Ep: #20 - How To Curb Your Cravings And Urges For Better Weight Loss Plus 7 Tips You Can Use Today.

Faye Casement Author

Mar 22, 2023 |

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It can be tough to stick to a healthy diet when you're constantly battling cravings and urges.

Cravings and urges can be incredibly strong and often irresistible, leading to overeating and weight gain.

There are ways to curb your cravings and urges and how to avoid giving in to them. In this video/blog post, I'll run through the difference between a craving and an urge, give you some tips on how to handle them.

Are you struggling to stick to your diet because of strong cravings and urges? Why not hit the messenger button and let me know. (Bottom Right!).

In this blog, I am going to cover how cravings and urges differ from one another and offer some tips for dealing with them so you can stay on track with your weight loss.

What is a food craving?

A food craving is a strong, often irresistible desire for a particular type of food. Cravings can be incredibly powerful, and persistent which often leads to overeating and weight gain.

If you're constantly battling cravings, it can be harder to stick to your weight loss plans.

Cravings can happen for a number of reasons emotions such as boredom, stress, or anxiety. They can also be caused by physical factors such as dehydration, low blood sugar, or a lack of certain nutrients.

Some people find that they crave certain foods because those foods trigger the release of feel-good hormones like serotonin. When these hormones are released, it can be difficult to resist eating the foods that triggered them.

Some people also find that they experience cravings at specific times of the day, such as right before bed or in the middle of the night or in certain locations for example my danger zone is the kitchen, and others may have an eating chair in the lounge etc.

Something I have found since having Covid in November is an overwhelming sometimes desire for salt and high flavour food so effectively for crisps! This is something I have become acutely aware of.

It could be helpful to identify what foods you crave and if there is a pattern to it?

So...

What is a food urge?
A food urge is something that comes on suddenly and makes you want to eat anything and everything in sight.

Urges are often associated with emotional states such as stress and can feel intense very quickly.

Urges can also be caused by physical cues such as seeing food or smelling it cooking.

For some people, urges can be so strong that they feel like they have to eat right away or they will "go crazy."

The difference between cravings and urges?
The main difference between a craving and an urge is that a craving is typically for a specific food, while an urge is for any type of food.

Urges can be just as difficult to resist as cravings, but understanding the difference between the two can help you better deal with them.

If you're struggling with food cravings or urges, there are some things you can do to help too.

Tips for dealing with cravings and urges
In the Triple-A-Way Membership, I have a section that helps with this but here are some of the pointers:

1) If you're not sure whether you're experiencing a craving or an urge, try to identify the following:

- What are you feeling?
- What triggered the feeling?
- How intense is the feeling?
- What type of food are you craving?
- Is there a pattern to it?

Once you've identified the difference between a craving and an urge, you can start to develop a plan for how to deal with them.

2) Make sure you're eating in line with your hunger and satisfaction signals eating intuitively helps to keep your blood sugar levels stable. When blood sugar levels drop, it can trigger cravings or urges.

3) If there is an element of emotional eating, try to find other ways to cope with your emotions instead of using food. We talk about sitting with our feelings in the membership. If you allow an urge it will typically pass in a couple of minutes it is about identifying and building in a pause.

4) If there is an environmental trigger, can you change your environment?

5) Are you thirsty? Drink a glass of water. Sometimes, cravings can be caused by dehydration. Drinking a glass of water may help to reduce or eliminate the craving.

6) Try to identify if there is a food nutrient/group you are missing in your diet. Your body could be trying to signal you are in need of something.

7) Use your accountability group - reach out to your peers, talk about what comes up for you, and brainstorm together ways to overcome the things that crop up.

For the members, reading there will be a link in the membership for a handy guide on what your body is trying to tell you.

RECAP

Cravings and urges can be difficult to deal with, but by understanding the difference between the two, you can start to develop a plan for how to deal with them. 

If you're struggling with cravings or urges, there are loads of tips above to get you started.

I hope you found this helpful. If you did, make sure you subscribe to my email list for updates.

If you're interested in learning more about this topic or want help finding a solution and weight loss program that works for you long term, there is space in my diary where we can have a brief chat that could literally change your life!

Join me next week where I will be covering why time management is important for weight loss.

Want to get started on losing weight for the last time? 

Check out the Triple-A-Way Membership HERE.

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Categories: : Weight loss