What are comfort foods?
How To Beat Food Cravings?
Hi, guys, This is dr.Fox from the Fox's Power Basement.
Please, like and subscribe.
Cravings are inevitable, especially when you diet.
When you limit your intake of foods, you feel you want them even more.
The extent of your cravings depends on how severe the changes to your eating habits.
Achieving weight-loss success means finding a way to cope with your cravings.
First we have to understand food cravings, and what comfort foods are.
The phrase "comfort food" has been around at least as early as 1966.
This broad term is often defined as any food that a person uses to feel better.
Usually, some universal things come to mind: ice cream, mashed potatoes, French fries,
and other simple, often indulgent meals or snacks.
When you're under pressure, your body releases the hormone cortisol, which signals your brain
to seek out rewards.
Comfort foods loaded with sugar and fat basically apply the brakes to the stress system
by blunting this hormone.
When you reach for food in response to negative feelings such as anger or sadness, you inadvertently
create a powerful connection in your brain.
One popular myth is that people crave certain foods to fill a nutritional deficiency.
It's a naive view that cravings represent wisdom of the body.
Research has shown that people have cravings
even with a diet that's adequate in calories and nutrients.
Gender seem to play a big role.
Men are more likely to crave pizza and pasta, while women tend to want hassle-free snacks,
such as candy, cookies, ice cream, and chocolate.
Certain emotions, including stress, sadness, and boredom, can promote cravings.
But happy moods might be even more likely culprits.
In a survey of about 1,000 Americans, 86% craved comfort foods when they were happy,
and 74% had cravings when they wanted to celebrate or reward themselves.
Only 52% had cravings when they were bored and 39% when they were sad or lonely.
How to beat food cravings?
Willpower isn't the answer.
These urges are fueled by feel-good brain chemicals such as dopamine, released when
you eat these types of foods, which creates a rush of euphoria
that your brain seeks over and over.
What you need is a plan that stops this natural cycle, and helps prevent unwanted weight gain.
It's my opinion that comfort foods do not really comfort you, since you keep on wanting
them more and more, over and over again.
If you're on a diet, don't exaggerate the caloric deficit.
If you're eating fewer than 1000 calories a day or restricting an entire food group,
like carbs, you're putting your body in prime craving mode.
Even just 3 days of strict dieting
decreases levels of the appetite-reducing hormone leptin by 22%.
Exaggerated or too severe self-imposed food rules often backfire.
Drink water when cravings strike.
Water is an effective appetite suppressant.
When your body tries telling you it's hungry for a certain food, drink a glass of water
and wait 10 minutes.
Your hunger and craving should go away.
Eat the food you crave, but less often.
You should never tell yourself you cannot have a certain food again, but instead you
should learn to control or manage your craving rather than think of food as forbidden.
Making certain foods off-limits can lead to obsessing and bingeing.
Continually eating the food you crave only strengthens the habit.
But going cold turkey is not a good idea either.
Feeling deprived of a favorite food often backfires, and you end up eating too much.
So try to fit a little bit into your calories and macros once in a while.
Use portion control.
Allow yourself to have a food, but do it in a portion-controlled way.
For example, don't keep tempting food at home, because it's too easy to eat excessive amounts.
Instead, go out for one scoop of ice cream or one slice of pizza.
Portion out a serving.
If you don't have the energy to fight the craving, try this trick: Before you dig in,
dole out a small amount of the food you want on a plate and put the rest away.
Trick yourself.
If portion control doesn't work for you, especially if tempting foods are on hand, hide the food
in the back of a cupboard; don't keep it on a kitchen counter or in plain sight.
Sometimes, when my wife and children are eating something that I can impossible fit into my
calories and macros, I just tell them "I don't want to see it".
Substitute a healthier food.
You may be dying for that chocolate ice cream, but eating something that's healthier will
eliminate that craving almost as effectively.
For instance, eating soft curd cheese might satisfy you as much as if you did splurge
on the ice cream.
The sense of satisfaction might not happen immediately or even in 5 minutes, but it will
kick in 15 to 20 minutes later.
Just make sure to eat an amount equal to the volume of the desired food.
Another thing I personally do is eat everyday 30grams of black 85% chocolate, sweetened
with Stevia, which is much healthier and lower in calories than the very sweet milk chocolate
I used to eat in almost unlimited amounts, a few years ago,
when my bodyfat % was much higher.
That way I know I get the taste of chocolate everyday,
but in a much healthier and controlled manner.
Do something else.
Distract yourself with a non-food-related activity until the craving goes away.
This could be taking a walk, doing some pushups or calling a friend.
Cravings are fleeting, so they'll diminish or go away within an hour, if not sooner.
But don't wait it out passively.
An activity that's "somewhat absorbing" will help you resist.
Another good idea, especially when a food craving strikes as a reaction to emotional
stress is to put some upbeat music on.
This provides a distraction and an emotional release.
Make a plan.
The most dangerous cravings are the ones that are chronic and repetitive.
Let's say that on most days, around a certain hour, you crave a specific comfort food.
It's better to have a plan in that case.
Make sure to have low calorie, healthy alternative on hand, ready to eat when the craving strikes.
Or make it routine to take a walk at that time.
If your cravings occur at specific times of the day,
align your exercise routines with these times.
Cut back on processed foods.
Processed foods contain excess sugar, sodium and fat, which increase your dependence on
unhealthy foods.
Reducing your consumption of processed and frozen foods and increasing your intake of
natural fruit sugars can reduce your cravings while dieting.
Get enough sleep.
Research showed that a few sleepless nights were enough to drop levels of the hormone
leptin, which signals satiety, by 18% and boost levels of ghrelin, an appetite trigger,
by about 30%.
Those two changes alone caused appetite to kick into overdrive, and cravings for starchy
foods like cookies and bread jumped 45%.
As said in a previous video, going earlier to bed not only provides you with more hours
of sleep, but also prevents watching television and
being tempted to overeat on high-calorie snacks.
If you do have to watch a certain movie or television show, watch it in your basement
or bedroom so you're far away from the kitchen full of snacks.
The brain loves routine.
Seemingly innocent routines, such as eating cookies or popcorn while watching TV, create
powerful associations.
Have some caffeine.
It can help you get through the day without any high-calorie pick-me-ups.
It's a good short-term fix until you get back on track.
Picture yourself healthy.
Try following "stop technique": Every time the food you crave pops into your head,
think, Stop!
Then, picture a healthy image of yourself, lean and fit.
After a while, your brain will dismiss the food image and the craving will subside.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
Please, like and subscribe.
For more infomation >> What To Do With The Kids On Mid-Winter Recess - Duration: 1:34. 
For more infomation >> [한글자막] What The Duck The Series Ep.14 - Duration: 32:33. 
For more infomation >> [Português \ Español] What The Duck - The Series - Episódio 13 - Duration: 46:11. 
For more infomation >> Teacher Just Dropped MASSIVE Admission After Florida School Shooting About What She Saw! - Duration: 6:10. 
For more infomation >> What does stateliness mean? - Duration: 0:34. 
For more infomation >> What's Your Story: Crooked Creek - Duration: 3:16. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét