{"id":11562,"date":"2009-09-02T01:00:31","date_gmt":"2009-09-02T06:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=11562"},"modified":"2009-09-01T20:41:27","modified_gmt":"2009-09-02T01:41:27","slug":"how-to-healthfully-handle-food-cravings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/09\/how-to-healthfully-handle-food-cravings\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Healthfully Handle Food Cravings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"eating<\/a>Ever want to eat something so badly you felt overpowered by it? If so, you\u2019ve experienced a food craving<\/a>. Wanting something is natural, but our \u201cinner voices\u201d sure know how to get in our way of having it. Instead of actually enjoying the taste of a food \u2013 be it fresh, cold watermelon or a piece of lovely dark chocolate, we can get caught up in that emotional feeling of satisfying a craving. There\u2019s no freedom in this kind of eating.<\/p>\n

Cravings in general do not have to necessarily be \u201cbad\u201d things. It\u2019s all in how you respond to them. In this post, I\u2019ll explain how to healthfully handle cravings.<\/p>\n

Identify Your Type of Inner Voice \u2013 and Squash It!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reflect on the last time you had a memorable craving, what \u201cvoice\u201d did you hear?<\/p>\n

The Seductive Seller<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“You know you want me. I\u2019m sooooo good. You deserve it. You worked so hard.” The seductive seller accentuates all the positive aspects of the food and none of the negative. It preys on the food-as-reward<\/a> mentality (which is a dieter\u2019s trap). The problem is responding mindlessly to the food seduction rarely gives you the satisfaction you are actually looking for. Maybe you don\u2019t even need food. Maybe you need a hug or a kiss \u2013 or some sleep! Don\u2019t let the seductive seller sweet-talk you. Make sure when you choose to eat something you take your time and enjoy each and every bite.<\/p>\n

The Inner Critic<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“You are so weak. You fail at everything you do and you\u2019re going to fail at this, too.” The inner critic is all about demoralizing and sap motivation techniques. The self-hate it perpetuates is toxic to your well-being. Listening to these messages makes you more vulnerable to them. Next time you hear the inner critic come out, confront it. Be aware that these are just words flowing through your mind. You don\u2019t have to follow them.<\/p>\n

Respond to Cravings with Awareness and Mindfulness<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"friends<\/a>As I said at the top of this post, cravings don\u2019t have to be a bad thing. You are in control. Recognize a craving when it comes on, squash the voice and choose to take a mindful approach. Ask yourself \u201cam I hungry or do I need something else?\u201d. Maybe you need some rest, a hot bubble bath, or a chat with a close friend.<\/p>\n

If you do feel hungry or if you just want to respond to the craving even though you know you\u2019re not, it\u2019s OK. Giving yourself permission to respond to cravings can be very liberating. But make sure you choose a reasonable portion size<\/a> of your food and really take the time to slow down and enjoy each wonderful bite. Notice the taste and the pleasure it brings you. Experience it with all your senses. You may not even finish it before feeling completely satisfied. So stop early.<\/p>\n

Taking the mindful approach to cravings is a healthy way of living a life you deserve. Next time you have a craving, embrace it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever want to eat something so badly you felt overpowered by it? If so, you\u2019ve experienced a food craving. Wanting something is natural, but our \u201cinner voices\u201d sure know how to get in our way of having it. Instead of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3695],"tags":[469,67,76,29,74],"class_list":["post-11562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-and-nutrition","tag-cravings","tag-diet","tag-emotional-eating","tag-nutrition","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11562"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11565,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11562\/revisions\/11565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}