Why Do You Get Sudden Food Cravings, & How Should You Manage That?

Food cravings – How many of you have done this before, midnight sneaks for food, or gorging on to chips and snacks midnight or just sat there ordering food online and waiting like never before.

We all know the importance of food in our lives. There are some of us who are big foodies and just love to hog on to new cuisines all the time.

But we all are aware of the fact that overeating or eating junk can make you grow on your weight really fast and hence leading to a lot of physical problems that can slowly lead to mental illness too.

Table of Contents:

• Why food cravings?
• How you really can avoid your overeating
• Drink water and stay hydrated
• Workout or exercise
• Make a planned meal schedule
• Avoid getting extremely hungry
• Practicing mindful eating
• Sleeping properly

Some scientists say that food cravings last up to 5 minutes and not more.

There are some random days when we wish to eat something sweet or some fries, such hunger pangs are very common but fulfill all the food desires is not a good sight for the body.

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Food cravings are very common and you must fulfill them because we live only once.

But you also need to keep a track on the consumption of sweet, salty or junk that makes your mouth water but starts to build upon your stomach, thighs and all over the body.

Why food cravings?

Have you ever wondered why do you have cravings and sometimes they are so strong that they made you feel weak if not consumed?

Not one but there are many reasons why your body demands a specific sort of food. Here is why;

• 1] Leptin resistance, our body produces the hormone leptin that usually suppressed the appetite and tells our brain when the body is full. The problem arises when persistence flow of leptin tricks our brain and makes it feel hungry even when the stomach is not. This is caused because of body fat when in excess. Greater the fat, greater the leptin produced. Yet another reason can be the over-consumption of sugar. Sugary food triggers fat cells to release more leptin.

• 2] Food addiction, most of us have a mad addiction to food. Sugary and salty food tends to increase endorphins levels in the body. These hormones help us feel relaxed and stress-free and hence when consumed sugary or salty food we feel good. There are tendencies where one might overeat too.

• 3] Emotional triggering or imbalance, this is very common especially in youth nowadays. Emotional imbalances, stress, boredom, low self-esteem, sadness, negativity for self or people around them so on and forth makes you eat more. It is important to eat right and maintain your health.

Now that we know the causes of these random hunger pangs let us discuss how to reduce them and avoid hunger pangs or overeating.

Here is how you really can avoid your overeating and sudden food cravings;

1] Drink water and stay hydrated:

It is important to know your body. Food is important for the body to function but you also need to know when to eat and what to avoid.  There are a lot of food items that do not do any justice to your body but add up to the existing problems.

The best way to avoid hunger pangs and food cravings are to drink water. Consume a glass of water whenever you feel hungry. Being thirsty or dehydrated can also lead to unwanted food cravings. Drinking water helps you stay hydrated and keeps the cravings away throughout the day.

2] Workout or exercise:

Not many of us know this but working out or exercising can make you feel a lot more healthy and happy about self.

Majority of our problems starts with the body being overweight. There are a lot of people who are low on self-esteem because of their weight. Exercising can help you reduce weight and also make you feel better about yourself. This in turns helps the hormones to function properly and avoids the unnecessary hunger pangs. Hormones fluctuation may cause hunger pangs.

3] Make a planned meal schedule:

Remember how we made a timetable for studies, do the same but replace it with food.

Making a schedule can really help you to stay away from consuming extra food. Decide on the types of meals and the number of meals per day.

If you prefer having small meals then you can go with 4-5 meals per day and if you prefer having full meals then you can stick with 3 meals per day. Also remember, it is always good to eat in installments as having heavy meals makes you feel lazy and drowsy and hence leading to naps sometimes. This will only add up to the existing weight and food issues.

4] Avoid getting extremely hungry:

By this we mean do not kill the hunger always. The human body needs food to sustain and eating at regular intervals is good. Skipping meals and overeating, later on, is not the solution for the cravings.

You can have healthy snacks with you to keep yourself away from extreme hunger pangs. Staying hungry for a longer period of time will only add up to the problem.

5] Practicing mindful eating:

This is not how tough it sounds. By mindful eating we mean you just have to keep a count on your calories. For example, if you have consumed a sweet in lunch then try skipping it in dinner or if you have had a pack of chips as snacks then try to balance that with something that is stomach filling and healthy too.

It is important to stay away from distractions while eating. TV or mobiles may capture your attention making you eat more than required. Also, when you chew, chew slowly and thoroughly.

6] Sleeping properly:

Irregular sleeping habits are most common in youngsters and adults. They are so preoccupied with social media and chatting that they forget sleeping.

This directly affects your appetite and makes you eat more or gives you food cravings. Good sleep is one of the best ways to avoid cravings.

Other than this you can also try some meditation and other mindful exercises to stay healthy and avoid overeating.

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Next Read:

• 10 Ways You Can Fight Against Food Cravings
• Curbing Your Food Cravings
• Craving Chocolates While Trying To Lose Weight?
• Why Do Food Cravings Happen & How To Conquer Them?