I took up knitting. Keeping the hands busy helps to stop the mindless eating out of boredom :)
Being hungry sucks. In fact, it’s the #1 reason people struggle to follow diets.
Think about it: When is the last time you “cheated” on your diet when you WEREN’T hungry?
Exactly.
Simply put, the key to sticking with any diet is learning how to control hunger and manage cravings.
And that’s what I’m here to discuss today – four of my top EIGHT craving crushing tips:
Craving Crusher #1 – Volumize your meals: A 400 calorie meal can be exceptionally filling or extremely unsatisfying depending on the types of foods that make up the meal.
For example, a single Dollar Menu fast-food burger can easily pack home 400 calories. Same for 4 Reese’s Cups.
I don’t know about you, but neither of those items are leaving me “full” and satisfied.
At the same time, a HUGE salad chock full of veggies galore and topped with an ample portion of lean protein such as grilled chicken or fish can be a struggle to finish, while containing even fewer calories.
Want to walk away from every meal feeling full, but without packing on the pounds? The solution is simple: make sure to always choose foods that provide a lot of volume without a lot of calories. Huge salads, lean proteins, and even more veggies to fill out the ol’ plate make for a wholesome, high volume, low calorie meal every time.
Craving Crusher #2 – Chew gum: Feeling hungry between meals? Reach for a piece of sugar-free gum. The simple act of chewing and keeping your mouth occupied will have an immediate effect on your level of hungry and quickly have you forgetting about being hungry.
Craving Crusher #3 – Eat MORE fat: Out of the three macronutrients, the most satiating is fat. By adding healthy fat to a meal in the form of healthy oils, nuts, avocado, organic butter, etc, you’ll automatically increase the acute and long-term satiety of the meal. Feel fuller faster and stay fuller longer – a great combo!
Craving Crusher #4 – Eat more frequently: The longer you wait between feeding, the more hungrier you get. Simple solution: eat more frequently. I recommend a frequency of 5 to 7 feedings per day, spaced out approximately 2 – 3 hours apart.
It’s probably a “rule of thumb” you’ve heard before, but likely one you could be following a LOT closer.
Alright, that’s 4 of 8. I’ll be back with four MORE craving crushing tips later this week. In the meantime, would you like to learn 3 other specific fat-burning tips that you can start using today? Check out the below link:
==> What “special” foods can boost fat-burning by 207%?
Enjoy the above tips!
Joel
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67 comments - add yours
I was curious about #2 but apparently a lot of people ask about the gum so I’ll leave that alone. Now it comes to nuts, from your previous recommendations & my love for almonds, I do consumed that more than any other nuts. Question would be that is there another types of nuts (please no regular peanuts!) you would recommend & how much is too much?
I really enjoyed the 4 tips. I can’t wait to get the rest of the 8 and add them to my arsenal. Keep the great info coming. Thanks.
Re #4: I think everyone is different, and I believe this probably works for the majority of people. However, in my case, smaller, more frequent feedings tend to leave me feeling hungry ALL THE TIME. Maybe I’m a freak (I do seem to be atypical in a LOT of areas), but my hunger is much less when I eat larger, less frequent meals.
Tip #1 has been part of my fat loss plan for almost a year now. I love a nice big salad chocked full of greens. Adding the lean protein and some avocado and bleu cheese crumbles really kicks it up. I’ve lost nearly 100 pounds during the past year pounding down a lot of salads like the one described as well as getting my solid exercize in three to five times a week. I’ll be trying tip #2. Can’t hurt.
Pretty good info, the sugarfree gum thing was new to me :)
Nothing earth shaking here but good tips nonetheless
To those you have a hard time fitting in additional meals, stop thinking about it as a meal. Think of ALL eating times like a larger snack. A handful of nuts, maybe a protein drink with some flax oil in it and LOTS of water will go a long way in stopping those cravings between regular “meals”.
If I eat Almonds as a snack, do I need to factor in the fat that comes from Almonds when I count how many grams of fat that I take daily.
Thanks,
Anas
I would add to #4 to drink regularly especially to a 2-3 hour snack/meal routine. I do this myself, i.e. 4-6 almonds, or nuts a glass of water and a fruit is a great snack.
I’m looking forward to the four following tips. By the way, I just started Cheat Your Way Thin and tomorrow’s my cheat day. I’m really looking forward to it. Just the fact that I had this day to look forward to really helped me with my cravings. But tomorrow’s going to be ugly!!! I’m eating pizzas for lunch and going to an Indian restaurant in the evening… Thanks for making that possible while burning fat (it’s the first week, so I don’t know whether it works yet, but I’m sure it does.)
Just a question: Can I take at least some carbs before and after workout (I’m doing Final Phase Fat Loss) on low carb days? It seems really difficult not to consume any carbs for resistance training.
Love tip #1. I probably don’t do this nearly enough though. For lunch a couple days a week I have a spinach salad and it is really good and feeling. I already know this tips in my head, but it is good to be reminded that sometimes simple things can help with weight lose, simple but powerful.
this is one of the best tips I have read in a long time, more of the same would be nice.
Good 400 calorie comparison…It certainly looks more satisfying to have a gigantic salad with all the yummy stuff in front of you than a 1 oz cheesburger. Pare down on the dressing and I can have a mini-peanut butter cup, too:)
I LOVE cereal to curb cravings, too. I have a major sweet tooth, so slightly sweet cereals usually do it for me in less sugar and fewer calories. It may be more than slightly sweet, but those chocolate Cheerios? Oh. My. God. Yum.
Regarding eating more frequent meals, I heard that your digestive enzymes can become depleted when you do that. I also heard that your digestive system needs breaks between meals to give it a rest. I would appreciate your prespective on these. Thanks.
I also use water. I’m trying to get around 129 oz per day so what helps in both cases is I do the 5-6 feedings per day and about 5-10 minutezs before the next ‘meal’ I drink down a 16 oz bottle of water. It’s a good way to pace getting the water in and helps to feel fuller.
Fluids! I know your list is not done, but I know for a fact that keeping hydrated is up there! Sure, it is pretty well known, but as convenient as water is, it is often easy to neglect…
I find all your fat-burning tips very useful. I drink between 8 and 10 8-oz. glasses of ICE water every day, usually drinking 8 oz. 1/2 hour before each meal and/or 8 oz. at 1 hour after meals, with no beverages with the meals. The ice water seems to “numb” my stomach so I don’t feel hungry before meals. Whether this is a placebo effect or real–I don’t know. But it works for me! :-)
Just letting you know that your Cheat Your Way Thin food plan is pretty damn awesome! I never thought I would see my own beautiful six-pack, but after following the plan for 2 weeks I first saw it :) I’m in week 4 now, and I’m finding it very easy to plan and prepare food, and I’m rather enjoying my meals in a way I never did before. So thanks, your research and work (plus the regular tips and info in your blogs) are very much appreciated!
A Cheat Fan
Sarah
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...