It only takes a minute to lose control and fall into the clutches of temptation, break the diet and fall prey to your cravings and desires. But beware that willpower can be unshakable if you follow some of the advice in the form of a self-question that we will give you below so that you learn to overcome the craving.
How to beat the craving
Am I really stressed?
When we are stressed or under pressure, the body releases the hormone cortisol, which communicates to our brain that it needs some reward, which unfortunately is usually a food with high sugar or fat content. When you turn to food as a stress response , you only get negative feelings such as anger or sadness.
Stress can cause cravings
That is why before we start eating due to a problem related to stress, depression or cravings, we must ask ourselves if we are really stressed, and if the answer is yes, we must look for other ways to dissipate stress, since food does not It is going to solve it and in that way the craving will take over us, and ultimately we have 2 possibilities, for the next time, to avoid situations that do not expose to unnecessary and avoidable stress, or else, to find a way to solve that problem that causes us to be stressed.
How to know if the craving is due to lack of intake?
Are we eating less than usual?
Many times, cravings come from a poor diet, such as eating less than usual or what we really need, and that craving can far exceed our food quota for the day. That is why it is very important to question the reason for those sudden cravings. A balanced and fair diet can eliminate those late-night cravings forever, but if the cravings persist it is important that you go to a nutritionist to find the reason and tailor a diet, based on individual parameters such as weight, age, etc.
Getting too little sleep can lead to cravings
Are you getting enough sleep?
A recent study discovered that it takes only two days without sleep to lower levels of the hormone leptin, the same one that gives us the feeling of fullness; and that it increases our levels of ghrelin by 18%, a hormone that is related to appetite, which results in a 30% chance that we have cravings high in starch and carbohydrates such as cookies and bread.
Getting enough sleep and the hours it takes also helps us get away from those midnight snacks, those morning cravings that can break our healthy eating line.
You should not eat out of habit
Am I an animal of habit?
Another of the enemies closely associated with cravings and a poor diet are „customs.“ The writer of „The brain loves routine“ (“ A small step can change your life „) Bob Maurer, explains that the human being can inevitably become an animal of habits, and many of them associated with eating, such as watch television eating popcorn.
Maurer explains that these „bad habits“ can be broken with a little will and effort, for example watching television in another part of the house that does not allow him to eat popcorn, if this were your habit. He also recommends changing the image that is associated with food, that is, think thin before succumbing to a „routine craving.“
