Have you heard someone crave broccoli, spinach, or even lettuce? No. Right?
One reason is that they’re not as palatable as other foods which are either high in salt, sugar, fat, or a combination.
Food cravings are real but in essence, you’ve lost control over eating.
Coming to solutions
The first and foremost thing is to keep yourself hydrated. Because a lot of times, the body confuses thirst with hunger and you often end up eating a lot of junk in the process. So it is ideal to keep a water bottle with you at all times and respond to your craving by drinking enough water.
Consume protein & complex carbohydrates at each meal as both these are linked to increased satiety and reduced hunger levels. Several studies have been conducted to prove this. Some examples could be oats, wheat, besan, all dals, rajma, chole, etc., and for protein try including some dairy, soy, chicken, egg, fish, etc. in your diet.
Don’t keep foods that you crave in your vicinity. Because you will end up eating them over and over again. Out of sight is out of mind.
Sleep well as lack of sleep is linked to poor food choices the following day. What is happening here is that if you’re not well-rested, your hunger hormone ghrelin is triggered and the satiety hormone leptin is decreased, leading to increased hunger and appetite for unhealthy foods. Stress affects a similar way as by disrupting the hormonal balance. Stress increases cortisol hormone which results in an increased appetite for high sugar high-fat foods. A good way to curb this is to be physically active, mediate and add more laughter to your life.