Crush Your Cravings

If you could name ONE thing that's getting in the way of your fitness progress...I'd bet it's cravings.

But contrary to popular belief, cravings aren't hunger.

In our modern environment, we are rarely TRULY hungry.

You know that feeling when ANYTHING sounds delicious?

If a grilled chicken breast and broccoli was in front of you it would taste like heaven?

That's a good sign you're hungry.

If you've ever cut down to low levels of body fat, you know what I mean.

BUT, if you're looking in the fridge and the pantry, and there's a bunch of options but none of them sound great?

That's not hunger.

Instead, tasty foods are filling a desire for immediate reward.

Our brain has two systems - a rational and an emotional.

The emotional side doesn't care about your goals - it wants PLEASURE...now.

And what's the quickest way to find pleasure?

Tasty food.

It's EVERYWHERE.

You can tap a button on your phone and have a 1500 calorie blizzard delivered to your door within 10 minutes.

Thankfully, we have a rational brain that can override this emotional side....sometimes.

When this rational brain gets fatigued, the emotion takes over - and we give in to our cravings....A LOT.

This is why it's easy to stay on track early in the day or week, but you turn into a different person at 7pm on Wednesday.

Research shows that cravings occur in the majority of the population.

And 80-85% of craving episodes result in eating the craved food or a similar item!

Whoa, we're screwed.

So first things first, RECOGNIZE:

• You’re normal

• You’re not alone

• Cravings are normal

• You aren’t a bad person or a failure if you give in to cravings (and you can still make progress if you do)

Simply dropping these labels and judgments about yourself can go a long way in your journey.

What do we do?

There's lots of advice for handling cravings out there.

From "how bad do you want it?" to "FEEL the craving, then eat broccoli instead of ice cream."

Puke.

It's not that simple.

But the good news is, you can prevent a majority of cravings BEFORE they even hit you!

Then if they still arise we can do our best to handle it in the moment.

That's why I use a 3 part framework for crushing cravings once and for all:

1. Physiology (Maximize fullness)

2. Environment (Limit temptations)

3. Psychology (Handle the urges)

Parts 1 and 2 come before a craving arises.

Part 3 handles what to do when it hits.

Lastly, I'll teach you how to handle it if you give in to the donuts (everyone does at some point), so we can get better over time.

Here we go...

Part 1: Maximize Fullness

If you haven't had any protein or vegetables for 3 days and there are donuts in the break room...

No amount of mental jiu-jitsu is going to keep you from eating them.

We need to stay as full as possible, as often as possible.

This sets you up physiologically to have the best shot at keeping it at bay.

Our primary levers here are eating whole, nutritious foods and eating enough protein.

Our secondary levers include meal hygiene and meal timing.

1.1 Eat whole foods.

Experiment on yourself.

Take a set calorie number for the day - then fill it with a day of processed foods and a day of whole foods.

Your hunger and fullness will be COMPLETELY different.

Aim to get AT LEAST 80% of your food from whole food sources.

You can steal my "Always" and "Sometimes" Food lists from my free eating guide here.

Whole foods allows you to eat WAY more food per calorie:

1.2 Eat a High Protein Diet

You won't believe how full a high protein diet will keep you.

Eat it early, eat it often, and the same amount of calories will seem SO much easier to eat.

How much should you eat?

If you're relatively lean, we can use your body weight to determine how much by multiplying by 0.8.

If you weigh 200 lbs, eat 160 grams of protein per day.

If you have a decent amount of weight to lose, multiply your LEAN body mass by 1.

This is the percentage of your body weight that isn't fat mass.

You can estimate your body fat percentage through picture comparison, here:

Multiply that percentage by your body weight, and subtract that from your body weight.

i.e.

30% body fat at 200 lbs

lean body mass = 200 - (200 * 0.3) = 140 lbs.

So eat 140 grams of protein per day.

If you need protein ideas, you can get my protein hacks guide for free here.

1.3 Meal Hygiene

Meal hygiene includes all the practices around consuming food.

The same exact meal can be much more filling for less calories if you change how you're eating.

We want to do anything that can slow us down and improve digestion:

• Fill up on water before & during the meal.

• Chew each bite thoroughly, until the food is an oatmeal like consistency.

• Remove phones and TVs while you eat and focusing on each bite.

• Eat your protein and vegetables first. This decreases your blood sugar response, fills you up, and leads you to eat less calories.

• Put your silverware down between bites. Breathe, take a sip of water, or pause before eating more.

