From a young age, many of us come to associate celebrations with sweets, from cake at birthday parties to dessert after finishing our veggies. Curb Your Craving With This Satisfy a sweet tooth with whole fruits and lightened-up desserts free of refined sugars and unhealthy fats, such as these Raw Brownies With Mint Cashew Cream.

Change What You Crave Like This Become aware of the sweets-reward connection from your childhood to understand where this craving comes from, as well as the circumstances surrounding the craving.

The creamy treat contains polyphenols that boost your mood, according to a study published in May in the Journal of Psychopharmacology , and can even mimic the feeling of romantic love — studies show that just looking at and smelling chocolate can activate the pleasure center of the brain.

Curb Your Craving With This Instead of candies, cakes, and nutrient-devoid milk or white chocolate, subdue your cravings with a smoothie made with cacao or a 1-ounce serving of dark chocolate.

Hitting the gym when a craving strikes can also boost mood and serotonin levels , and help calm the munchies.

Do you find yourself hankering for a cheese plate or a creamy milkshake? Plus, much of what makes cheese so appealing is its creamy texture, which can be comforting, she adds. Change What You Crave Like This Engage in mood-boosting activities like hiking and yoga, which release endorphins and can also be soothing and comforting for the body.

And we're faced with more than food decisions every day, so if the office doughnuts make an appearance, you might be tempted to give in. She points to a study published in December in Health Psychology that found that healthier comfort food, such as popcorn, is just as likely to boost a negative mood as a more caloric comfort food, such as ice cream, or a food that subjects felt neutral about, such as a granola bar.

Curb Your Craving With This Reach for an avocado to get the creamy texture you crave, plus a natural energy and mood boost.

Avocados are also a source of healthy fats. Change What You Crave Like This Seek out other, consistent ways to comfort yourself. Schedule time to meditate or simply sit in silence for a few minutes to get centered.

When I got stressed before, I would often turn to pretzels. Then again, you might just really want something salty. If that's the case, Gorin notes that there "are ways to satisfy your craving while not taking in a lot of sodium. One of her go-tos is Wonderful Pistachios , available in unsalted and lightly salted varieties.

Plus, you also get healthy fat, protein, and fiber to help keep you full. Curb Your Craving With This Reach for kale chips, air-popped popcorn, and crunchy produce like apples, celery, and carrots. You eat it, your kids eat it, even your dog eats it.

Still, we buy ice cream and enjoy every bite of it—and sometimes regret it later. Do you want to know a secret? There are many alternatives to regular ice cream—ones that you can indulge in guilt-free! Those include Halo Top, Enlightened, and Sweet Habit.

Frozen yogurt is also a great alternative that gives you that frozen treat feel but with the same health benefits as yogurt. Homemade ice cream is also a great alternative to store-bought. In addition to traditional flavors such as vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate, you can make fruity flavors.

This serving is acceptable to eat as an occasional treat. You should never eat an entire pint of ice cream in one sitting. For example, half a cup of vanilla ice cream typically has around calories. But if you eat an entire pint which is two cups , you are eating around calories in one sitting. Method 2.

Avoid anything ice cream related. If your daily commute normally passes by an ice cream shop and you frequently struggle with the temptation to stop there, consider changing your commute. Plan to take a route that is ice cream free. Know your ice cream triggers and train yourself to react differently.

Is there something specific that happens, or a thought or memory that you have, that instantly makes you crave ice cream? Triggers can include things like marketing i.

the gigantic billboard advertising the new Blizzard flavor of the month , and sounds i. the ice cream truck jingle.

Eat consciously. Many of us eat while watching TV, reading a book, at a movie theater, watching sports, at a bar, or while chatting with friends, but all of these things can cause us to eat more than we would otherwise eat.

If you do cheat and eat some ice cream, focusing on the experience of eating it and enjoying every bite will help you to eat less with more satisfaction.

Many times unconscious eating may occur because we need to keep our hands busy. Instead of using your hands to eat without realizing it , train yourself to pick up something non-edible to play with. Create other ways to feel good without ice cream. Do you eat ice cream because you feel sad?

Do you eat ice cream to reward yourself for accomplishing goals? Think of other, non-food ways to reward yourself. Maybe a new scarf, a new episode of your favorite TV show, or a night at the opera with friends.

Do you eat ice cream because you feel you "deserve it" at the end of a hard day's work? Consider other ways to reward yourself-- if you prefer a food treat, try a bowl of low-sugar cereal, a cup of hot tea, or even a small glass of wine-- all of which can help you unwind and prepare for bed.

