Are there certain foods you crave, and you just can’t get them out of your mind? Most people have a food or foods they have a tough time resisting. For some, it might be doughnuts. For others, a bag of chips.
A craving is more than a desire to eat; it’s an overwhelming urge to consume a particular food. A craving is different than hunger. Hunger has a physical cause: Your body needs nutrients to function. Cravings, on the other hand, are triggered by emotions and psychological factors like stress, boredom, or even happiness.
What’s your strongest craving? The type of foods deemed crave-worthy vary with gender. One study found females reach for snack foods, like a piece of chocolate or a brownie when cravings strike while men crave comfort foods that require preparation such as steak or macaroni and cheese rather than a pre-packaged snack.
Nevertheless, cravings can be powerful and hard to resist. It may seem logical that the best way to control cravings is to divert your attention from that tantalizing food and focus on other things. However, a study finds that the opposite may be true – you can crush a craving by spending more time thinking about it.
What a Study Shows about Food Cravings
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University asked participants to imagine eating varying amounts of a food people crave – M & M candies. Some of the subjects thought about eating a few M & M candies while others envisioned in their mind snacking on a large number, for example, 30.
Afterward, the researchers gave the subjects free access to bowls of M & Ms and they could eat all they wanted. The results? Those who imagined eating a larger number of these sweet candies with the colorful exterior ate fewer of them while those who thought about eating only a few ate more.
The Power of Habituation
Why might this be? The researchers believe habituation is at work here. Have you ever noticed that the first bite of something is always tastiest, and food seems to become less flavorful the more bites of the same food you eat? That’s habituation!
The process of habituation is not fully understood, but scientists believe nerve cells in the tongue become desensitized with repeated exposure to the same food. This means you no longer respond as strongly to the taste of smell of that food. Unfortunately, some people continue to eat a food, even after the taste diminishes and it becomes less satisfying.
The key to eating less of a food you crave is to tune into the taste of the food you’re eating. Home in on the flavor, aroma, and texture of a crave-worthy food, so you won’t mindlessly eat it beyond the point where it is satisfying to your taste buds.
That’s where mindful eating comes in. Immerse yourself in the experience of eating something you enjoy, so you’re aware of each sensation and when the pleasure of eating is starts to diminish.
One reason it’s easy to overeat at buffets is you have so many items to choose from that once your taste buds stop registering one flavor, you can switch to another food that your taste buds haven’t habituated to. Plus, people eat faster at a buffet, so they can try as many items as possible. Therefore, they don’t savor each item they’re eating.
Adopt the Practice of Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on what you’re doing in the present moment and being fully aware of the world around you. It’s a tactic for relieving stress but it can also help you make healthier food choices and consume them in moderation.
When you eat mindfully, you’re more aware of the taste of your food and its effects on your body. Plus, it increases awareness of whether you’re experiencing physical hunger or eating because you’re stressed or bored. You become more aware of your internal hunger cures rather than external ones.
When you’re hyperaware of the taste and texture of your food, you’re more likely to stop eating when you’re full rather than eat past the satiety point. If you’re not hungry anymore, stop eating! Here are some tips:
- Take time between bites so you can enjoy them fully without feeling rushed.
- Take smaller bites and chew more thoroughly than usual.
- Put down your utensils between bites so that you’re not shoveling down food in a distracted manner.
- Don’t eat while doing other things – watching television, flipping through emails, or talking on the phone.
- Sit down while eating rather than standing up or walking around
- Cut up your food into small pieces, so it takes longer to eat it.
- Use all your senses when you eat – your sense of touch, your eyes, ears, and taste buds
- Be mindful when you shop for food too. Think about where the food came from and what nutritional benefits it offers.
Conclusion
The next time a food craving hits, don’t ignore it. Instead, visualize eating and savoring that food in slow motion. Then, reassess your craving. You might discover that the mental experience of indulging in that food satisfied your desire to eat it.
Even if you eat some of the food you craved, you may eat less of it if you do this exercise. Just as importantly, practice the principles of mindful eating, so you’re more aware of the tastes and textures of the food on your plate. You’ll get more pleasure out of everything you eat, and it will help you make peace with your cravings!
References:
- Eurekalert.org. “Thought for Food”
- WANSINK B, CHENEY M, CHAN N. Exploring comfort food preferences across age and gender1. Physiology & Behavior. 2003;79(4-5):739-747. doi:10.1016/s0031-9384(03)00203-8.
- Carnegie. Dec. 9: Thought for Food: New CMU Research Shows Imagining Food Consumption Reduces Actual Consumption – Carnegie Mellon University | CMU. Cmu.edu. Published 2022. Accessed August 1, 2022. https://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2010/December/dec9_thoughtforfood.shtml
- ”8 steps to mindful eating – Harvard Health.” 16 Jan. 2016, https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/8-steps-to-mindful-eating.
- Warren JM, Smith N, Ashwell M. A structured literature review on the role of mindfulness, mindful eating and intuitive eating in changing eating behaviours: effectiveness and associated potential mechanisms. Nutr Res Rev. 2017 Dec;30(2):272-283. doi: 10.1017/S0954422417000154. Epub 2017 Jul 18. PMID: 28718396.
- Robinson E, Aveyard P, Daley A, Jolly K, Lewis A, Lycett D, Higgs S. Eating attentively: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of food intake memory and awareness on eating. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Apr;97(4):728-42. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.112.045245. Epub 2013 Feb 27. PMID: 23446890; PMCID: PMC3607652.
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