Winning Strategy to Control Food Cravings

     The key to weight loss that lasts long term is kicking those stubborn food urges to the curb. Nobody likes a nag…but try telling that to that bag of fun size Mars bars that won't stop calling your name. A food craving is like a little devil sitting on your shoulder, constantly encouraging you to indulge. And if you are actively trying to lose weight, it only ups the pressure.

A study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that 91 per cent of women reported experiencing food cravings when they weren't on a diet; but once they started restricting calories that figure went up 94 per cent. The good news is those tormentors can be fended off.

The reason for the cravings in the first place is blood sugar levels. If your levels stay consistent throughout the day you're eating patterns are likely too as well. It is when you starve yourself and don't eat enough through the day that cravings call.

Your blood sugar can fall too low after just four hours of not eating and those cravings can start. So you scour the fridge for simple carbohydrates to give you a quick boost. Trouble is the resulting blood sugar spike triggers your pancreas to release insulin, a hormone that not only lowers blood sugar but also signals your body to run the craving cycle over and over.

In about half of us, insulin tends to overshoot – that is what sends blood sugar crashing. This reinforces the binge because it makes you crave sugar and starch again so in other words, giving into a craving only leaves you wanting more.

If you feel like you are addicted to doughnuts or chocolate, maybe you are, research has discovered that high GI foods trigger a sugar rush that is addictive. High blood sugar spikes caused by high sugar food stimulate the same areas of the brain associated with addiction to nicotine, alcohol and other drugs.

Evidence demonstrated that people who OD on high-carbohydrates experience symptoms of addiction like loss of control, desire to consume more to get the same effect, and withdrawal when going cold turkey.

So, how to prevent the slow slide towards Doughnuts Anonymous? By following this one big step designed to stop 99 percent of craving before they start – and help you muzzle the one per cent that never seem to shut up.

Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day every 2-3 hours. These meals should contain at least 20–30 grams of protein and the balance made up of raw and cooked vegetables and a small amount of complex carbohydrate such as rice, pasta or sweet potato.

You will need to plan and prepare these meals ahead of time and take them with you wherever you go. This is the secret that will make this strategy successful. This way there will be no excuse to eat the wrong foods and you will never get over hungry.

Focus all of your energy on what you should be eating – not what you shouldn't be eating. It won't be perfect at first, but each week aim for a bit more improvement. You will find as you eating becomes more regular and your body is been given what it needs to stay healthy the cravings will lessen and eventually disappear.

Make sure you have a proper exercise program in place that contains strength training exercise and at least one session of interval training each week This involves shorts bursts of all out activity for 10-15 seconds followed by a minute or so of rest. This is repeated 10 or more times.

Your exercise program will relieve stress and anxiety and make you a calmer, saner person. This will make you mentally and physically stronger so you can kick those cravings to the curb once and for all.

1. Prev:Why Dont Our Bodies Want To Lose Fat?
2. Next:Two Top Weight Loss Strategies That Will Work  Every Time Guaranteed