How many people out there struggle with proper nutrition because of those persistent cravings for all of the bad things? I would say the majority of people end up failing nutritionally because they succumb to those annoying urges to eat that sweet and fatty food. The question is, why do people have these cravings that end up sabotaging there efforts towards good health? Is there a higher power that is secretly laughing at us as we struggle to maintain our weight and looks? Is there some deep seeded physiological need that causes us to desire certain foods? Or is that we are too psychologically weak to suppress the urges? Two of these are probably true and I’ll let you figure out which ones those are.

So what can you do to keep these incessant cravings under control? The good news is that with a little work you should be able to say good bye to those desires for good. I will admit that I am not your typical example of health and fitness. I am probably at the extreme end of the spectrum, but I haven’t really craved any food in years. I guarantee that you too can gain control with a few changes in your nutrition.The place to begin our quest to vanquish those evil cravings that sneak up on you is the actual source, or the foods themselves. In my experience very few people crave vegetables or grilled fish. People always seem to crave the sweets and fatty foods that were produced in some factory somewhere. Hostess, Hershey’s, and Lay’s all have very busy factories trying to keep up with the high demand for their foods. What is it about these foods that make them so irresistible? First off, there is no question they taste good. I will never deny the fact that I enjoy candy bars, ice cream, cheesecake, or any of the other foods that people lust after. However, there is a difference between enjoying their taste and threatening somebody for standing in between you and your food. I will always believe that food manufacturers sole purpose is too make money. We live in a greedy society. Companies will do whatever it takes to make a profit. Of course they will make there foods ultra-sweet and super-tasty. This idea leads to my first opinion on cravings.

Now I am not trying to start conspiracy theories, even though I think there is some legitimacy to them sometimes, but I think companies use certain ingredients to get you hooked and to crave their foods. One of the biggest industries in the world functions off of this idea alone. The tobacco industry wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t very good at getting people addicted to their products. How farfetched is it that other companies might employ the same ideas to sell their products? Who really knows what some of those unpronounceable ingredients are and what they do in your body? I guarantee that a lot of the ingredients are completely foreign to your body and that overtime you begin to crave those ingredients. One ingredient in general is corn syrup or its derivatives. Corn syrup was produced to improve the cost effectiveness of foods, it also happens to be much sweeter than some of the naturally occurring sugars. We begin to enjoy the super-sweetness and in a short period of time we begin to crave foods with it in them. This is just one of many ingredients that probably have this addicting effect. I am always very leery of big business and their attempts to turn a profit.

The next potential cause of food cravings is the psychological and emotional draw people have to certain foods. There is a complete style of food that ties into this idea, comfort foods. People like to eat foods that make them feel good and satisfy certain needs. I know a large percentage of overweight or obese people eat because it fills an emotional or psychological void. Look to a certain Mike Meyers character who said “I eat because I’m unhappy, and I’m unhappy because I eat.” I know this is a comical character but I think there is a lot of truth to that. There is usually some emotional or psychological event or series of events that people try to cover up with the chemical release that certain foods cause. This chemical release has a similar effect that drugs have in that it makes you relax and feel good. This can be a huge debilitating issue that is currently affecting millions of people. Instead of finding more constructive ways to cope with boredom and unhappiness people resort to food. It is a vicious cycle that must be broken.

The next reason people can crave certain foods is because of an actual physiological need for certain foods. I think that this pertains more to women than to men. People have different nutritional needs depending on their overall health and activity level. For women their menstrual cycle plays a big role in food cravings. I’m not suggesting that menstruation causes you to crave a tub of ice cream, but it does cause you to crave certain foods. The food that I have noticed most women crave is red meat. The reason is that the red meat will help replace the iron that women lose during a certain week every month. This is an extremely important craving that women should listen to and satisfy. Both men and women may crave certain foods during or after an illness or after an extended period of strenuous exercise or stress. People’s bodies need certain nutrients to help repair and rebuild after such events. Again these cravings don’t include sweets and most fatty foods. Your bodies need meats, fruits, and vegetables when you are in a weakened state. Don’t take this idea as a pass to start to indulge in your cravings. Use this as a gauge to determine if you might actually need certain foods.

