Almost everybody who starts our New Alkaline diet has to deal with cravings. I’m sure even Elle McPherson went through them.
Unless you never ate sugar in your life, you’ve had cravings. Yet… knowing that it’s a common problem doesn’t make it any easier for you.
We’ve found that these tactics help a lot. We are asking a lot to give up your ‘crutch’ your ‘Mother’s Little Helper’ so the least we can do is show you what we have learned about overcoming cravings.
There are a few tactics we have found that works for almost everybody.
5 Crave Stopping Hacks
1. Sleep Enough.
It sounds like an odd first hack, but short on zeds does make you crave junk food. It’s also a sure way to make sure that you don’t have enough willpower to resist because you feel like well… crap..
Without sufficient sleep, 2 things happen.
a) You overproduce cortisol. This makes you hungrier, particularly for sugar.
b) Your body sends less glucose to your prefrontal cortex, your impulse-control centre. You have less control over your actions (and your cravings).
How important is sleep? Try living without it.
2. Eat Enough Healthy Fats.
We usually crave non-NAD (New Alkaline Diet) foods because we’re just not eating enough, especially when first starting on the diet. Remember that you’re cutting out a lot of the nasty starches and sugars, so you need a replacement. The health-friendliest and most satisfying way to replace it is with good fats, such as coconut oil, pastured beef fat, avocado fat etc.
Make sure that you eat enough food at every meal. If this doesn’t seem a problem, Sounds like it shouldn’t be a problem, but when you’re changing your diet, you often under eat without even knowing.
3. Avoid Snacking.
If you are already a snacker you’ve trained your body like a puppy to beg for food at regular hours. Continue to snack regularly, and you’ll continue to be reminded to snack at those times because your body will expect it.
I know, I know. You don’t like this suggestion. just remember the AA maxim. One day at a time.
Once you say no to snack addiction (and begin eating only nutritious NAD foods), your hunger pangs will cease because you’re getting off the up-down mood cycle so evident in over-acidic people.
4. Drink More Water: alkaline hydrogen-rich pure water if possible…
Drinking has the same problems as eating. Being dehydrated supercharges your cravings. You don’t need to drink gallons, but definitely make sure you drink water regularly.
5. Go Cold Turkey.
There’s no easy way to say this. Just do it. We admit we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable. Face it, Kiddo. If you could have changed your diet, YOU WOULD HAVE! Sugar is by far the most addictive part of non-NAD foods. It isn’t easy to give up processed sugar cold turkey, but if you can do it, your cravings will be much easier to control sooner rather than later. I can absolutely say that my whole food preferences, servings size and enjoyment have all changed as I gave up on sugar (and grains and acidic foods!)