We all get them…those cravings that make you temporarily lose any desire to stick to your transformation goals. You know the feeling—all of a sudden you just HAVE to have ________ {you fill in the blank}. So what can you do when those cravings strike? Here are ten simple ways to crush those cravings once and for all:
1. Drink at least one tall glass of water when you first feel that craving creeping in. Sometimes when we think we;re hungry, we;re actually thirsty, so quenching that thirst can help control those cravings.
Some Water Bottles I Love:
2. Eat more veggies. These powerhouse foods are super low in calories and high in nutrients, and they can definitely make you feel fuller! Make sure you have your faves prepped and ready to go for whenever and wherever those cravings hit. You can also “volumize” your meals—and get a head start on those hungry feelings later in the day—by adding extra veggies to your meals.
3. Chew sugar-free mint-flavored gum, eat a sugar-free breath mint, or put a dab of toothpaste on your tongue. The mint flavor can actually suppress your appetite, and it tastes quite refreshing too. 😉
4. Eat 5 meals a day—spaced every three hours—like we do in carb cycling. Don’t even give your tummy a chance to get hungry! Better yet, include a serving of protein—and eat it first—with each of those 5 meals.
5. Make sure your breakfast carb is as high in fiber as possible. This will help slow down your digestion so you’ll feel fuller much longer!
6. If it’s a low-carb day, when you’re more likely to crave those carbs, eat a little fat. Yes, you read that right. Eat one tablespoon of your favorite healthy fat (like almond butter, for example), set a timer for 15 minutes, and Voila! That craving should disappear.
7. Call/text a supportive friend. Often, this person can talk you off of that craving-laden ledge! 🙂
8. Rid your house of your favorite cravings—if they’re not in your house, you won’t eat them. Likewise, stay clear of places where you can find these foods and take an alternate route if you must. If you don’t go there, you won’t eat there!
9. Know what situations trigger your cravings. Boredom? Stress? ______? Put a plan in place of activities you can do—besides feeding that craving—so you’ll know how to handle these situations without resorting to food.
10. If none of these work, and you’re hitting desperation mode, try one of these as a last resort:
- A small handful of almonds, then 1 to 2 cups of water
- 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter, then 1 to 2 cups of water
- 1 stick of string cheese, then 1 to 2 cups of water
- 1 tablespoon of avocado, then 1 to 2 cups of water
Bonus tip: If that craving is one for the record books and none of these options work, try one of these three delicious 100-calorie liquid treats:
- Root beer float: Ice-cold diet root beer + 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Coconut water: 1 cup warm water + 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Bulletproof coffee: 1 cup coffee + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Word of warning: Each one of these carry a 100-calorie impact, so only use these as a very, very last resort, limit yourself to one a day, and sip on it slowly—make it last as long as possible!
So give one (or all, if necessary) of these a try when your next craving rears its ugly head, because as we all know, caving into those cravings can definitely be a huge roadblock to your transformation success!
Xoxo,
Heidi
Craving more awesome transformation tips like these? (Sorry…just couldn’t resist). 😉 Get many, many more in our new book, Extreme Transformation, on stands now, and get daily workouts and nutrition in our new app!
Related reading:
Emotional Eating: How to Take Control Once and for All
Combating That Time of the Month
It Really Is All About the Promise
Ask the Powells: How Can I Structure My Meals?
I Cheat Every Day
81 Responses
Butter with coffee?
Butter with coffee?
Heidi,
I recently bought the book and read it through. Two questions I can’t seem to find answers to.
1. The recommended meals for each day, is that all we eat or should we be adding sides to it? Overall are we suppose to be counting calories?
2. How does carb cycling work if you are diabetic? Or should you just stay away from it all together?
Hi Mikky: Let’s get you some answers to your questions: 1. If you’re following the 21-day meal plan, you can add veggies to your meals if you’d like to, and if you’re following this plan, your calories are already counted for you – you’ll just need to track any veggies you add to your meals. 2. Carb cyclng can work for diabetics, we just recommend you discuss the program with your healthcare team first and then follow any modifications they might recommend. Here’s a post that might help: https://heidipowell.net/5078/ask-heidi-anything-im-diabetic-which-plan-should-i-follow/. You can do this!
But how do you cut the craving for pizza?!? 😉
You eat pizza. And then feel like crap. Ha! I just did this… moments ago.
I
Hi Whitney: That can be a tough one! ? On Chris and Heidi’s carb cycling program, there are cheat/reward/reset meals and days built into the program that allow you to include all those foods you love – even pizza – into your week. Learn more here: https://heidipowell.net/2713. Hope that helps!
On a high carb day, you can make a delicious gluton-free vegan pizza, topped with a giant heap of raw spinach or rocket (I think you call it arugula in the US?) & sprinkle some flax oil on top & ground pepper. If you eat meat, some chicken on top too ?
HA! This totally worked! I have some no oil roasted pumpkin seeds on hand that certainly did the trick on my late afternoon carb craving. Thanks Heidi!!!
My 16 year old daughter asked for a treat of Cheetos. after eating clean and healthy with me for the whole summer. I thought she was convinced so I was a little disappointed. but threw the Cheetos in the cart. She opened the bag and stuffed in a mouthful….and spit it out in the parking lot! She said “Mom, these taste disgusting! Try one!” I bit into one….tasted like sawdust and felt sticky and dirty in my mouth. Love it!!!
This is awesome! And yay! for you for letting her figure it out for herself. 🙂
I have a good one for decreasing cravings or a party where there’s food out Three or so sprays of Listerine breath spray in your mouth and throat. NOTHING will taste good!
My worst crave is for dark chocolate. I have a bag of the Dove dark chocolate or a bag of dark chocolate Hershey kisses stored out of sight. If a craving hits, I eat just one piece of the chocolate. Crave solved and I don’t go overboard and eat too much of it. Still losing weight in spite of it. I have found that eating just the one chocolate once or twice a week is all that is needed for me.
One side note, this meal plan is having a huge effect. After about a month, both hubby and I are finding that foods we used to like no longer taste good or satisfies us. In fact, we both started feeling sick after only two weeks of eating clean foods when we strayed off plan. Now, if I should get some KFC chicken, for example, all I taste is the grease. Yuck!!! We are both losing weight and getting more fit.
Hiiii
I would like to know, if it’s possible to have this website in French?
Because my husband and me are very interested to follow this program???
Thx
I’m so sorry, but we’re not able to do that. You might try copying and pasting posts into a translation program (like Google Translate).
Is it normal to only Lose 1 pound per week? I’m only trying to lose 10 pounds . I follow the plan exact and exercise . (Classic carb cycling)
Your rate of weight loss can depend on how many pounds you want to lose, and the fewer the pounds, the slower the rate of weight loss. 1-2 pounds a week is a really good rate for wanting to lose 10 pounds – so keep doing what you’re doing!