The last, and in my opinion, the biggest issue that causes cravings is blood sugar imbalances. When our blood sugar spikes, and then rapidly drops our bodies will demand certain foods to help stabilize our blood sugar. If the drop in blood sugar is bad enough you can go into a coma and potentially die. Now I know this sounds overly dramatic, but I am just mentioning it to make you aware and draw emphasis to the importance of the point I am trying to make. What causes our blood sugar to spike and drop so dramatically? A large intake of sugar in general at any one time can result in a large increase in blood sugar levels, with a resultant drop in levels. However, there is one kind of food that tends to have a much greater effect, processed foods. This goes back to the idea that companies have put super-sweet additives into foods to make them taste better. Sure they taste better but they destroy your blood sugar balance. Once your blood sugar plummets your body will do anything it can to keep you alive and safe, so it will immediately cause you to crave sweet foods to again, raise your blood sugar. You should be thankful that you have this protective mechanism, but you should also know how to avoid ever having to use it.

Now that you have a little idea of what causes your food cravings, what can you do to keep them under control? This may be shocking to some people, but I think a few simple changes can rid you of the majority of the cravings you have. First of all, you need to eat frequent meals throughout the day. You should never go more than four hours without eating. You are much better off eating every two to three hours. This keeps a constant flow of nutrients into your body, which will allow you to maintain a stable blood sugar level. It will also keep you from feeling hungry, which is when the cravings can hit. My recommendation is to eat anywhere from four to six times throughout the day. It depends on your schedule. This in and of itself will go a long way to help curb your cravings.

I think there has been a little too much emphasis in recent years placed upon carb intake, sugar intake, and all of the other rules of fad diets. I think there are some valid ideas behind these diets, but they are blown way out of proportion. I do think restricting processed carbohydrates and processed sugars is extremely important. Your body doesn’t need those foods to function, so eliminate them from your diet. This will also help you reduce your cravings. I will admit, at first, your cravings might increase. But after a few weeks once your body adapts to the changes your cravings will disappear. When it comes to carb and sugar intake stick to whole, natural foods like vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. I know there are some people that follow the GI (or glycemic index) of certain foods. For me this takes too much thought, so I won’t do it. I guarantee that you will get great results by simply cutting out your processed carbohydrates.

I want to briefly mention caffeine intake and overall quality of sleep. If you either drink large quantities of caffeine or you don’t get enough quality sleep you will suffer from persistent food cravings. I won’t go into great detail on this, just keep it in mind and try to adhere to a low intake of caffeine and get plenty of sleep. If you are going to drink caffeine, limit yourself to a few cups in the mornings and never drink caffeine immediately after a meal. You are asking for trouble if you do that. Moderation will make a big difference and overtime maybe even eliminating caffeine altogether wouldn’t be a bad idea.

I saved, in my opinion, the biggest one for last. You need to increase your consumption of protein and fiber. These two nutrients are extremely hard for your body to digest, making you feel full longer, and also stabilizing your blood sugar for a longer period of time than other foods. In today’s society we have grown accustomed to eating salads, pastas and all sorts of other carbohydrate dense foods that we don’t intake enough protein or fiber. It is extremely important to consume protein every time you eat and you want to try to consume as much fiber as you can within the day. Now it’s not necessary to go overboard with the fiber, your plumber wouldn’t be happy with you. But you should make a concerted effort to get a few good servings of fiber in during the day. By eating whole grains, fruits, and vegetables you should easily consume a good amount of fiber. A little more important than fiber is the protein intake. Protein plays so many vital roles in the body that under consuming it has lots of detrimental effects. Protein helps repair and rebuild muscle, which is extremely important as you try to get back in shape. It will also go a long way to rid you of the never ending cravings. Protein should become the main staple every time you eat, whether it’s a few eggs, a chicken breast, a burger, yogurt, or a handful of nuts you need protein every time you eat.

I mentioned this book in a previous post, but I will mention “The Metabolic Typing Diet” again. As with everything I like to keep it simple, so I don’t think you need to follow the book like it’s the bible, but I do think there are some interesting and beneficial ideas in the book that will go a long way to help control your cravings and in the long run provide the body you always wanted.

I think this is one of my longest posts to date, I hope I didn’t lose anyone. There is just a lot of information to cover, especially with nutrition. Hopefully by applying a few minor changes you can gain control of your urges and get on the track to physical greatness. I promise that some hard work and restraint in the short term will provide tremendous gains in the long run. Stay strong; it will all be worth it. Once you put your mind to something, you would be amazed at what you can achieve.

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