Even better, try non-food ways of relaxing like a hot bath with candles, a massage, or several chapters of a new book. Method 3. Get plenty of sleep. Research shows that people who get enough sleep are less likely to overeat, especially "emotional eating" which is the body's way of coping with extreme exhaustion.

A lack of sleep may also be responsible for a lack of specific hormones that help control appetite. Eat at regular intervals. Have you ever used the excuse that you can have ice cream tonight because you skipped breakfast?

While it might result in the same amount of calories on that day, it robs your body of needed nutrients and can cause you to overeat the next day to make up for it. This will result in approximately 5 meals per day on an average day.

Include protein with every meal. Many people indulge in ice cream at the end of the day because they are actually hungry again, having eaten a less-than-satisfying dinner. Protein is known to make you feel fuller, longer, keeping some of those cravings at bay.

Eating protein with every meal will stop the hunger from reappearing in-between meals, which should stop you from suddenly feelings like you need an ice cream cone to get you by till dinner or as a late night snack. Drink more water.

Thirst is often confused for hunger because they both have the same basic symptoms. In addition, start drinking water on a regular basis every day to help control your overall appetite.

This can prevent the cravings from happening in the first place. Method 4. Become mindful about what you eat. Have you ever sat down to a movie with a pint of Ben and Jerry's, and before the opening credits have ended, you've finished the whole container without even realizing it?

Don't eat ice cream while you're engaging in other enjoyable activities like watching a movie or surfing the internet. Instead, savor the moment itself, and let the joy of the activity be enough.

Before putting one spoonful of ice cream in your mouth, ask yourself these two questions: If I eat this ice cream, will I feel like I lost control?

If I eat this ice cream, will I feel shame, blame or guilt? If you answer yes to one or both of these questions, put that ice cream aside and have something else.

Allow yourself to feel your emotion. One of the many reasons we crave foods like ice cream is because it makes us feel better. Cry if you have to. Write down your feelings in a journal. Allow yourself to experience emotions rather than comfort yourself with ice cream.

Find other ways to deal with PMS. While it is sometimes used as a mean joke or a stereotype, it is true that some women might crave ice cream during the few days leading up to their period, as a part of a cluster of symptoms known as premenstrual syndrome.

Recognizing the correlation between your ice cream consumption and menstrual cycle can save you from being a slave to ice cream during those days. Eat something else. It is normal to feel hungrier during this time, since you need more calories.

Additionally, more than half of the fat in ice cream is saturated, known as "bad fat" because it contributes to problems such as hypertension. Nut butters are equally high in fat, but contain more unsaturated, or "good fat," as well as plenty of protein.

Spread a piece of whole wheat bread with almond butter to satisfy your craving for a rich, filling snack. Add a smear of all-natural fruit jam for additional sweetness. Wanting ice cream on a hot summer night makes sense--a scoop or two can cool you down fast.

Substitute a cold glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade blended with ice for a frothy, chilling alternative. Iced herbal tea infused with chunks of frozen fruit can also do the trick.

Make ice cubes from a variety of colorful fresh fruit juices and add them to pineapple juice for a colorful non-alcoholic cocktail you can serve to guests. Nutrition Desserts and Snacks Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt. What Vitamin Do I Need If I Crave Ice Cream?

By Editorial Team. Video of the Day. Frozen Goodness. Add some cinnamon and almond butter to air-popped popcorn for the perfect balance of salty and sweet. Some research suggests the spice might help reduce blood glucose levels, which can also help ward off cravings, and almond butter brings healthy fat that makes popcorn taste extra decadent.

Try popcorn with cinnamon or almond butter when you crave salty and sweet foods. Some experts believe our bodies may occasionally confuse thirst with hunger, which is why it can be so difficult to tell exactly what food item will satisfy the craving.

As it turns out, when your body needs water, it doesn't particularly care if you get it from an actual glass of H2O or your favorite pint of Ben and Jerry's.

Your best bet is to drink a quick glass of water when cravings strike and then wait 15 minutes to see if you're still craving something to eat. Sometimes, cravings come out of the blue, and the first options that come to your mind aren't necessarily the healthiest.

Fortunately, there are healthy ways to satisfy your cravings—sweet, salty, or otherwise—and provide yourself with nutrients in the process. Wurtman J, Wurtman R.

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Changes in macronutrient, micronutrient, and food group intakes throughout the menstrual cycle in healthy, premenopausal women. Eur J Nutr.

Department of Agriculture. Chocolate milk, made from light syrup with whole milk. Be Sugar Smart: Limiting Added Sugars Can Improve Health.

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J Med Food. Mattes RD. Hunger and thirst: issues in measurement and prediction of eating and drinking. Epub Jan PMID: ; PMCID: PMC Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising.

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