Are you struggling with food cravings? Perhaps you are trying to lose weight or maybe cut out gluten or sugar from your diet. It seems easy enough, but every other day the food cravings hit. You end up sitting on the couch eating a pint of ice cream, or a bag of potato chips, only to feel bloated and frustrated that you just can’t shake the craving habit.

Sometimes a food craving is simply a message from your body that you are dehydrated. It might also be a sign that your body is depleted in certain minerals or vitamins. You might just be craving the very foods that will replenish those deficiencies. Perhaps that bag of chips you are munching on is due to you being sodium deficient, or the whole watermelon you just ate was simply due to you being dehydrated.

Food cravings can also have an emotional component and you may be eating to fill a void in your life.

Many of us have a diet full of processed foods that are high in carbohydrates. This causes blood sugar fluctuations which can bring on food cravings. The best thing to stop unwanted food cravings is to nourish your body with whole foods and lots of green vegetables. The more alkaline your body, the lesser food cravings you will have.

At the first sign of a food craving, sit quietly and ask your body what it needs? Does it need kindness from you? Are you thirsty? Have you had enough protein throughout the day, or did you forget to eat lunch, so you are now feeling a drop in blood sugar?

When a craving hits, I always like to pour myself a tall glass of filtered water with some lemon in it. Once I have drunk the glass of water, I ask my body again, what do you need? At this point it may be more water, a nutritious snack or it may mean dealing with an emotional issue that has been weighing heavily on you.

Many of us associate food with our childhood and if we were good we got to go out for ice cream, or a celebration involved our favourite foods. They may not have always been that healthy for us, but in some way they fed us with what we needed.

We are hounded with advertising daily about what we should be eating, but that doesn’t always mean it is good for us.

Why not turn the food cravings into a positive instead of a negative. Don’t punish yourself because you have them, look at it as a way to figure out what is going on in your body.

Can you satisfy the craving with a glass of water, or a healthy smoothie? What about some homemade nut butter cookies instead of the box of Oreos in the cupboard?

Be prepared for the cravings and have only healthy snacks in your pantry. If the junk food isn’t there, it is less of a temptation. Make a deal with yourself that every time a food craving hits, you will go out for a walk. Leave your money at home so you can’t stop at the ice cream store.

If you do slip and eat a box of chocolates, realize it is not the end of the world. Don’t bury yourself in shame; simply know that the next time you have the choice to choose a healthier food choice or to eat only one chocolate instead of the whole box.