Part 3: How Happy is Your Health?

Part 3: How Happy Is Your Health?

Tue 19 Jun 2012

Story by Sophie Keller
 

This post is part of Sophie Keller’s “How Happy Is Your Health?” series, on The Food Revolution this month.

How to Get Rid of Cravings



Cravings can be the worst health saboteurs. Most of us crave unhealthy foods, like sweet or salty snacks, which can undo all our efforts to eat well and stay on track. The good news is that it is possible to beat cravings. Here’s how.

The key is to find out what your trigger foods are. We all have these foods—the snack that, once you start eating, almost makes you unconscious, since you can’t stop until you discover that it’s too late and you have eaten the whole chocolate cake, box of cookies or bag of chips.

Pinpoint your trigger foods and avoid them as much as possible. Here are four ways to deal with cravings:

1. Keep the unhealthy food that you crave out of the house so that it is less accessible. Replace the unhealthy food with a similar, but healthier option for when cravings strike. Interestingly, sugar cravings will often subside when you consume protein. If you really crave something sweet, then make sure that you have fruit in the house, and eat fruit the next time a craving strikes.

2. If you’re milling around the house or kitchen, craving a food that you know you really shouldn’t eat, change your physiology. Go for a walk, even if it’s just around the block, or go and work out. The change in physiology can alter your mood and cut cravings.

3. If you are looking for comfort food because you are feeling low or upset, find another way to handle your emotions. Speak to your partner, a friend or a family member. This will help you get the feelings off your chest, and the conversation and human connection will boost your mood much better than chocolate cake ever could.

More from Sophie Keller:

Part 1: Take the ‘how happy is your health?’ quiz
Part 2: Listen to your body

About the author: Sophie Keller is a happiness expert, speaker and author of the best selling How Happy is 4-book series: How Happy is Your Health? How Happy is Your Home? How Happy is Your Love Life? And How Happy is Your Marriage? You can find out more about Sophie on www.howhappyis.com. Follow her on twitter @Sophie_Keller and join the conversation on happiness on facebook.com/howhappyis, the daily tips and advice can only help you to become happier.

Sophie will be donating a percentage of sales from her book to the Food Revolution throughout the month of June.