• Go for a short walk after the meal.

1.4 Meal Timing

Everyone is different here.

Some are hungrier in the mornings, others in the evenings.

Some like to consume 1-2 HUGE meals, others like to eat 4-6 meals throughout the day.

I generally recommend you start around 3-4 meals per day and adjust accordingly.

Find what works for you.

Experiment with intermittent fasting, experiment with a bigger breakfast.

PAY ATTENTION TO HOW THEY MAKE YOU FEEL.

How hungry are you?

Are you craving anything at certain times?

If so, add a high protein snack a couple hours beforehand.

I do best going lower calorie and high protein earlier in the day and keeping more calories for the evening.

I enjoy having a big meal ahead of me in the evenings.

For most people, it's generally never a bad idea to get a TON of protein in the morning.

If you aren't hungry, drink a protein shake.

Throw it in a blender with fruit and spinach for even more fullness.

Part 2: Environment

Research shows that people with more willpower aren't more successful in weight loss.

The people that are most successful RELY ON WILLPOWER LESS THAN OTHERS.

This is quite liberating to me.

There's nothing wrong with you - you're normal.

In fact, when willpower was exercised during a movie - those that succesfuly refrained from snacking during the movie ended up just snacking on something else afterwards!!!!

Trying to rely on willpower is a losers game.

We need to fix your environment to limit temptation all around.

2.1 Food Availability

There are 2 aspects here:

• Make whole foods abundant, available, and in sight.

• Make calorie dense foods rare, unavailable, and out of sight. 

If you have to pass a bowl of candy 45 times per day, good luck not eating any.

So let's find nutrient dense foods to munch on if needed that won't destroy your calorie budget in just a few bites.

My favorite option here is berries.

Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries.

Have them in the fridge ready to roll.

You can eat SO many strawberries for 100 calories and by the time you eat them, it'll give your hunger a great chance to subside.

Other options include:

• Pickles

• Beef Jerky

• Mandarin Oranges

• Greek yogurt packets

• Chopped fresh vegetables

Stock up on these and PUT THEM FRONT AND CENTER in the cabinet, fridge, or even on the counter.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing - even eating some of the above BEFORE snacking on your temptations will lead you to eat less of them.

On the flip side, we want to keep your temptation foods out of the house at all costs.

A big key here is your grocery shopping habits.

DO NOT grocery shop when you're hungry. You can even order online for pick up or delivery if you'd like to limit exposure.

I'm not saying you can't eat high calorie foods...

But if you have to go to the store to get it, you're much less likely to eat it than if it's 10 steps away from you at all times.

If you have to have these in the house - keep them out of sight.

Put them in the back of the cabinet/fridge where you can't even see them.

2.2 Food Substitutes

Find low calorie, high protein alternatives to your favorite comfort foods.

Whatever your guilty pleasure, there are alternatives that are about 75% as good but half the calories.

I'm not going to sit here and say it's just as good - it's not.

But if you can get something good enough and eat it pretty regularly...

You'll begin to make that tradeoff decision every time you're tempted by your favorite Blizzard.

My favorite option here is protein ice cream:

• Halo Top ice cream is ~300 calories and 20 grams of protein.

• Ninja Creami recipes can get you 30+ grams of protein for under 300 calories.

Meanwhile, a small Reese's Blizzard is 570 calories and 15 grams of protein.

The tradeoff usually isn't worth it to me.

And when all I eat are the low calorie versions, I forget how much better the Blizard truly is.

Another alternative I make is a greek yogurt bowl:

• 10 grams of honey

• Oikos Triple Zero vanilla greek yogurt

• Frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries

This is SUPER filling and gets me a ton of protein for just 200-300 calories.

By the time I'm done I can't even think about anything more.

Pretty hard to crave things after you eat that every night.

Whatever your guilty pleasure is, google "high protein low calorie ____" and you're sure to find amazing options.

A note on our tastebuds:

Eating tasty foods increases cravings for tasty foods.

The more regularly you eat something - the more you crave it.

This is why eating whole foods most of the time is SO IMPORTANT.

If you have brownies every night but still hit your numbers, you’re never going to stop craving them.

It's almost like your taste buds have a memory.

Everything you're eating is compared to the tastiest things you eat.

You'll notice that the more whole foods you eat, the better they taste to you.

And if you go off the rails with burgers, pizza, and blizzards - the next time you eat vegetables they taste terribel.

