It seems that women admit to ‘craving,’ but that men use a different vocabulary for the same concept. Men are also less likely to talk about needs, yearning, or desire for food. Certainly all of us have different comfort foods; maybe men more frequently yearn for steak, pizza and chips; and women may more frequently move toward the sweets; but at the bottom line is the fact that if intake supplies more calories than your needs, giving in to the snack craving trumps your desire to maintain a healthy weight.

So are there any tricks to recognize your cravings/yearnings? Can you recognize them, regardless of your name them for cravings? Can you make yourself safer from a snack attack, a yearning debacle or a craving catastrophe?

One of our favorite authors, Cornell professor Brian Wansink, PhD, studies cravings and consumers’ relationships with food. He says, if we uncover eating traps, we can change them. This means that we can gain power over the cravings. Great news!

1. Dr. Wansink’s scientific research on what beguiles us to eat makes me feel validated. I have taught for years, that controlling our environment is a very valuable and important aspect of weight management. Dr. Wansink says that the most frequent environmental triggers are the visual cues, and also aroma cues are pretty enticing too. (Think Cinnabon in the mall or at the airport.)

An example for the day: My mother was buried this past Saturday. Some friends brought homemade cookies, as a gesture of love and support for our family. I gave most of them away, but a few were still left when the day ended. Actually, they are still here now – in my kitchen. Normally, I do not have cookies in a clear plastic Ziploc staring at me when I go to the kitchen. I felt the urge to go break one and have some. What can I do to prevent a recurrence?

I could throw them out. Freeze them for another occasion. Give them away. Put them in an opaque package. Delay eating another until it fits into my eating plan, but definitely get them out of sight.

2. As related to cravings, one of the first things to get over is the idea that the body is sending a ‘craving’ message because we need a certain food or nutrient. Unfortunately, humans do not have the instincts to seek after specific nutrients they detect are in deficit. Nor do we seem to be able to realize that we’ve taken too much of a specific nutrient. A craving is not the ‘wisdom of the body” speaking out.
3. Dr. Wansink’s research tells us that eating a little bit of the craved food, frequently doesn’t seem to end the cravings for most people – continually eating the food may actually strengthen the habit. However, he also suggests that we not go cold turkey; because we may feel deprived and then that backfires. He suggests that we indulge in the craved food less frequently, and in smaller portions. Make a plan; a specific, individual plan. For example, if I still craved cookies (as I did years ago, and still feel tempted) I would first decide how often I would have them and how many I would have and what the situation would be. So one possible plan for me may have been: I will have one cookie, once a week, at Mrs. Field’s in the mall.
4. If portion control works for you, you may want to consider measuring out a desirable amount into a sandwich bag or a specific container. If portion control does not work for you, then don’t keep large containers of tempting foods at home, in the car or at your work site. The concept of portion control is a favorite for Vic and me; we like our snack of cashews in our little custard dish (about 1 ½ tablespoons); that way we don’t mindlessly eat them by the cup full. Consider having pizza by the slice, a single scoop of ice cream at the ice cream parlor, or a single serving package of chips. If portion control doesn’t work for you, you may want to consider not buying the giant bag or chips, the two-gallon ice cream bucket, or the large pizza. Wansink gives hints that may help if portion control is not a developed skill. He describes ways to weaken the link between cues in the environment and eating the food: hide the food in the back of the cupboard or freezer; don’t keep it on a kitchen counter or at the front of the refrigerator/freezer/cupboard shelf. To follow his tips well, I will quickly put those funeral cookies out of sight.
5. Wansink also suggests having sugarless gum on hand; ready to pop into your mouth when a snack attack pounces on you. Others use a cup of tea, coffee, water or a no calorie drink. You may even want to plan a walk or another activity if you have noticed that you routinely have craving at a certain time of the day. Having a plan is an important technique to quell cravings. It’s much more difficult to overcome an attack of craving, when you’re in the midst of it.
6. Substituting another activity may be just enough to distract yourself until the craving passes. Call a friend; answer an email; even just walk around the office, house, or yard.
7. Being hungry does not bode well for fighting cravings; so try substituting another food. You may discover that eating a healthy low calorie snack gives you all kinds of power over cravings. Make the low calorie food (fruit, veggies, a few nuts) accessible and think about how much to have. Allowing yourself to be overly hungry is an enemy to your fight against cravings.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” In the process of learning to protect yourself from craving catastrophes, be resolute but patient with yourself. The changing of behavior is a process, after all; it rarely happens in one easy step – be patient with yourself.