Crush your cravings! How to stop unexpected food cravings from trashing your diet.
by: Beverly Johnson

The easiest way to sabotage even the best laid diet plans is with an untimely craving.

Even if you eat right all week, just one cookie binge can pack on the lost pounds in minutes.
Put your cravings on hold with these simple, yet effective craving crushers!

It's easy enough to talk about how you shouldn't eat pizza, donuts or sweet snack foods; but it you are constantly being reminded of them every five minutes...well, how can you realistically be expected to say no.

The simple solution is this: Don't allow snack foods into your home. Get rid of the ones you do have.

Dejunk your kitchen drawers of all Chinese resteraunt menus, pizza coupons, and grocery sale papers. Nothing sparks sudden hunger pains like seeing actual food! It's a natural response. Deal with the triggers before they deal with you.
 

Another way to keep temptation away from you?
Hit the OFF button during the TV during commericals.

The pizza place can't sell you that extra large pizza with piled high toppings if you can't see their ad. Simple as that.
 
Fight cravings with a full stomach.
If you feel full, your body won't even bother to "produce" cravings, no matter what it sees in front of it.

Fill your stomach (twice daily) with whole wheat or bran cereal. The bran fiber will swell gently causing your body to think that you're full and letting you eat the less filling, lower calorie "diet" foods you need to lose weight.

To eat less, you have to eat more! Begin each meal with soup or salad, just like they do it in the resteraunts. Not only will it take away that empty feeling sooner, you'll find that you don't get hungry for things you know you shouldn't be eating.

Fill your stomach with the things you should eat and you won't have room for the ones you shouldn't.
Opt for high fiber cereals, grapes, peaches, banana's, and any other high fiber fruits. The fiber will fill you up, while the natural sugar gives your craving the temporary fix it was looking for.

Make it your goal to eat a small nutritious, balanced meal every two to three hours, with a fruit snack in between. . Not only will it help balance out your blood sugar level, you'll find that you have more energy and are less sluggish than after those mammoth catch all "supper type meals".

Don't skip breakfast. You can't really expect to resist that craving for a egg bacon cheese bagel if you haven't eaten anything since 6 PM last night. Don't set yourself up for failure. Grab a banana, hand full of grapes, bowl of cereal and some yogurt and give yourself a good start on your day. Taking five minutes for yourself now, can keep you on the right track nutritionally all day.
 
 

Never bring pots and pans to the table, as this only encourages over eating --buffet style! Fill your plate once with the selection of foods you want and then let it go. Once you're done, leave the table.

If you have instant and ready access to unlimited foods you may "crave" additional servings you just don't need.

Don't skip meals! The ever so popular "Skipping meals as a way of losing weight" is just another form of the Starvation diets and never the answer to permanant weight loss. Most times this will only cause your weight to balloon up even higher once the starvation diet ends.  There are easier ways to cut calories than simply doing without.

Replace high calorie, (sugary) foods like soda, fruit juice and sweets with more naturally sweet fruit alternatives. 

If you find that you have particular times of the day that you end up giving into cravings, you might consider a mild appetite suppressant, like Hoodia Gordinii, that has no known side effects to help you dodge the hurdles of fast food joints.

Get a life! Seek out new hobbies and friends.
Isolation, boredom and loneliness are usually the biggest culprits of weight gain.

Reverse the process and get out there and mingle. If you don't have friends. Make some. If you don't like your job and it makes you so depressed you feel like snacking all the time, get another job that makes you happy. If you're lonely, fall in love! Let yourself be happy. Give yourself permission to live. It's your life! Enjoy it.

With a few simple changes to your current menu plan, a little will power and good support system, you're well on your way to a slimmer waist line. It won't happen overnight. But, the smug satisfaction that you get when you can finally slip into your skinny jeans will make the wait, worthwhile.