How to reduce food cravings - fast
Pleasant imagery using all the senses
Stay away from addictive foods
References
Pleasant imagery using all the senses
The easiest way to get your mind off that treat in the fridge is to picture this instead: palm trees leaning over a beach next to calm clear turquoise waters; or a slow dance on a warm night with the partner of your dreams; or a scene from your favourite feel-good movie. Or any other delightfully pleasant images that you can picture, as long as they are not food related.
In a study (published in August 2011), college students were asked to vividly imagine themselves immersed and totally living in a favourite, desired activity every time a food craving came up. They were asked to continue imagining themselves in the pleasant situation until the craving faded. They were shown how to make the images and the imagined situation as real as possible - by using all their senses, including sights, feelings, sounds and smells. The objective was to immerse, as realistically as possible, in the desired imagery.
The daydreamers experienced a significant fall in the strength of their cravings, compared to the control group who used other techniques to quell their cravings (such as distraction or reciting the alphabet backwards).
Stay away from addictive foods
Note: another key to getting over addictive foods is to keep away from them, and keep them away from you. Don't keep your favourite ice cream in the refrigerator - don't store any ice cream! If you can't keep from having just another handful of those choc-nuts in the cupboard, well throw them out and never buy them again. Remove all the temptations in your home and other places where you spend your time. Ask for help from all those around you, and that you are living with. This is a mental and physical addiction as strong as addictions to many other drugs.
Sugar addiction now affects the majority of people. Research shows that sugar is as addictive as heroin.
Get sufficient unrefined sea salt (NOT processed, refined salt). Sometimes the cause of food cravings, particularly salty foods, is a deficiency of the minerals that come in unrefined sea salt. Ensure the salt in your pantry is unrefined sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, NOT refined, processed salt.
References
1. Knauper B, Pillay R, Lacaille J, McCollam A, Kelso E.
Replacing craving imagery with alternative pleasant imagery reduces craving intensity.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009 Jan;89(1):19-26
Appetite. 2011 Aug;57(1):173-8.