When you think about cravings, do any of the below sound familiar?

• Recurrent failure to resist impulses — “No, I shouldn’t….. but I MUST… but I’m trying to lose weight.. but… okay just this one time!”
• Resorting to distress, anxiety, restlessness or violence (haha!) if unable to engage in the behavior at times — “JUST HAND OVER THE CHOCOLATE AND NOBODY GETS HURT!”
• Hiding the substance — “I’m only putting these here so… my dog… doesn’t get to them….”
• Guilt and shame — “I can’t control myself — these cookies speak to me!”
• Blaming — “Why did you buy these?! You know I can’t control myself! It’s your fault I ate all of them! Are you TRYING to make me fat?!”
• Defensiveness — Whilst shoving chips and quac into your face… “Maybe you should slow down, honey?” — “ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT?!”
• Isolation — “No one loves me… At least I have you, cookie.”

..and so on.

Those, by the way, are symptoms of addiction. Google “symptoms of addiction” sometime.

One of the first things I learned when I first started my weight loss journey was the addictive power of refined carbohydrates (from my uncle’s book).

For me personally, as soon as I realized that I did have somewhat of an addictive relationship to certain foods (bread and sweets, mostly), I found it easier to break away from them. If anything, it put them in a different light. I couldn’t really say, “Well other people eat them and don’t get fat” anymore. Who was I kidding with that anyways?

So, getting straight to it…what can you do about it? This is what I suggest:

1. Make sure you are well-fed with nutritious foods. If you’re hungry or malnourished in anyway, you’ll be much more likely to have cravings. When I first started my weight loss, I intentionally stuffed myself with healthy foods so as to avoid potential cravings… and it worked. This was probably the most successful way of reducing cravings.
2. Do the “48 Hour Detox” that my uncle recommends in his book, “The Power of Your Metabolism” (by Frank Suarez). If you find you have a really tough time with craings, consider taking the supplements he recommends as part of that detox as well. Some people do fine without them — some don’t.
3. Consider taking supplements. From what I’ve read, if you’re body is deficient in certain minerals / nutrients, you’ll be more likely to crave certain foods. There are even some supplements in particular that help with cravings, like L-Glutamine.
4. Reduce your intake of starchy, sugary or refined carbohydrates, natural or not. When you eat foods that produce a lot of glucose (blood sugar), it will make you more likely to crave it again sooner than later. Also, with refined carbohydrates (bread, pasta, cookies — processed carbohydrates, basically) in particular, they do not last very long in your body as a source of energy (maybe 2-3 hours)… so you’ll likely find yourself hungry or craving more shortly after your meal. Try eating mostly meats and non-starchy vegetables, and keeping your starchy, sugary or refined carbohydrates to a minimum (as with the 2x1 or 3x1 Diet).
5. Reduce any stress in your life. Stress creates a bit of a hormonal chaos in your body and will make you crave sweets and carbs, so anything you can do to reduce or remove the source of stress will help!
6. Do not — I repeat, DO NOT — have a sugary or refined carbohydrate as a snack. It seems like the more that you eat sugars and refined carbs, the more your body will ask for it. If you are truly hungry, have a high-protein, low carb snack. Some of my favorites are: string cheese, greek yogurt (with stevia and cinnamon usually), chicken, salami, nuts, etc.
7. Drink enough water. There has been the occasional not-sure-if-I’m-hungry-or-not moment where just drinking water completely handled my hunger. Give it a try… and if you’re still hungry, eat a high-protein, low-carb snack. (Disclaimer: NO, I am not suggesting starving yourself or replacing actual hunger with drinking water. Come on now.)
8. Last but not least… practice discipline. Considering that some foods can, in fact, have some addictive power, you may have to use some good ol’ fashion discipline to stop from eating them. This includes not having it readily available (as in, DON’T go grocery shopping when you’re hungry!). Fill your fridge with healthier options. This also includes just NOT having it, despite what your body is telling you. If you need to, always have some high-protein, low-carb snacks to hand just in case. With practice, you’ll find yourself naturally reaching for healthier options….but there is some practice involved.

Here’s the thing… it’s totally okay to have the occasional cookie, pie or whatever it is that you like. But if you’re hiding cookies under your bed or WWIII erupts from your not being able to have whatever it is, then that needs to be addressed as well.

Oh, and here’s a BONUS tip for you:

Try to find some healthier options to the foods you crave most. For example, I love pizza but the bread is a deal-breaker for me. So what do I eat instead? Cauliflower crust pizza (my recipe here) — there’s even a zucchini crust pizza (just Google that for now until I have my own recipe)!

Or, if you’re addicted to Peanut Butter (yes, it deserves to be capitalized), try natural, unsweetened peanut butter instead (or make your own at home with stevia).

There are so many healthier alternatives, you’d be surprised (I was). You just have to look! In the meantime, I’ll try to work up some more recipes so that you don’t have to go searching for them!

Suggestions? Or did you see a typo that’s driving you nuts? Email me at weightlossjules86@gmail.com