue, you should discuss it with your doctor to rule out any underlying health issues.

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Making a connection between pleasure and a particular food or beverage can influence otherwise healthy eating choices, leading us to eat for reasons other than hunger…

If you ask me, the easiest way I follow to put off my chocolate cravings is writing… Let us know about your experience with cravings and the ways you follow to handle them in the comments section below…

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Also Read: 10 Ways To Boost Energy Naturally & Quickly

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