There are lots of things that people say about how to overcome food cravings, but I have a sure-fire way that anyone can use, with guaranteed results.

There are three steps to overcoming your food cravings, and you’ll need to do all three, if you want to assure success.

Step one: stabilize your blood sugar. Swings in your blood sugar are responsible for a lot of your food cravings, so if you keep your levels steady, you’ll be able to reduce a significant proportion of our food cravings.

You can do this by avoiding foods that spike your blood sugar, like simple carbs- high-fructose corn syrup, white sugar and white flour –and by eating foods that will stabilize your blood sugar- dried beans and peas are an excellent example of this.

Also, making sure that you always have a bit of protein to eat will help reduce your food cravings. A lot of the time, you think that you want sweets, but it’s really just a need for protein. Having regular amounts of good quality protein- fish, nuts and seeds and eggs, for example- will do the trick.

Step two: cut out the foods that you crave. Usually, when you crave a food, you binge on the food, and this creates a vicious circle in your brain. The Dopamine system is activated whenever you eat this “trigger food” and it paradoxically produces more cravings, the more you eat. The only way to eliminate the craving is to go “cold turkey” on this food.

Initially, you’ll crave it even more, as your Dopamine system is screaming for the food it craves, but within one or two months, sometimes shorter, you’ll have fewer and fewer cravings, until they’re completely gone.  Of course, if you re-introduce the food, the cravings will come back in full force.

Step three: look at what the cravings mean to you, psychologically. People tend to eat compulsively when they’re using food to deal with some emotional hurt or need. When you look inside and see why you’re craving this food, then you can begin to give yourself what you really need; for example, love, nurturing and comfort. Once you have what you truly need, the cravings for food can disappear.

There are lots and lots of things written about overcoming food cravings but the three steps above are the only real way to get rid of food cravings simply, effectively and permanently.

My book, Emotional Overeating, goes through all the psychological issues involved with overeating, and gives simple and effective tools for freeing yourself from compulsive eating.

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