A Battle Plan to Resist Food Cravings

Prior. Proper. Planning. Prevents. Poor. Performance.

A long time ago, I had a boss who taught me that tongue-twister. It can apply to any aspect of life, but my concern here is for weight loss, health, and lifestyle issues.

So, let's get with the plan. First, you have to know what you are up against. Here's the problem:

Our cravings for fat, salt, and sugar started back when humans lived in caves and hunted and gathered for their food. Fat, salt, and sugar were in short supply. So to ensure that we ate adequate supplies of each, we evolved a craving for them. 

Unless you have plan to combat the powerful influences of fat, sugar, and salt, I'm sorry to say: "You are doomed." To illustrate, recently, I saw a TV ad for M&M's. Its tagline was: Salty, sweet: Impossible to resist. If a picture is worth a thousand words, this one speaks volumes.

The food manufacturers of the world know that it is virtually impossible to resist their foods. Because their foods taste great and they spend billions of dollars getting us addicted to them, we are at a distinct disadvantage.

Here are a few tips to assist with your plan.

1. Keep a food journal. For the first week, eat as you normally eat. Write it down - everything. Once you start your lifestyle change, you will be able to compare it to your old ways.

I'm a fan of doing it the old-fashioned way: Write it down on a piece of paper. However, if you'd like to be high-tech and even share the information with the world, use Twitter. Here's a simple Twitter-related site for you - Tweet What You Eat. Here's a sample from a Bariatric doctor who has been doing it for over 200-days.

Be sure to write everything down. Everything!

2. Never skip breakfast. There are many wonderful and healthy breakfasts that you can eat. On a regular basis, I recommend starting the day with a fruit smoothie. There are two reasons: This is a simple way to consume a tremendous amount of fruit and a fruit smoothie is so sweet that it may assist in moving you away from the "bad" sweets - cookies, cake, candy, and other high-sugar treats.

When making a smoothie, use frozen fruit. If time is an issue, make it at night. In the morning, just give it a quick whirl in the blender. Now you can't use the excuse: I'm too busy to make breakfast. Enjoy it while you are sitting in the rush-hour traffic.

3. If you are hungry, eat. Have a snack. A healthy snack should be between 100 - 200 calories. If it has fiber or protein, it will provide the feeling of satiety. Put down that Snickers bar ... now! Here are a few samples of snacks that I indulge in.

Be sure to stay away from unhealthy snacks. Most unhealthy snacks are between 400 - 800 calories. And, they do not provide the feeling of satiety. Of  course, they are loaded with sugar.

4. Know your food weakness(es). Here's one of mine: Ice cream. If I bring a gallon of ice cream into my home, it will be eaten in about three days. So, what's the strategy for food weakness(es)? Enjoy an occasional treat ... outside your home. Do not bring them into the house.

5. Bag the Bag. Do not eat out of a bag or a box. If you do, you will lose track of the number of cookies, crackers, popcorn, or other food that you have eaten. No doubt, you will eat too much. Take 100 - 200 calories worth of the snack out of the bag and place it on a plate. That's your quota for the snack. You should know this; Most snacks in a bag, not all, will not provide the feeling of satiety. 

Here's to a happy and healthy new year. And stay tuned for additional diet, health, and lifestyle tips.

Adapted from Ken Leebow's 101 Incredible Diet, Health, and Lifestyle Tips