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If you’re craving a bite to eat and thinking about food haunts you, use simple tricks, the effectiveness of which, by the way, has been confirmed by serious studies.
1. Play Tetris or a similar game
Three minutes of playing Tetris reduces cravings for food, alcohol and cigarettes1.
2. Turn on the imagination
Try to imagine, for example, a rainbow. Or remember some exotic smell. Or just look at the image as a random collection of dots, like what appears on a TV screen that is disconnected from the antenna. You will immediately feel better2.
3. Look at lots of food pictures
An unexpected, but effective way. The study shows that after eating, oddly enough, you will want less. The only caveat: there should be a lot of pictures, a couple of images will only whet your appetite3.
4. Go for a walk
Even a 15-minute walk can kill the urge to empty the refrigerator, studies show.4.
5. More proteins for breakfast
A protein-rich breakfast increases dopamine levels in the brain, which in turn reduces the need for sugary and fatty foods throughout the day. If you skip breakfast or it is not nutritious enough, these cravings, on the contrary, will increase.5.
6. Be sure to get enough sleep
If a person wants to sleep, it is more difficult for him to resist temptations. The fact is that in a half-asleep state, the activity of the parts of the brain responsible for complex judgments and decisions decreases. The activity of more ancient and primitive areas associated with motivation and desires increases.6.
7. Listen to yourself7
To resist the obsessive desire to snack, it is important to be in tune with your feelings. If we learn to understand our own feelings and use them to make decisions, we will not only start to eat right, but will also become happier in general, as we will improve relationships with others and begin to pay more attention to a healthy lifestyle.7.
And three more hints
- Tap on your forehead. This will help take your mind off the food.
- Think about the future. Try to think carefully about the long-term consequences of malnutrition. An MRI study has shown that such thoughts increase the activity of the brain area responsible for restraint and self-control.
- Chew gum. It helps to refrain from unscheduled snacking.
1 J. Skorka-Brown, J. Andrade, J. May «Playing «Tetris» reduces the strength, frequency and vividness of naturally occurring cravings», Appetite, February, 2014.
2 E. Kemps, M. Tiggemann «A Cognitive Experimental Approach to Understanding and Reducing Food Cravings». Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2010.
3 J. Larson et al. «Satiation from Sensory Simulation: Evaluating Foods Decreases Enjoyment of Similar Foods». Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2013.
4 L. Ledochowski et al. «Acute Effects of Brisk Walking on Sugary Snack Cravings in Overweight People, Affect and Responses to a Manipulated Stress Situation and to a Sugary Snack Cue A Crossover Study». Plosone, 2015.
5 Н. Hoertel, M. Will, H. Leidy «A randomized crossover, pilot study examining the effects of a normal protein vs. high protein breakfast on food cravings and reward signals in overweight/obese «breakfast skipping», late-adolescent girls». NutrJ, 2014.
6 S. Greer, A. Goldstein, M. Walker «The impact of sleep deprivation on food desire in the human brain». Nature Communications, 2013.
7 B. Kidwell, J. Hasford, D. Hardesty «Emotional Ability Training and Mindful Eating». Journal of Marketing Research, 2014