Key Takeaways

• A craving is an intense desire for a specific food.

• Most cravings are for foods containing high levels of sugar, salt, and/or fat, which often contain a lot of calories and very few nutrients.

• Food cravings can make it significantly more difficult to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

• Cravings can occur for many different reasons, including stress, hormone changes, lack of sleep, and environmental triggers.

• Although food cravings are very common, there are several effective lifestyle strategies you can use to combat them.

• A class of medications known as GLP-1 RAs act in the brain to reduce hunger and cravings, and may be an additional way to help combat food cravings.

• But it’s also important to think about other aspects, such as nutrition and exercise.

Why do we have food cravings?

A craving is an intense desire for a specific food. This is frequently an unhealthy food, often something high in sugar, salt, and/or fat. Cravings are extremely common, and over 90% of people report experiencing them. Frequent food cravings are sometimes known as “food noise.”

Food cravings can make it more difficult to maintain a healthy body weight, as the intense desire to eat highly caloric foods often leads to consuming too many calories overall. In fact, research has found that having more food cravings is associated with a higher body weight. Getting food cravings under control is often an important step towards achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight.

Cravings may occur for a wide variety of different reasons, including:

• Stress. Over the short term, stress may actually suppress hunger. However, chronic stress has been found to increase cravings for foods that are high in sugar, salt, and/or fat. This is believed to occur due to the effects of cortisol, which is a hormone that’s produced when you’re experiencing stress.

• Deprivation. When a certain food is forbidden, this can lead to strong short-term cravings for that particular food. Over time, these cravings will generally lessen, and most people will stop craving the forbidden food after a few weeks. However, many people experience intense cravings over the first few days of not eating a certain food.

• Hormonal changes. Many women find that they experience food cravings during particular parts of the menstrual cycle. Cravings are also very common during perimenopause, which is the period leading up to menopause, as well as during pregnancy. It’s believed that changes in the levels of hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, may lead to these cravings.

• Environmental triggers. The brain forms associations between environmental cues and particular foods. For example, when you go to the movies, you may experience a craving for popcorn. This is known as cue-induced craving.

• Hunger. When you’re hungry, the areas of your brain that stimulate appetite are more active. This may lead to a general desire to eat, but it can also lead to cravings for specific foods.

• Emotions. Besides stress, people may turn to food for comfort when experiencing other strong emotions, such as sadness, grief, or guilt. This is sometimes known as “emotional eating.” A person may crave a certain food when feeling a certain emotion because that’s the coping mechanism that their brain has learned.

Ways to help reduce food cravings

Although food cravings are very common, you aren’t powerless against them. There are several strategies you can use to help reduce food cravings. Try these strategies to see what works best for you.

Have just a taste

When you’re experiencing a food craving, it may be extremely difficult to resist it entirely. However, many people find that just a bite or two of the food that they’re craving is enough to satisfy them. Rather than eating a whole chocolate bar, try eating just one or two squares of chocolate. Often, just a taste of the food will be enough to satisfy the craving.

Eat regular meals

When you’re very hungry, this can trigger cravings. Hunger also makes it more difficult to resist cravings, because you may not have enough energy to do so. Ensuring that you eat regular meals can help to prevent your hunger from becoming overwhelming. When you eat on a regular schedule, your body becomes used to your normal meal times, and you’ll be less likely to feel hungry in between these. Plan your portion sizes so that you don’t get too hungry before your next meal, but you’re also not eating excessively large meals.

Choose healthier options

When you’re having a craving for an unhealthy food, you could try substituting a healthier option instead. For example, if you’re craving potato chips, you could eat a small handful of salted nuts. This snack still contains fat and salt, but also contains nutrients like protein and healthy fats, which will help you to feel full for longer after eating it. Similarly, if you’re craving a candy bar, you could eat a piece of fruit instead. This is still sweet, but contains fiber and other nutrients instead of being simply empty calories.

Practice mindful eating

When you eat quickly or are distracted while eating, you don’t really allow yourself to enjoy the experience. This can leave you feeling unsatisfied, and may lead to increased cravings for unhealthy foods with intense tastes. Instead, try eating slowly, savoring each bite of your food. Focus on what you’re eating, rather than being distracted by something else (such as work or TV). Also take some time to notice how your body feels during and after eating. 

When you take the time to truly appreciate your food, you’re likely to be satisfied by a smaller amount. You may also be less likely to crave foods that have intense tastes.

Drink more water

Proper hydration is important for the function of the digestive system. In fact, some people may experience hunger when they’re dehydrated, either instead of or in addition to experiencing thirst. This can make you feel like you want to eat, when what you really need is fluids, rather than food. Being dehydrated can also cause cravings for highly caloric beverages, such as soda. 

When you’re having a craving, try drinking a glass of water to see if that helps. It’s also a good idea to ensure that you get enough water throughout the day, so that you don’t get dehydrated.

Aim for adequate sleep

When you’re tired, you’re more likely to experience food cravings. Studies have shown that when people are sleep-deprived, they’re more likely to crave sweet, starchy, or high-fat foods. Making sure that you get enough sleep can help to curb these cravings. 

Aim for eight hours of high-quality (uninterrupted) sleep each night. Make sleep a priority, and don’t allow other activities to get in the way of your sleep.

Distract yourself

When you’re experiencing a craving, it tends to occupy all of your attention. Refocusing on something else can help to distract you from the craving, so that you won’t give in to it. For example, you could go for a walk, watch a funny TV show, or call a friend. If you can find something to do that’s interesting or fun, this will help to keep you from thinking obsessively about the food that you’re craving.

Be aware of your environment

Some cravings are triggered by factors in the environment. It’s helpful to try to avoid situations where you’ll be reminded of foods that you tend to crave. For example, store any tempting foods in the back of the pantry or put them into unlabeled containers, so you’ll be less likely to see them and be reminded of them. If there’s a particular shop that sells a food that you often crave, try not to walk past that shop. If you’re able to avoid situations that will trigger your brain’s association with certain foods, this will help to reduce cravings.

Use of GLP-1RAs for food cravings

Another way to reduce food cravings is through the use of a class of medications known as GLP-1 RAs. These medications mimic a natural hormone in the body known as GLP-1, which is normally released after meals and has several different effects throughout the body. Some GLP-1 RAs are approved for treating diabetes, while others are approved for promoting weight loss.

GLP-1 RAs act in the brain to reduce hunger and food cravings. Along with the other strategies listed above, this can add another layer of defense against food cravings. Many people have reported that GLP-1 RAs significantly reduced the amount of time that they spend thinking about food, and have made them less likely to reach for foods that they used to crave. If you’d like to consider using a GLP-1 RA, then you’ll need to visit a physician, because these medications are available by prescription only.

Weight loss is always a holistic journey. Reducing food cravings is an important part of this for many people, and a health coach can help you to develop strategies to do this. It’s also important to think about other aspects, such as portion sizes and exercise. Our NOVI Optimum Plus medical weight loss clients receive a physician consultation for GLP-1 RA treatment, as well as support from a health coach to help them achieve their weight loss goals.