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How to Fix Food Cravings

3 Things You Need to Know About "Fixing" Food Cravings

If you have some major food cravings, whether it's for chocolate, ice cream, chips, or candy, this Instagram post from Lucy Mountain from the thefashionfitnessfoodie will totally speak to you. Posts like this are floating around the internet all the time explaining what foods to eat when you have certain food cravings. Lucy jokes, "Did you know that when you're craving chocolate, you're actually craving carrot sticks?! And when you're craving crisps, what your body actually wants is a handful of spinach. And when you're craving sweets, you actually want a handful of soil !!!???"

I literally LOLed because sometimes you're craving exactly what you're craving. When you seriously want chocolate and eat a few baby carrots instead, do you ever think, "Wow, forget the chocolate cupcake I was drooling about. Those carrots really hit the spot." For me, well . . . never.

Lucy says that all sarcasm aside, there are three things to note regarding "healthy swaps:"

"1. We know some foods are more beneficial for our health than others." We know we should be eating healthy foods most of the time.

2. We also know we sometimes like to eat foods that are less healthy "because they're tasty af."

3. Denying yourself of "certain foods is not only unnecessary, but also creates this 'forbidden fruit' mentality. You want it more. Resulting in you 'caving' into your craving and eating approx 2 x more of said food than you would have if you'd have just eaten it when you initially wanted it." Denying yourself the foods you crave can actually cause you to overeat, which makes you feel crappy, bloated, and can lead to weight gain.

Lucy adds that eating an excess number of high-calorie foods that don't provide us with essential vitamins and minerals won't make us feel very good "in terms of energy and overall #wellness. But they can ABSOLUTELY be included in your diet — no guilt, no earthy substitute needed."

So take this as your green light to go for that cookie, coworker's birthday cake, or side of fries with your lunch. Enjoying a little taste of the foods you love every day is good for your mental health and will in turn help you stay on track and inspire you to eat healthy the rest of the time.

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