crave-related stories
Does PMS Give You Monster Cravings?
When you're premenstrual, hormone fluctuations can cause physical changes in your appetite. What's more, heightened emotions can also find you reaching for the fridge handle. AOL Health has some great tips for healthful replacements for common cravings.
Whether they're premenstrual cravings or your regular run-of-the-mill need for a chocolate fix, remember that you can control your cravings. And if you're doubting that your hunger is real, stop and do the HALT test to determine if you're really hungry or if it's just your emotions.
Remember, exercise is a great way to manage PMS symptoms. Last week, I wondered if you worked out with your dog.
Carb Cravings - Kick 'Em Before Spring
Now that it's mid-March, winter should be coming to a close, though for many of us, spring is but a mere dream we hang onto. But whether or not it feels warmer where you are, one thing is certain: Bathing suit season will be here before you know it, and the time to start shaping up is now.Problem is, research shows that we crave carbs when it's chilly out, which means that we need to get a handle on our cravings first. Here are a few tips:
- Purge your pantry. Get rid of sugar and unhealthy carbs like white rice and pasta. Stock the fridge with fresh veggies and healthy things like hummus. Believe me, you'll snack on the healthy stuff when you don't have a choice.
- Find filling alternatives. Nuts, for instance, are a great source of energy and -- in small doses -- are waistline-friendly.
- Give in ... wisely. If you can't live without your morning toast, don't beat yourself up -- just have whole wheat bread and make sure you only stick to one slice.
Got any tips of your own?
Junk Food - Break Up With Bad Habits
Drink Shockers
By Mary Kearl
Your favorite beverage may be just as diet-wrecking as fatty fast food, adding calories, sugar and fat and offering little or no nutritional value. Watch out for these drink shockers that will tip you closer to the F.D.A. and U.S.D.A. recommended daily limits for calories (2,000), fat (65 grams) and added sugar (40 grams) a day. Added sugars means any sugar not found naturally within the food, so look out for ingredients like sugar, maple syrup, honey, corn syrup and molasses, says Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD, CDN, and national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA).
Red Bull
Size: 8.3 oz can
Calories: 110
Fat: 0 g
Sugars: 27 g
This drink contains more than half the sugar you should have in one day. Plus, do you really want to use 110 of your 2,000 calories on something you can drink in about 10 seconds?
*Calories per Ounce: About 13
Rebecca McAlpin for AOL
Sunsweet Prune Juice
Size: 8 fl oz
Calories: 180
Fat: 0 g
Sugars: 18 g
While Sunsweet's juice is 100 percent juice and does not contain any added sugars, it still is a high concentration of natural sucrose, which means the calories can add up. In comparison, one serving of Sunsweet's regular prunes contains 100 calories and 12 grams of sugar. Plus, it contains 11 percent fiber which you miss out on when you drink the juice.
*Calories per Ounce: 22.5
Rebecca McAlpin for AOL
Hawaiian Punch Juicy Red
Size: 8 fl oz
Calories: 120
Fat: 0 g
Sugars: 29 g
Hawaiian Punch Juicy Red contains five percent juice, which means 95 percent of it comes from water, plus dubious ingredients like High Fructose Corn Syrup, artificial flavoring, juice concentrates and sugar. Since many "juice" drinks like Hawaiian punch do not contain 100 percent juice, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends limiting juice intake to 4-6 ounces for kids under 7 years, and no more than 8-12 ounces for older children and teens.
*Calories per Ounce: 15
Rebecca McAlpin for AOL
Hershey's Chocolate Milk
Size: 1 cup, or 8 fl oz
Calories: 200
Fat: 5 g
Sugars: 29 g
Just one serving of this milk contains 17 more grams of sugar than regular low-fat milk, or nearly half the added sugar you should have in one day. Make this an occasional treat, not a once or twice-a-day habit.
*Calories per Ounce: 25
Rebecca McAlpin for AOL
McDonald's McFlurry with M&M's candies
Size: 12 oz
Calories: 620
Fat: 20 g
Sugars: 85 g
When it comes to calories, this drink is about the equivalent of one meal. Plus, you better watch your sugar intake for the rest of the day.
*Calories per Ounce: About 52
Rebecca McAlpin for AOL
Wendy's Chocolate Twisted Frosty with M&M's
Size: 16 oz
Calories: 560
Fat: 19 g
Sugars: 72 g
Yes, this drink is a little lighter on all counts than a McFlurry, but you'd still be better off ordering a chocolate or vanilla Frosty in the junior or small sizes. You'd save 250 to 410 calories and 11 to 15 grams of fat.
