You’re trying to eat healthier, but that longing for chocolate, chips, or soda just keeps rearing its ugly head. It’s so hard to fight it, but what should you do in those moments? Just grit your teeth and try to think about anything else until the urge passes? Unfortunately, while using will power to fight cravings will work sometimes, it’s not the best way to deal with them. In fact, constantly fighting them can lead to binging in moments of weakness, or cause you to give up entirely on your healthy goal in defeat. Instead, the best way to conquer food cravings is by getting to the root causes so that you can stop them for good.

I used to have a serious sweet tooth and not having some sort of chocolate dessert before bed felt nearly impossible. Other food cravings like salty popcorn after dinner have plagued me as well, but I am living proof that cravings really can go away. I still enjoy chocolate many days, but I rarely feel that I “need” it. Some days I have a hankering for a salty snack, so I enjoy a few handfuls of popcorn and easily put the rest of the bag away. You CAN feel in control of what you eat, not the other way around. These 7 tips to conquer food cravings will help you gain control and reach your health goals.

Main causes of food cravings include:

• Poor or inadequate sleep
• Skipping meals
• Not eating enough at breakfast & lunch
• Not exercising enough
• Stress & anxiety
• Habits

Let’s look deeper at these 6 causes and what you can do to manage your cravings.

7 Tips to Conquer Food Cravings

1.Sleep Deprivation affects your hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin. When you don’t sleep enough, your ghrelin levels rise, causing you to feel more hungry and crave quick energy sources like carbohydrates and sugars. To prevent this, make sure you are getting adequate sleep every night. The exact number of hours may vary from person to person, but most need at least 6 hours nightly. If sleep doesn’t come easily for you, there are many tricks you can try to improve your sleep such as using creating a relaxing bed time routine, turning of electronics at least an hour before bed, diffusing essential oils, reducing caffeine, keeping a cool room temperature, using calming herbs and teas, etc. There could be many other causes for poor sleep including stress, overexercising or health issues, so work on pinpointing the underlying causes of your sleep disruptions if you don’t sleep well or wake feeling rested.

2. Skipping Meals/Not Eating Enough – if you skip meals or try to lose weight by eating tiny portions at breakfast or lunch, you’re more likely to experience cravings later in the day. Giving your body the energy that it needs to function well will help reduce cravings. Especially when you eat nutrient-dense foods with vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, etc. These foods satisfy and help keep you full. I used to eat tiny dinners to control calories each night, but then would snack until I was stuffed before bed. When I started eating larger portions of vegetables and protein (both very filling foods with lots of vitamins and minerals), my late-night snacking naturally improved and my weight was easier to manage. As a very general rule, most women should be eating at least 350 calories per meal, plus snacks.

3. Inadequate Exercise – exercising frequently and with intensity can reduce cravings and hunger. You’ll also be more likely want to eat healthier after working out because you don’t want to “mess up” all the hard work you just put in. Intensity is key – such as boxing, running or weight lifting. Another key is to eat a hearty, protein-rich meal after your workout. Many people fear consuming the calories they just burned, but this is actually the BEST time to eat a big meal. Your body needs to replenish the energy and muscle you just used and it will be used to make you stronger rather than stored as fat. Plus, eating within about 30 minutes of a workout will help keep hunger at bay if you find your hunger levels increasing when you add more exercise.

4. Stress & Anxiety can lead to cravings for comfort foods (usually high-carbohydrate and fatty foods). If your body is in “fight or flight” mode, it will want quick energy (aka sugar) to prepare for whatever threatening scenario it thinks you’re going into. If you’re emotional, you’ll crave “feel-good” foods that will boost serotonin. Reach for wholesome carbs and sugars like fruits, vegetables, and potatoes, and satisfy your growling stomach with healthy fats and protein. You might try a meal like zucchini noodles topped with marinara sauce and ground turkey made with Italian herbs. Additionally, find another relaxing/comforting outlet besides food – a bath, a walk, prayer, calling a friend, journaling, reading a book, making a cup of tea, etc. Many essential oils and herbs can also promote relaxation and calming, so keep some of your favorites around for stressful moments. 

Following a meal plan can also help you break food habits, provide nutrient-dense recipes, support weight loss goals and reduce stress. One of my clients who purchased my 6-week meal plan told me that it’s helped her not only lose 8 pounds, but has reduced stress at home for her whole family because they don’t have to think – or argue- about what to cook!

5. Find a Substitute for your craving, especially if the habit is hard to break. For instance, when I wanted to stop eating dense desserts like cookies and brownies at night, I started eating protein bars that had a similar taste and feel. Quest Nutrition Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough protein bars warmed in the microwave was a great option for me. While it’s not the most natural, healthy bar in the world, it was the first step in reducing my sugar intake and therefore the craving (the more sugar you eat, the more you tend to crave it). After a while, I was able to eat just a small piece of chocolate and feel satisified. Now after both finding substitutes and changing my evening routine, I rarely crave chocolate at all. And when I do, I eat it because I know I can handle just a bite without going overboard. This same trick of replacing junk food with healthier versions has worked for me and many clients to reduce a variety of cravings.

Another option is using MetaPWR essential oil or MetaPWR softgels. This blend of edible essential oils may help reduce appetite and cravings when consumed, PLUS it can help reduce adipose fat cells! This is a great supplement as you try to overcome recurring cravings to make the process a bit easier. This oil also exists in a gum format to help provide a slightly sweet and spicy taste to chew on rather than food.

6. Pray for Help to overcome temptations. God cares about every aspect of our being, including our struggles with food. For some of us, food holds power over us and fighting cravings and temptations feels nearly impossible at times. God is faithful if we invite him into our moments of weakness and ask for his strength to overcome: “No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide a way out so that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (CSB). Include him in your relationship with food and expect to see yourself change through His power.

7. Change Your Habits & Rituals can cause you to crave certain foods at certain times, such as popcorn at the movies, coffee in the morning, wine with dinner, chocolate after lunch, etc. These habits can become mindless and then we end up eating or drinking things whether we truly want them or not, or may even have trouble relaxing without them once we’ve built the habit. If you pray for help as tip #6 suggests but maintain your rituals and habits, it will be much harder to overcome temptations. Breaking these bad habits is one of the most useful things I have found to help with weight loss. To break the cycle, avoid buying the triggering food or keeping it at home, ask your spouse or roommate to help you avoid the recurring food, or create a new routine that distracts you from the habitual behavior and stops the pattern. For instance, you might start taking a walk after dinner instead of watching TV and snacking. Or make tea as soon as you finish lunch rather than go the vending machine for chocolate. Repeat the new habit until the old one fades from your mind.

A final bonus tip – don’t try to fight every craving. This can lead to binging down the road. If you’re constantly fighting cravings and not giving into any of them, it can make the craving even worse because we tend to want what we can’t have. Instead, allow small treats once in a while to provide some balance and enjoyment!

If you need guidance, accountability or support for any of these areas, I’m here to help! Contact me for one-on-one holistic health and nutrition coaching at [email protected]