Every now and then, all of us get food cravings. Whether it is at 3 pm in the afternoon and you are feeling a bit tired and bored or it is late at night after dinner, and you just want something sweet, cravings can affect all of us at different times.

The only problem with cravings, is that they tend to make you snack on foods that are not very good for you, which in turn will make you feel bad and gain weight over time.

Thankfully, there are a few ways that you can stop the cravings before they take hold, so that you can focus on being healthy for as long as you can.

1. Find out What your Cravings Mean

In order to address your cravings that you are having, you need to find out what they really mean.

For example, if you are craving something sugary, you might not really want something sweet, but your body thinks that it needs sugar because you are tired.

It can be very difficult to tell whether a craving is something that your body really needs or something that your body thinks it needs, so being able to identify the signs of certain cravings can really help you to stop snacking on bad foods.

2. Drink (More) Water

If you want to stay satisfied for longer, you need to start drinking water more regularly.

Studies have shown that if you drink water before you eat a meal, you will feel full a lot easier than if you do not – so it is easy to see why people drink more water when they want to limit their intake of food.

In simple terms, this is because the water makes your stomach think that it is actually fuller than it is, so that you do not feel as hungry as you once were.

So if you want to stop craving food at a certain time of day, try drinking more water. 

3. Chew Gum

If you want to suppress your appetite and get rid of some of your cravings, you should try chewing gum.

Chewing gum when you are hungry helps to trick your body into thinking that it is eating, and that food is on the way.

Having a piece of gum rather than a snack that is high in calories and sugar may also be better for you in the long run because you will not be eating too much of the bad foods that most of us love to snack on.

So if you need to curve your cravings in a pinch, gum might help you.

4. Get Enough Sleep

We all know that getting enough sleep is extremely important when it comes to maintaining a healthy body, but you probably did not know that sleep can affect your appetite throughout the day.

If you do not have a good sleep the night before, research suggests that you will crave more food throughout the day.

Even a single night of sleep deprivation can change your appetite the next day and overtime, so it is very important to get enough sleep each night if you want to stop the cravings from happening. 

5. Find a Healthy Alternative

If you know that there are certain times of the day where you are going to crave certain foods and you cannot do anything about it, you need to find a healthy alternative to the bad food that you are craving.

For example, if you are craving something salty like chips, you should try eating something like a handful of nuts instead.

Another snack that a lot of people like to make for themselves are protein balls, because they are nutritious and very easy to make. Simply take your favourite protein powder, such as Luxe Fitness Women’s Protein Powder and combine it with your other ingredients like nut butter, oats and honey, and then let them set in the fridge.

Eating something healthy will allow you to reassess your cravings and eat something better, that will help sustain you for longer.

Nobody wants to be craving food all day long, but there are a lot of things that you can do to keep your cravings at bay for most of the day.

If you cannot control all of the craving that you are having, you should at least try to make your habits more healthy by changing the way that you think about the foods that you are craving.

You might not see results straight away, but if you keep it up, you will definitely notice that you have made a positive change in your life.