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Unbelievable Ways To Manage Those Cravings!
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Cravings for specific types of food are constant, recurring feelings that most people deal with, even those who consider themselves disciplined.
But it is a simple, biological fact that some times of foods can be addictive and lead to intense cravings. These cravings can lead to impulsive eating behaviors, consistent patterns of poor dietary choices, and we all know what eating bad food on a regular basis can do to our health. In moments of stress or exhaustion, when there is no more willpower fuel left in the tank, we give into the craving. We may feel guilty for a time, but of course, we’ll end up hungry again later, and the cycle repeats.
So what’s the way out of this problem? How do we eliminate the craving itself?
There are actually a bunch of ways. Below we’ve provided a list of actionable, practical steps you can take to nip cravings in the bud and take control of your eating.
1. Switch junk food with healthy snacks
Often, it is more effective to replace the unhealthy snack with a healthy one, rather than eliminating the snack altogether. Choose some blueberries or cherries instead of gummy fruit snacks. Try an apple instead of a cookie, or a small piece of unsweetened dark chocolate in place of a candy bar full of sugar.
2. Distract yourself
Engage in a project or task that demands your full attention and concentration, and you won’t have time to focus on your hunger. You will come to realize that when you do this, your cravings have a way of subsiding before you even notice. The specific kind of task you perform doesn’t really matter, as long as it demands your concentration. Puzzles, cleaning your house, or even video games will fit the bill. In fact, one study found that playing the video game Tetris led to a 25 percent decrease in food cravings among participants.
One explanation for this was the “Elaborated Intrusion Theory” which suggests that visualization of foods — that is, mental images — is a key component in the craving process. When one’s working memory is preoccupied with a task, it reduces the occurrence of cravings.
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