How to manage your cravings

Forewarned is forearmed: If you know a food craving is going to strike, you can substitute something — a healthier snack, a distraction, even a well-planned breakfast or lunch­­ — rather than regularly surrendering. Here are proven methods to help tame your cravings:

Eat carbs, protein and a little fat at every meal and snack.
When we eat meals that are lacking in one kind of food, we may be more likely to crave it later — something for dieters on high-protein, low-carb regimens to keep in mind. Eating a varied diet, you'll feel better and have more energy and better concentration. Protein and fat take longer to digest than carbs do, so including them, along with more fiber, in any meal means that you'll feel satisfied longer. When our meals are monotonous — the same day after day — we're practically guaranteed powerful cravings, even if your diet is nutritionally adequate.

Too often we'll skip breakfast or forget about lunch, only to feel a craving strike later in the day. Think ahead and plan a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner that consist of carbohydrates, protein and good fats. Your snacks, too, should be a combination of protein, carbs and a little fat, especially in the late afternoon, when cravings seem most urgent. Any of the following snacks can fend off a trip to the candy machine: whole-wheat pita bread with hummus; a pear with lowfat cheese slices; a quesadilla (made with a whole-wheat tortilla); raw veggies with lowfat cottage cheese; whole-wheat crackers with peanut butter.