Cravings… we all have ’em even if we’re not on a diet. But when you’re trying to cut back on certain things that’s when they really rear their ugly head. I recently went on a raw juice diet for two weeks so I had to deal with them a little bit. I’ve found some things that help a lot, especially if your trying to eat healthier.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Cravings are chemically induced  and generally caused by the chemicals that are purposely placed in processed foods to be addicting, sugar being the most addictive of all. (Which is why so many foods that are not even sweet have some form of it.) If you start eating better regularly, which includes eating more live plant based foods, cravings will go away as those chemicals will be flushed out of your body and no longer affect you.

Ever been hungry again soon after eating?  That will likewise go away on a more natural diet. You’re body signals hunger when it’s not receiving the nutrition it needs to thrive. Eating a more live plant based diet solves that problem quickly. Plus eating healthy live food just fills you up more for the calories!

Dealing With Hunger & Cravings

I’ve used most of these with great success. Everyone’s different however and what works for one person might not work for another.  They sure came in handy while I was doing my juice fast. I use some whether I’m fasting or not as they are just plain healthy. **FREE DOWNLOAD OF THESE TIPS BELOW**

 

• Keep busy! This is the greatest tool you have. When you’re busy doing something you enjoy you don’t think about food.
• Drink lots of water. This is  a no brainer but it stops stomach cramps and hunger pangs and  your body needs it!
• Eat ice. I love crushed ice. I’ll fill a cup and munch on it while watching TV.
• Eat flavored ice. I squirt some Stur Water Enhancer on my ice or in my water. Its fairly natural and sweetened with Stevia.  (BEWARE of anything sweetened with Aspartame. It’s a proven carcinogen.)
• Use pressure points for appetite suppression. This video shows how.
• Use Dill Oil on wrists to curb sugar cravings. I use this myself. It’s amazing!
• When your really craving something substantial have a bowl of vegetable broth. Warm things satiate hunger better than cold. This is a delicious brand!
• Freeze some raw fruit juice into popsicle using molds. I keep these on hand all the time.
• Froth to the rescue! Make a small batch of fresh orange & apple juice using a juicer.  Eat the froth part slowly with a spoon before drinking.  It’s like whipped topping! Add crushed ice if desired.
• If you’re dieting or doing a fast for a specific amount of time remind yourself the next few weeks or months are going to pass before you know it. You can be healthier at the end of it or not.
• Watch inspiring videos, or read books, on eating healthy. This has been huge in inspiring Roy and I.  At the bottom of the post is a list of our favorite food related documentaries.
• Chew gum. Xylitol gum is actually healthy for you!
• Cravings tend to last about 20 minutes.  Always keep that in the back of your mind and something to distract yourself to let that time pass.
• Brush your teeth. Yep, this one does indeed work great. You just don’t feel like eating after you’ve brushed your teeth.
• Another oldie but goodie: Get rid of all the food that you know you shouldn’t be eating. Out of sight out of mind as they say. I have absolutely no problem not eating things that are not in the house.
• Eat an apple. The soluble fiber in apples is called apple pectin. It reduces blood sugar crashes and can keep you full for 1-2 hours.
• Drink one large glass of water with either 1-2 TB Wheat Bran OR 1-2 TB Rice Bran added. This will stop hunger for an hour or more and the bran is awesome for your colon!
• Drink Green Tea between meals. It contains a phytonutrient called EGCG  that increases the hormone that makes you feel satiated.
• Place a small dab of pepper on your tongue.  This triggers you’re food sensors telling them your eating something tasty. Hot sauce could work.

Remove the foam on the juice for making popsicle as it doesn’t freeze hard enough to hold the stick in solidly.

Free Downloadable Idea Sheet

Get Inspired! Excellent Documentaries

Here are some videos that Roy and I have watched and highly recommend. The links all go to Amazon’s Video on Demand where you can stream them live however several are on Netflix and other places.

• Forks Over Knives  Doctors and health officials talk about what we should be eating and the dangers of the typical American diet.
• Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead  Chronicles a 30 day juice fast by Joe Cross who gets off all his meds, loses weight and heals an incurable condition.
• Fresh Outlines the vicious cycle of our current food production methods, while also celebrating the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are reinventing our food system.
• Fed Up From Katie Couric and Laurie David  FED UP will change the way you eat forever.
• Food Inc. An unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry.
• Food Matters “Let thy Food be thy Medicine and thy Medicine be thy Food” – Hippocrates. That is the message echoed in the controversial new documentary film Food Matters.
• Hungry For Change Exposes shocking secrets the diet, weight loss and food industries don’t want you to know about their deceptive strategies designed to keep you coming back for more.
• King Corn Engrossing and eye-opening this documentary is a fun and crusading journey into the digestive tract of our fast food nation where one ultra-industrial, pesticide-laden, heavily-subsidized commodity dominates the food pyramid from top to bottom: corn.
• Ingredients Inspiring and rich, Ingredients unearths the roots of the local food movement and digs into the stories of the chefs, farmers and activists transforming our broken food system.
• Food Beware For the first time ever, our children are growing up less healthy than we are. As the rate of cancer, infertility and other illnesses linked to environmental factors climbs upward each year, we must ask ourselves…why?