Food cravings can be prevented by eating healthy foods. To maintain good health, it’s important to know the difference between real hunger and food cravings. Healthy foods are needed for a healthy body, and a well-trained body will crave the foods it needs. Sometimes, you can crave foods you are allergic to. And some foods are known to induce food cravings. For instance, eating sugar can cause a craving for sugar, as can consuming artificial sweeteners.

Hunger or emotional eating?

First, determine if you truly are feeling hunger, or if you are facing an emotional eating trigger. If you hear your stomach rumbling, are many food that you can eat to assuage your hunger cravings.

Prepare health foods in advance

It is important to prepare beforehand. You know you will have moments of hunger, so decide what your strategy will be in advance. Shop well, because most dieting mistakes are made at the grocery store. Stock the refrigerator with healthy choices that are instantly available, because if your hunger pangs become overwhelming, you are more likely to make poor food choices.

Avoid binge eating

The hardest part of the day for binging is the evenings. Television commercials increase the temptation with commercials for sizzling high fat foods. If watching television triggers binge eating, turn the television off. Read a book, knit a sweater or find other tactile ways to satisfy your senses. Or set up exercise equipment in front of the television. That way you’ll be burning calories while you watch, and it will be harder to get off your exercise bike to run to the kitchen for a snack.

Healthy choices

Provide healthy choices for yourself, and expect the hunger pangs. Decide in advance how you are going to give yourself a food treat during these times, so you don’t feel deprived. Measure you meals so that you have extra calories that you can consume at the times of day you are most likely to binge. When you feel hunger coming on, the foods above are good choices that will satisfy your taste buds and your waistline.

About the author:

Melanie Grimes, CCH, is a writer, health educator and homeopath. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. She has taught at Bastyr University and lectured internationally. Follow her blog at MelanieGrimes.com. To order professional quality vitamins, visit her online vitamin shop at https://www.healthwavehq.com/welcome/mgrimes.