5 Ways to Overcome Unhealthy Cravings !!

One of the main things i struggled in losing weight is food factor. I would do all the workouts diligently but i did not control what was on my plate. Because of that i did not see any weight loss and slowly lost my motivation. Once I learnt how to control my food intake and overcome unhealthy temptations, there was no looking back.

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What works for me is 80-20 rule. I eat as clean as possible on the weekdays from Monday to Friday and have one cheat meal on weekends. This includes me working out 5-6 days a week and aiming for at-least 30 minutes walk/run everyday.

Today i would like to list down top 5 tips and tricks that worked for me to overcome unhealthy cravings -
1) Remove Temptations :

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Do not stock on unhealthy food in your house which could cause temptations. Instead refrain from purchasing them or buy when you want it. This supports the idea of being out of sight out of mind. If the cravings are no longer in front of you, chances are you may forget about them in few days. I loved eating potato chips earlier and would stock them at my place. So whenever i get to see, i would pop a few of them even when i was not hungry. But once i realized how unhealthy they were, i just stopped purchasing them. The first few days are always the hardest, and you cannot completely eliminate your old cravings. But the longer you avoid your trigger foods, the less likely you may be to want them.

2) Chew on your food :

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 This should be ranked as the number 1 tip that actually helped me. I got this tip from one of my friends. The idea is to chew each mouthful about 30 times before swallowing. For people like me who feel hungry all the time, chewing each mouthful for 30 times prevented over-eating by giving the brain more time to receive signals from the stomach that it is full. So when my stomach is full, i am less likely to be tempted by cravings.

3) Drink more water :

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This will just make you less hungry, and gives you plenty of energy. Many a times especially in the evenings, i would start feeling hungry. This is weird as i just had my tea about 1 hour back. Previously i would consider it as time for snacks and gorge onto a sandwich. But these days as i began to understand my body, i first drink a glass of water and wait for 15 minutes. If i am still hungry, i go for a fruit. In most cases, i stopped feeling hungry after drinking the water.

4) Distract myself :

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If i need only potato chips then it is craving for chips and not actually hunger. This craving lasts for a short time. We should not let ourselves be controlled by the cravings. Instead we should learn to distract our mind by going for a small walk, listening to music or speaking to someone.

5) Indulge yourself within limits :

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 I follow the 80-20 rule here. I always make it a point to have a cheat meal in the weekends. We mostly have it during our date nights. But i make it a point that although i indulge in the temptations i have it within limits. By doing so, i learnt to get control over my body and treat my body with the success by having temptations.

Linking with Jill and Jessica for the awesome theme !!