Train your brain to conquer cravings

Over Eatingby Fred Pescatore, M.D.

When it comes to eating right, your best ally is within you. No, that’s not some new-age drivel. The fact is, you can actually train your brain to deny cravings (or, at least, translate cravings for unhealthy food into healthier choices).

This is a topic I’ve brought up before, but new research makes it even more compelling… a new study I read examined the question of what happens to your cravings when you don’t give in to them.

The authors in this study, called “How Non-Consumption Shapes Desire,” concluded that the longer someone goes without something they crave, the weaker the desire for it becomes.

So, “Out of sight, out of mind,” clearly isn’t just a cliché. But there is a catch…

Simple swaps could put the junk food industry out of business

This “Jedi mind trick” only works if you’re able to find a satisfying alternative to the things you’re craving.

The researchers found that cravings actually get stronger in people who don’t seek out a substitute.

I’m sure the big corporate behemoths that produce America’s beloved junk food by the ton are going to put on their heavy-duty earmuffs and ignore this study.

Because if they really took it to heart, they’d realize it could turn their entire industry on its ear. You see, their marketing campaigns directly target cravings…and they build entire campaigns out of creating desire for their products.

Remember the whole Twinkies™ fiasco? Hostess briefly “retired” them (a very happy period, in my book). But just a few months later came the headlines trumpeting their return. “They’re finally back! You’ve been craving them!”

The whole advertising campaign played on the very concepts of “non-consumption and desire.” Only they used it in reverse—increasing desire by reminding people that Twinkies were gone.

This is where “training your brain” would have come in handy. If people had found a substitute that satisfied those Twinkie twinges, well, then they wouldn’t have felt the need to rush out and re-stock their pantries with them when they made their comeback.

But you don’t have to wait for your favorite junk foods to disappear from store shelves to find healthy alternatives for them.

In fact, this can be one of the most fun parts of adopting a healthy new lifestyle.

Forget about “deprivation”

Think about the things you love to eat…and then figure out ways to make them better for you.

In other words, forget the idea of “deprivation.” Thinking about what you “can’t” have will only make you miserable and feed those cravings. Instead, focus on shifting your cravings in the right direction.

Visualize all of the wonderfully indulgent foods you CAN enjoy (and still lose weight)—things like juicy burgers dripping with cheese and southern fried chicken with crispy skin. (You can find recipes like these—and many more—in my special report Dr. Fred’s Decadent Diet-Free Recipes. Click here for details on how to get your free copy.)

Also, remember: food is just that. Food. It’s what your body needs to survive. Nothing more. Don’t give it any other meaning in your life than that.

Don’t get me wrong—I think it’s important to enjoy your meals. But if you’re turning to food for comfort, for validation, or for any reason other than sustenance, you’ll only wind up hungrier than ever.

So, if you find yourself craving a bag of chips, a cookie, or a pizza, take a deep breath and make a conscious choice not to give in. Try a handful of nuts, some celery dipped in peanut butter, or a few slices of deli meat and some cheese instead. Any one of these will keep you feeling satisfied far longer than what you were originally craving.

And remember, practice makes perfect. Developing new habits isn’t easy, but I will be here to help you every step of the way. (In fact, I’m getting ready to release a brand-new protocol to help people eat better, live better, and embrace metabolic health. I’ll share more details in the coming weeks.)

Three more tips to keep cravings at bay

I know denying your cravings isn’t always easy. It can make you downright cranky. Believe me, I’ve been there.

So here are a few more things I’ve found that are great for keeping cravings at bay:

  1. Stay hydrated. Drink lots of water throughout your day.
  2. Keep moving. Even a little exercise can go a long way in reducing your cravings. I’m not talking about working up a sweat or spending hours in the gym. A walk around the block will do. The idea here is that when you’re moving, your brain is otherwise occupied and there’s simply no room for those cravings. And you’ll be surprised how long the effect lasts.
  3. Try glutamine.This amino acid is my go-to rescue remedy for all sorts of things. It provides energy to your muscles and your brain. And it regulates a number of biological functions, including the synthesis of protein, vitamin B3, and the antioxidant glutathione. It’s also a world-class craving killer, for a few different reasons.

For starters, it’s able to inhibit insulin release, which prevents hard blood-sugar crashes. (The same crashes that often trigger intense cravings.) It also stimulates your body to release stored glucose (called glycogen) in order to get low blood sugar back on track. And finally, glutamine is able to stand in for sugar itself when your body really needs the energy.

In a nutshell, glutamine ensures that your blood sugar never gets low enough that your body hits the panic button. That’s why I recommend glutamine to all my dieting patients—500 mg, three times a day, and whenever you get the urge to stick your head into a box of Mallomars.

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Dr. Fred Pescatore is the author of the New York Times best-selling book, The Hamptons Diet and the No. 1 best-selling children’s health book, Feed Your Kids Well, amongst others. He is the President of the International and American Associations of Clinical Nutritionists, a member of the American College for the Advancement of Medicine, and belongs to many other professional organizations. Earlier in his career, Dr. Pescatore served as the Associate Medical Director of The Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine, working as the right-hand-man to the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins. Today he sees patients at his own practice in Manhattan and writes a monthly newsletter called Logical Health Alternatives, as well as a free e-letter called The Reality Health Check.

SOURCE:

“How non-consumption shapes desire,” Journal of Consumer Research 2014; 41(4): 936