Eating clean is a lifestyle, and although you may indulge in junk foods every once in a while, you will want to avoid them for the most part. This can be difficult in our food-saturated culture.
Here are a few ideas and tips on how to overcome your junk food cravings when they hit you.
Keep Healthy, Convenient Food on Hand
One of the big allures of junk food is that you can usually grab it easily and eat it without a second thought.
By keeping healthy foods on hand that are both easy and tasty, you can avoid the urge to grab something fast.
Fruit can satisfy a sweet tooth. I wash all of mine the day I do my groceries, before they go in fridge…. As I don’t want my son grabbing ones I haven’t yet washed, but you can wash a few pieces at a time and store them on the counter so that you can eat them immediately when hunger hits you – if this works better for you!
Keep other easy clean items on hand, such as nuts and even items you have previously baked and stored in the freezer, ready to be eaten. When you meal prep, make an extra serving and keep a variety of these healthy frozen meals ready to be used when you don’t have time to prepare one.
Don’t Let Yourself Get Too Hungry
Going too long between meals can be a bad idea when trying to eat well.
A person who feels like they are starving is much less likely to make wise food choices than someone who is prepared and just beginning to detect the feeling of hunger. Eat your meals at a consistent time and you will find yourself better able to resist temptation.
Have Substitutes for Your Biggest Temptations
Speaking of temptations, we all have certain junk foods that have a strong appeal to us personally. Choose a substitute, and keep it on hand to enjoy when you are feeling the pull of the unhealthier version.
For example if chocolate is your weakness – make frozen chocolate cups out of ingredients such as almond butter, coconut oil, cacao (not cocoa!) powder, vanilla and honey. Mix and put into tiny silicone freezer molds so that when you want that specific chocolate taste, you can pop one or two out, enjoy, and feel the craving pass.
Indulge Occasionally
Because eating clean is a lifestyle and not a “diet”, there will be occasional times when you indulge in what you are really craving.
Listen to your body and keep these times to a minimum, but don’t feel you need to cut them out completely!
Have a small piece of apple pie, a scoop of ice cream or a single serving of potato chips and eat them slowly and mindfully. Enjoy your treat and then carry on without any feelings of guilt or shame, that may sabotage your eating goals.
Drink a Glass of Water
Often when we feel hungry and when we are craving various foods, we are actually thirsty and dehydrated.
Keep a timer on your phone reminding you to drink water, or fill a jug and sip on it throughout the day. If you feel a craving, promise yourself that you will first drink two full glasses of water. By the time you are done, the craving may have passed.
When you have a craving, it is often a signal that you are not functioning in total balance. Check all of your lifestyle habits.
Ask yourself whether you are getting enough sleep, or if your craving might be boredom or your body’s reaction to not getting enough exercise. If you have a craving, there are many steps you can take which can reduce or eliminate it. Try a few of them next time the feeling hits you.
If you enjoyed this article but feel like emotional eating is taking over your life, I would love to personally invite you to my free FB group “Find Freedom from the Scales with Mind Body Eating”. This is a space where I ask for your commitment to being open, honest and interactive, as these are the keys to your success in overcoming emotional eating, by sharing your journey and having other like-minded women share theirs.
Looking forward to seeing you in the group and helping you achieve a life that feels effortless and where you are in control of food and it no longer controls you.
Much Love,
Nat xx
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