The average American eats healthy only seven days a year … succumbing to too many unhealthy foods the other 358.[i] In case you don’t want to do the math, that means Americans are eating right only about 2 percent of the time.
No doubt, food cravings can be hard to beat. A new study published in the journal Nature even found hunger-sensitive cells in your brain that make snacking virtually irresistible.[ii] The cells, known as AGRP neurons, trigger negative emotions and unpleasant feelings whenever hunger strikes, in essence driving you to eat.
Once you feed your belly, the AGRP neurons are effectively silenced, leaving you feeling better. The study’s lead researcher told Science Daily:[iii]
“We suspect that these neurons are a very old motivational system to force an animal to satisfy its physiological needs. Part of the motivation for seeking food is to shut these neurons off.”
With forces such as these, it’s no wonder it can be so hard to stick to a healthy diet and ignore food cravings. Not to mention, when you eat unhealthy fats, sugar and salt, your brain releases pleasure chemicals that flood your body with a feeling of happiness (albeit a fleeting one).
So you’ve got a negative response to hunger coupled with a positive response to junk food. Add in junk-food marketers who have carefully orchestrated processed foods to contain just the right combination of sweet, salty and fatty flavors to get you hooked … and, boom, you’re a junk-food addict.
Striving to eat right is not futile, however. When you provide your body with fresh vegetables, fruits, grass-fed meats and other healthy fats, you’ll be rewarded with energy, a clear head, a more positive outlook and, probably, a more svelte physique. These things, too, are addictive, but only once you’ve broken free of your initial junk-food cravings … if you’re ready to be free, try the cravings-busting tips that follow.
Top 9 Ways to Naturally Stop Food Cravings
9. Distraction: Tapping on your forehead and ear with your index finger was found to significantly reduce food cravings in one study.[iv] It works via distraction, which the researchers said could be used as a weight-loss strategy.
8. Think About the Long-Term Consequences: Is giving in to your craving going to make you gain weight? Mess with your blood sugar? Give you heartburn or just make you feel bad? Focus on those consequences. In a study presented at The Obesity Society Annual Meeting at ObesityWeekSM 2014, researchers showed that those who used this strategy reduced the urge to eat an enticing food the most, and also had increased brain activity in areas associated with inhibition of overeating.[v]
7. Imagine Devouring the Food: If you can’t get cheesecake or a cheeseburger off your mind, picture yourself eating it – in detail. It turns out that just imagining you’ve eaten a food has the same effect, and will lessen your desire to actually eat it.[vi]
6. Sniff It: Taste begins in your nose, as the olfactory nerve in your nose is linked to the brain regions that tell you when you’re full, so smelling scented crystals has been found to trigger weight loss. This may also work by smelling the actual food in lieu of eating it. Dr. Alan Hirsch of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago told ABC News:[vii]
“By smelling the smells, their brain perceives: ‘I’ve smelled it, therefore I’ve eaten it, therefore I better stop eating it. I’ve overeaten … It fools your brain into thinking you’ve eaten more and thus you eat less. You can eat whatever you want to eat. You eat whatever you normally would eat. You’ll feel full faster, you’ll eat less.”
5. Chew Gum or Brush Your Teeth: Research shows chewing gum can cut down on your feelings of hunger and specifically your cravings for something sweet.[viii] If you don’t like chewing gum, try brushing your teeth instead.
4. Workout First Thing in the Morning: Exercising in the morning has been found to impact the way people respond to food, and actually decreases food motivation.[ix] Getting your body moving will also release natural feel-good chemicals in your brain while boosting your energy levels naturally.
3. Have Protein for Breakfast: Whether it’s eggs, a whey-protein smoothie or organic peanut butter on celery, make sure your breakfast includes high-quality protein. Research shows this reduces not only hunger but also food cravings for the rest of the day.[x]
2. Make Your Meals Satisfying: By adding olive oil and aromatic spices to your meals, it helps your body and brain feel satiated, so you’re less likely to succumb to unhealthy cravings. The smell of olive oil may also help with weight loss, as people exposed to its scent had improved blood sugar responses as well as ate fewer calories.[xi] Hirsch also recommends adding strongly aromatic fruits, vegetables and spices, such as garlic and onion, to your meals to help boost your feelings of satiety.[xii]
1. Try ThinMist: ThinMist is an all-natural blend of DHEA, essential amino acids and 500 mcg of chromium to curb your unhealthy cravings while boosting your body’s natural production of human growth hormone (HGH), which speeds metabolism and weight loss.
ThinMist is scientifically formulated to reduce cravings, which it does by helping regulate your blood sugar and serotonin (‘happy hormones’). Studies suggest the chromium in ThinMist can help keep your blood sugar in balance and research suggests it may also help to lover sugar cravings. Plus, this breakthrough formula contains a uniquely calibrated blend of 7 essential vitamins and amino acids that work together to help boost your body’s ability to produce HGH, one of your body’s most powerful fat burners to help you lose weight without exercise and dieting. Among them:
L-Valine: To help muscles heal after strenuous workouts. By speeding the recovery of muscle, lean muscle develops quickly. And the more lean muscle your body has — the more fat-burning power it possesses!
- L-Arginine: Clinically shown to boost your production of creatine in the muscles … increase circulation … improve blood flow … boost sexual desire … and even protect your heart!
- L-Tyrosine: To turbo charge your adrenaline! Also helps suppress your appetite … improve your brain’s ability to focus … relieve headaches and tension … and fight off chronic fatigue!
You simply take ThinMist™ three times each day by spraying it under your tongue, and as the ingredients slowly build up in your system they work at a cellular level to help stop your cravings immediately. Give it a try, risk-free for 90 days …
[i] Core Performance March 14, 2012
[iii] Science Daily April 27, 2015
[iv] Science Daily November 4, 2014
[v] Science Daily November 4, 2014
[vi] Science. 2010 Dec 10;330(6010):1530-3.
[viii] Study presented at Experimental Biology 2, Baton Rouge, Louisiana April 19, 2009
[ix] Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2012 Oct;44(10):1864-70.
[x]Obesity Volume 19, Issue 10, pages 2019–2025, October 2011
At age 63 am always looking for ways to live healthy, want to live to 90