*Calories per Ounce: 35
Rebecca McAlpin for AOL
Glaceau Vitamin Water
Size: 20 oz
Calories: 125
Fat: 0 g
Sugars: about 33 g
There is one easy way to avoid this diet trap. If you're feeling dehydrated or low on energy, drink a glass of calorie-free, sugar-free, fat-free water and eat one of your five to nine servings of fruits or veggies recommended by the U.S.D.A.
Rebecca McAlpin for AOL
Starbucks Frappuccino Blended Crème, Double Chocolate Chip Crème (without whipped cream)
Size: Venti, 24 fl oz
Calories: 550
Fat: 11 g
Sugars: 79 g
By adding whipped cream this drink becomes even more shocking with an extra 120 calories and 11 fat grams.
*Calories per Ounce: About 23
Rebecca McAlpin for AOL
Baskin Robbins Cappuccino Blast Caramel
Size: 24 fl oz
Calories: 720
Fat: 24 g
Sugars: 102 g
Steer clear of this cappuccino the next time you're at Baskin Robbins -- it contains about a third of your daily fat allowance -- and head for the low fat variety of the Cappuccino Blast. At 220 calories and 2 grams of fat it's a much lighter option. But watch your sugar content for the rest of the day because even this option contains 44 grams.
*Calories per Ounce: 30
Rebecca McAlpin for AOL
Sugar - Sign Up for the Sugar-Out Challenge
Inspired by Bethany's Walking the Walk post, several of my fellow bloggers and I have been trying to ditch the sugar habit. I started on my low-sugar plan just before New Year's. I wish I could say it was easy, but it wasn't. I thought that once the temptations were removed, I wouldn't crave sugar ... but I did. Oh, how I craved it. Now, however, several weeks in, it's easier. And I feel better ... more energetic.
Do you think you can go without refined sugars? Why not give it a try tomorrow along with many other people? Tomorrow, January 16th, is the Great Worldwide Sugar-Out Challenge. If you need some inspiration, check out some of these success stories.
Cravings - Control Them With the Stopwatch Method
Daily Fit Tip, Nutrition & Supplements
Do you enjoy your food?
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
A common recommendation for people who are trying to lose weight is to take more time while eating -- put your fork down in between each bite, chew slowly, and really taste and enjoy your food. It looks like that recommendation was spot on. Recent research has found that many overweight people find fatty or sugary food less enjoyable than thin people do. Subsequently, those overweight people may eat more of those less-than-healthy foods in order to satisfy themselves. Women who had fewer dopamine receptors in the "pleasure center" of their brain seemed to eat more in order to trigger a pleasurable response, whereas women with more dopamine receptors could experience the pleasure with less food.
Food is meant to be enjoyed, but not to the point that it goes beyond your body's needs for energy and sustenance. Take your time with your food. Relish each bite and enjoy it. When you give your body more time to experience the taste, you'll find you eat less overall.
[via FitSugar]
Apples to apples: Compare nutrition facts of favorite snacks
Fresh fruit or veggies are always a good choice for snacking ... but that's kind of a no-brainer. If you're in the mood for more of a treat, it's not as easy to determine what your best options are.
Cooking Light did some side-by-side comparisons of relatively healthy treats. Take hummus and salsa for example. Two tablespoons of hummus with carrot sticks has about 60 calories, 3 grams of fat, 1 gram of fiber, and 105 milligrams of sodium. Two tablespoons of salsa with tortilla chips has 147 calories, 7 grams of fat, 0.5 gram of fiber, and 187 milligrams of sodium.
4 reasons for food cravings
So you say chocolate is calling your name? You're not alone! From sugary sweets to salty treats, we all deal with cravings from time to time. Divine Caroline shares four reasons you might be having a craving:- You're pregnant. It may seem like an old wives' tale or fodder for a TV sitcom, but many pregnant women do experience cravings. Jacki recently told us that Rebecca Romijn does.
- You're premenstrual. Women can crave certain foods just before their periods.
- You have low insulin levels. When your insulin level or blood sugar is low, your body will naturally crave foods to correct the imbalance.
- You have low serotonin. When you're stressed, your body may send out signals for something to ease the pain.
Half and half
Do you have a junk food lover in your house? Sometimes it's hard to deny those cravings... especially when they're foods we've eaten for years and years. Women's Health has a great idea for making some junk foods a little bit healthier. You can mix healthier options in with your not-so-healthy favorites to create a treat that's not so damaging to you waistline. Better yet, when you start adding healthier options in -- like mixing a bowl of half whole grain cereal and half sugary cereal -- you're starting to retrain your taste buds. In time, you'll find you enjoy the healthier foods as much as the junky ones.
