We arent born craving unhealthy food. Studies show that what people choose to eat as adults is built on diet habits formed when they were children. When you feed those cravings, you get rewarded with temporary feelings of comfort and security.
To carve those bad habits in stone, every time you consume sugary or refined/starchy foods, the chemical signals for when youre hungry and when youre satisfied get scrambled. They trick you into eating sooner and blur your sense of satiety, establishing the habit of eating until youre uncomfortable. Fortunately, there are certain appetite control measures you can take.
- Eat with tunnel vision. If you focus on your food while preparing it and eating it, youll have better awareness of what and how much youre eating. If you eat at your computer, in your car, in front of the TV, or while reading, youll distract your cognitive restraint: Thats your intelligence trying to help you make good food choices and telling you when to stop. When women are distracted, they eat significantly more food.
- Get aromatic. Various studies report that aromatherapy can curb food cravings and provide good appetite control. The scent that has worked best in my experience is peppermint, but the choice of fragrance is definitely a matter of personal preference. For some women its vanilla or lemon, for others its patchouli or bergamot. To use aromatherapy to curb your food cravings and addictions, place a drop of your favorite essential oil on the end of a Q-tip and wave it beneath your nostrils.
- Take omega-3s. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids increase feelings of satiety and reduce the tendency to overeat and succumb to cravings. I recommend 1,0002,000 mg of fish oil per day.
To learn more about natural appetite control methods, and for great food and recipe ideas, visit my Web site.
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