We’ve all been there: It’s 10 o’clock at night, you’re winding down for bed, and it hits you like a tanker truck– the need for chocolate. You have no idea where this craving came from, but it’s strong, and it knows you have a Kit Kat bar in the fridge. And once you eat that, you know you there’s an unopened bag of chips ready to be destroyed. The craving spiral is a steep one for many, and it’s not long before you’re tumbling down -all of a sudden surrounded by a bunch of fun sized candy wrappers. How can you curb these cravings without giving in to them?
Science has showed us that cravings can come from having already eaten foods high in fat and sugar – almost as if it were addictive! When foods like this are incorporated into our daily diets, our body and minds are altered. We become programmed to want them even more, creating stronger and stronger cravings. That’s where the rut of poor eating begins.
But what if you try your best to maintain a lifestyle of clean eating? Why are you craving french fries if you haven’t had anything salty or fatty in well over a month? It may come down to a chemical level.
Beyond Diet breaks this down for us with a handy little craving chart. As it turns out, a craving could clue you in to what your body is missing. For example, if you’re really hankering for fatty foods, what your body is really looking for is calcium. Instead, a healthy option is a low calorie cheese stick. This means you’ll get to squelch your craving without succumbing to any empty calories. Sounds like a win-win to me!
Check out the chart below and decode your craving. Who knew it’d be magnesium all along?
(P.S. A little indulgence is good every once and a while, but not at midnight with a tub of ice cream. That’s mindless eating not satisfying a craving.)
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What do you think of these craving crushers?
