Are Food Cravings Your Problem?

Food cravings are one big reason for being overweight. Everyone has food cravings and the food industry is making millions off us. I was in Walmart yesterday to pick up some bottled water and I really believe there was more shelf space devoted to snacks and drinks then groceries. Then you add the frozen processed foods and all the candy and is it any wonder that we have an overweight population.

O.K., we do need snacks, but what can I buy that's healthy? What if you had a go-to salty/crunchy food that you could turn to in these instances that was actually healthy for you and your waistline?  Well you do...Almonds!

Almonds are loaded with healthy fats and protein that will keep you feeling full for hours, making them a terrific fat-burning snack to scratch that salty/crunchy craving itch. But I go one step further and buy salted mixed nuts. All nuts have good properties. Different nuts are rich in different vitamins and minerals so you don't have to skip any. I like a hand full in the afternoon and that kills the cravings until dinner. Remember just one hand full, the amount that will fill your palm. Nuts have calories and you can kill your diet by eating too much. 

So if you want to lose weight you have to start by changing what you eat. Start to eat natural foods, eat fresh, no processed foods, processed foods are foods that are pre-made and ready to eat, like the foods in restaurants and the foods in the frozen food section of the supermarket, no added sugar or salt, salt in foods adds to water retention and will cause high blood pressure. No enriched flour, including enriched wheat, it's as bad for you as sugar. 

Until you get back to a healthy weight you should make your own meals and brown bag lunch. One more tip "if you want to lose weight don't skip breakfast". For those who don't eat breakfast, have a protein shake. You need the protein first thing in the morning, the first hour your up.And here's another tip (after all, two tips are better than one):  While almonds are great, it's easy to overeat almost any food when eating straight out of the container.  In fact, research shows that you will eat on average two to three times MORE of a food when eating out of the container, than if you pre-portion your food out into a bowl.


Done of this is difficult, there are hundreds of websites that can help you. You have to want to change.
The point is that you can have healthy snacks. Losing weight doesn't mean starving.  I just changed  what I eat. So we covered snacks and that's a big part of your calorie intake, but drinks also count for almost as many calories as snacks. People will often forget about the calories in snacks and drinks because they don't think those calories are enough to count. But the truth is that snacks and drinks throughout the day will add up to more calories then your meals. 

Nuts, fruit including dry fruit that has no sugar added, seeds or some veggies like baby carrot are all good snacks, avoid the dips. 

For almonds, a 2 ounces (the typical serving size) is the perfect amount to set aside for a great fat-burning snack that will satisfy your cravings while holding you over until your next main meal.

A person should only consume about 1500 to 1800 calories a day depending on your weight. Now if you switch to drinking soda, they're about 200 calories a can unless your drinking a diet drink with zero calories. If your drinking a zero calorie can of soda you have to deal with the chemicals. And you might say "so what", "chemical are in everything anyway". Your right, but if your trying to lose weight, chemicals will affect your metabolism which is the bodies way of burning fat and if you slow down your metabolism your not burning fat, your just storing fat from the food your eating. 

If you start your morning at the coffee shop where you might order a Latte and then add sugar, you might be drinking 300 calories or maybe 600 depending on the size. If you drink plain coffee at work and put cream and sugar you might be drinking 100 calories and if you grab one of those donuts in the break room you might be taking a "500 calorie coffee break". It's now about 10 am you had no breakfast, just the Latte and your coffee break and your already consumed more then half your calories for the day. 

If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.