I'm not saying you can't eat the good stuff, but just know it comes at a cost, and the more you have them the more you'll want them.

Part 3: Psychological Tools

So we've minimized hunger.

We've set up our environment for success.

But dammit, the cravings are still here.

Now what?

We've finally earned the right to start doing some mental exercises to avoid giving in.

3.1 Awareness

Our first step is identifying that were having a craving.

Accept it for what it is.

Remember what we discussed - your emotional brain wants an immediate reward.

You don't choose your emotions, you only choose your response to them.

Don't label it as good or bad, and don't try to push it away.

Feel it.

This creates a gap and pulls you out of it to give you space and give you a shot at changing your behavior.

Reflect on how you're feeling:

• How's your stress?

• How did you sleep last night?

• What's going on?

3.2 Reframe

Don't label the food driving your cravings as "bad" or that you "can't" have it...

Instead, use the awareness and gap we created above and reframe this:

"I really want the brownie, but that's tough to work with my goals right now. I COULD have it - but it would set me back and it's not worth it to me right now."

It's always your choice.

3.3 Implementation Intentions

We always want to have game plans built out in our head so we know exactly what to do when situations arise.

The structure of an implementation intention is:

If _____, then _____.

Example:

• If donuts are in the break room and I have a craving, THEN I will:

  • Bring awareness to my craving for what it is

  • Remind myself of my goals

  • Assess if it’s worth it to me today

• IF it ISN’T worth it to me today, THEN I will:

  • Go for a 5 minute walk

  • Eat a greek yogurt packet

  • Have a Crystal Light water

• IF it IS worth it to me today, THEN I will:

  • Drink my protein shake I packed first and then enjoy 1 donut.

  • Take 1 donut out of the break room and eat it sitting down so I'm not tempted for more

You should have implementation intentions for the worst case scenario.

Instead of having a plan A, have a plan A-C so that if shit hits the fan you know what to do.

The key here is to always reconstruct these after a situation you didn't eat how you would have liked.

Any "failure" is a great opportunity to create an implementation intention for next time.

3.4 Create Time

Time after that initial craving is powerful, regardless of how you get it.

You might work into your implementation intention something to give you a break

• Go for a walk

• Drink a 0 calorie beverage

• Eat some strawberries first

• Eat a low calorie high protein snack you have on standby

Anything that creates time will give you the best chance at avoiding the temptation.

And sometimes you might still make the choice to give in - and that's ok.

You gave in...now what?

I'd be lying to you if I said you'll never give in to a craving again.

When you do, first things first..

Acknowledge that it's normal and nothing is wrong with you.

It's going to happen.

Over the long term, it's about how you respond after messing up that determines your success.

If you get down on yourself and let it derail you for a week, you can actually set yourself back a decent amount.

But if you bounce right back and shake it off, it's pretty damn hard to do any damage in one meal or one day.

After acknowledging this, reframe the situation as a learning opportunity.

Self awareness is the golden ticket to long-term fitness success.

It turns everything into growth, because you're reflecting on "failure" and preparing for next time.

Reflect on the situation...

• Where were you?

• What was going on that day?

• How did you sleep the night before?

• Did you stay up on your protein and whole foods beforehand?

Now turn this reflection into an implementation intention...

"The next time this exact situation arises, I will..."

Determine 1 thing you could do to prevent it from happening and 1 way you could have handled it differently.

This could be as simple as adding a protein source that morning or eating one donut instead of 2.

As time goes on, every "failure" you experience is making you stronger.

Your toolkit grows so every situation possible doesn't phase you.

Failure is feedback.

Expect and embrace it and you'll eventually get to your goals.

TL;DR 3 steps to crush your cravings:

1. Maximize Fullness

• Eat a high protein diet

• Eat whole foods 80% of the time

2. Optimize your environment

• Make healthy foods abundant and in sight.

• Keep high calorie foods scarce and out of sight.

• Find low calorie, high protein versions of your guilty pleasures.

3. Psychological Tools

• Identify the craving and feel it.

• Reframe from something you "can't" have to something you're choosing not to have.

• Use implementation intentions to handle scenarios with cravings.

• Build time into the scenario to give you the best chance.

• Reflect on "failure" and build a plan for next time to turn every situation into growth.

Until next time,

Brooks

P.S.

I currently have client openings. If you're interested, schedule a FREE health audit here.

I will break down where you are, where you want to be, and how to get there - then if it feels like we'd be a good fit I can tell you about my program.