Cravings are one of the biggest things that can hamper our weight loss goals.
I know from my own experience that cravings, especially sugar cravings can end up being a vicious cycle. Eat some sugar then feel that you can’t stop – you need that fix.
Cravings can happen for a number of reasons:
- It can be physical. As we get older we can be more prone to sugar cravings, because of fluctuating hormones and a lack of energy (and you know that hunger can strike hard at certain times of the month)
- Emotional eating
- Forming habits that are difficult to break.
How do we deal with these cravings?
1. Emotional eating
Take 5 minutes before you give in to a craving. If you can take a moment to pause and reflect when you’re hit with a craving, you give yourself the opportunity to make a different decision.
Or just start with one minute. Don’t tell yourself you can’t give in to the craving; remember, the forbidden is extremely tempting. Just tell yourself to wait.
While you’re waiting, check-in with yourself. How are you feeling? What’s going on emotionally? Even if you end up eating, you’ll have a better understanding of why you did it. This can help you set yourself up for a different response next time.
Distract yourself with something else. Call someone who always makes you feel better, dance to your favorite song, squeeze a stress ball, take a brisk walk, treat yourself with a hot cup of tea, read a good book, watch TV, or turn to an activity you enjoy.
2. Habit
We form bad habits and it becomes a routine, so we have some kind of cue that causes us to reach for the cookie jar.
For example, this could be making a hot drink, taking a break from your work, or you might have a certain time of day when you have a sugary treat. We need to break this loop and begin to form good habits.
One of the things you can do is make it really difficult to do the ‘bad habit’ so this could be clearing your home of any foods that don’t fit your goals.
Distract yourself with something else. Call someone who always makes you feel better, dance to your favorite song, squeeze a stress ball, take a brisk walk, treat yourself with a hot cup of tea, read a good book, watch TV, or turn to an activity you enjoy.
3. Physical
Ensure that you are getting in food that is high in protein like chicken, fish and beans and slow-release low GI carbs like oatmeal and sweet potato plus some good fats & hormone balancing foods.
The biggest problem I see when it comes to weight loss for women over 40 is not getting nutrition right.
That’s because it’s much harder to lose weight as we get older because of depleting and unbalanced hormones.
I made loads of free recipes on my Youtube channel, feel free to check it out!