Craving swap
We all have overwhelming cravings from time to time. And it's okay to cave in and let yourself have a treat from time to time. After all, food is meant to be enjoyed and appreciated. But when treats change from the rare occasion to the norm, you've got a problem. Most people don't tend to crave the healthiest foods. Chocolate, salty snacks, and sweets tend to be the foods we ache for. Good Housekeeping has a fun tool that provides suggestions for craving substitutes. You can satisfy your sweet tooth (or salty tooth as the case may be) with some alternatives that are a little less hefty in the fat and calories department.
When hunger is real ... and when it's not
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
When emotions run high, a lot of people run for the fridge. Emotional eating is a complex habit. For many people, it's a habit that they've practiced for years and years -- maybe even since their childhood. Many people who eat due to emotions such as sadness, anger, depression, boredom, stressed, or loneliness, are fully aware that they are emotional eaters. Even though they're cognizant of their eating habits, in the heat of the moment it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between real hunger and emotional triggers. But knowing your body and finding healthier outlets for your emotions is important for health.Everyday Health shares some tips on determining real, physical hunger from emotion-based hunger:
- Physical hunger builds gradually, causes your stomach to growl, isn't accompanied by a sense of compulsion, occurs hours after you last ate, and goes away after eating.
- Emotional hunger develops suddenly, is a more mental craving (when you "get a taste" for something), makes you feel like you urgently need to eat, is unrelated to the last time you ate, often has specific cravings, persists even when you're full, and leaves you feeling guilty after eating.
"Mmm" hormone makes us eat
Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment, Nutrition & Supplements
Go to the grocery store hungry and you're bound to crave everything in sight. Blame your "Mmm" hormone, says new research that names the natural molecule ghrelin the responsible party.Why ghrelin? Because it improves perception and memory when it comes to food. When hunger strikes, watch out, because ghrelin makes the brain find just about every food appealing, sending us on a path to diet destruction.
Researchers have long known that ghrelin, a hormone secreted in the gut, rises and falls before and after meals. Now they're learning that this "Mmm" hormone has even more power -- it causes hunger and encourages eating.
Jumpstart Your Fitness: With these 12 ways to solve a sweet tooth
Okay, this one is really personal for me: fighting sugar cravings. I have a major sweet tooth, and sometimes it comes after me with vengeance, messing up what would have been an awesome healthy day. Learning to solve sugar cravings without sugar and how to manage your sweet tooth before it comes calling is a seriously valuable skill. Natural Health makes 12 suggestions: 1. Keep hydrated. Cravings can sometimes be triggered by dehydration, so next time one strikes try drinking a big glass of water and waiting a few minutes before grabbing a snack.
2. Cut out caffeine. Caffeine can cause both energy levels and blood sugar levels to go up and down, potentially causing cravings.
3. Get enough sleep. Being tired can trigger your body to seek sugar for energy. Make sure you get whatever your body needs regularly each night -- usually 7-8 hours.
Kill cravings in 8-14 minutes
Healthy Habits, Womens Health, Celebrities and Entertainment, Obesity, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Motivation, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Today on The Martha Stewart Show, Martha and her healthy initiatives consultant, Dr. Brent Ridge talked cravings. They discussed the reasons for cravings:
Genetics -- an ancestor's need to get their hands on calories.
Habits -- you traditionally eat sweet cereal in the morning, so when you wake up ......you crave sweet cereal.
Emotional correlation -- It's a birthday and birthdays are happy times, so you crave cake.
Pica -- A pregnant woman's odd and dangerous desire to consume non food items like soap, soil, or starch.
Physical need -- You are low on iron, so your body craves steak. This is the craving you should give in to!
If you are craving unhealthy food and truly don't want to give in to it, Dr. Ridge suggests you distract yourself for eight to fourteen minutes. He says that's the time our bodies take to kill a craving. Go for a walk, do some laundry or chat on the phone. Fourteen minutes is survivable!
Goodbye ice cream, hello fruit salad
Who knew a hearty serving of fresh fruit could be so inviting? Not us, until we gave it a try and then stuck with it. Now, the sugary, fatty stuff isn't even appealing. Our mouths drool for strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, watermelon, and kiwi. When the season for this fruit finally comes to an end, we'll substitute apples, oranges, and bananas. Give us any sort of fresh fruit and we're satisfied. You could be too.
Why not slice and dice some of your own fresh fruit today? Forget the ooey, gooey something you'd normally eat and give this a try. Do it again tomorrow, the next day, the day after that. See if you can let go of your unhealthy habits and learn to love what's good for you. I have a hunch you can.
To read up on the merits of fresh fruit, click here.
