How to Control Cravings

Everyone has had cravings at one time or another. Cravings can overwhelm any approach for healthy eating or staying on a diet and can create an atmosphere where you give in to those cravings. There are some things that can be done to help curb those cravings.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Although you may not care for spicy food, you can eat a hot pepper to help you curb cravings according a study performed by the "British Journal of Nutrition." Hot peppers contain an ingredient called capsaicin.
2. Understand that capsaicin will help kill your craving for fatty snacks and eating a hot pepper during lunch will help curb those cravings the rest of the day.
3. Know that you can actually eat a little chocolate to take care of a craving for sugar or chocolate without overindulging. Try drizzling a little chocolate syrup along the length of a banana or on two or three strawberries. You will get enough of a chocolate jolt to feel satisfied along with fiber, vitamins, and a little more of a light sweet taste from the fruit.
4. Try a stick of gum after you have finished with lunch. It has been proved that persons chewing gum during the afternoon ate fewer calories at dinner and research shows those persons were not as likely to crave sweets.
5. According to a recent study poor sleeping habits can actually lead to increased cravings. You should try and make sure you get seven to eight hours of sleep to keep those cravings for high carbohydrate, high calorie foods at bay.