How to Control Cravings With Hydration

Weight loss isn’t easy and food cravings make dieters kick themselves when they give into them. However, if you’re trying to lose weight and have uncontrollable food cravings, you're body might be thirsty rather than hungry. The brain control centers for thirst and hunger are next to each other, and the signals sometimes overlap. What you think is a craving for food, may actually be your body’s cry for water.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Journal
• Bottled water

1. Keep a food journal that tracks how often you eat and how much you drink. Take special notes about food cravings and write down the time you feel the craving.

2. Write down how you handle food cravings in your journal. Record whether you ignore the cravings, eat what you’re craving or drink something. If you notice that you feed your craving but still crave food a short while later, you’re probably thirsty.

3. Drink a glass of water an hour before every meal and an hour after every meal. Water is an appetite suppressant and drinking before and after a meal keeps you from munching

4. Fill your diet with foods that naturally contain high water content. These consist mostly of fruits and vegetables such as strawberries, grapefruit, tomato, watermelon, cantaloupe, papaya, apples, peaches, blackberries, carrots, celery, cranberries, apricots and oranges. Eating these hydrates you and some of them can cure a sweet craving.

5. Carry water with you when you workout or go outside. Sipping water throughout the day keeps you hydrated and helps fight off mid-afternoon cravings.

6. Eat high fiber snacks, such as almonds, with a glass of water. Not only will the water hydrate you, but the water also causes the fiber to expand in your stomach making you feel full longer.

7. Switch caffeinated drinks for water-based juices such as Crystal Light because caffeine speeds up dehydration. The same is true for alcohol, so enjoy alcoholic beverages sparingly. If you do drink either caffeine or alcohol in excess, drink extra water the next day to fight dehydration.

Tips & Warnings

• When you feel a craving, drink a glass of water and wait 20 minutes. If you’re still hungry after 20 minutes, then your body probably does want food and you should eat.
• If you don’t like drinking plain water all the time, choose some flavored waters for variety. Just watch the sugar and calories in flavored water so you don’t derail your diet.
• Remember to drink water before you feel thirsty. If you already feel thirsty, then minor dehydration has set in and you should avoid caffeine and alcohol for a few days.