Hanoi Even though she wasn't hungry, cravings always haunted Phuong, making her restless and unable to concentrate on her work, leading to constant food consumption.
The 29-year-old communications employee’s desk is always filled with fruits, sweets, snacks, milk tea, and coffee. She finishes her breakfast with a cup of coffee at 8am, but only an hour later she’s reaching for a packet of crackers or nuts to satisfy her cravings. She says she’s not hungry, but food is always on her mind. Eating helps the woman relieve stress and get excited about work.
"I almost always want to eat, every hour," Phuong said, adding that she often tried to limit her cravings, but whenever she saw food in front of her, she couldn't resist. Phuong is 1.6 meters tall but weighs 64 kg, and has tried many times to lose weight but failed. Her unbalanced body shape causes her many disadvantages in work as well as in life.
After giving birth, Hoai, 30 years old in Cau Giay, also struggled to lose weight and failed many times because she could not resist her cravings. "If I didn't eat, my blood pressure would drop and my limbs would go limp," she said.
Previously, Hoai had a fairly well-proportioned body with a height of 1.58 m and a weight of 50 kg. An unstable business made Hoai feel pressured and stressed, turning to food as a form of relief, gradually becoming dependent.
Many times, the woman struggled with whether to eat or not. Making the decision drained her energy, and she eventually gave up. Hoai tried switching to diet snacks, but she found them "boring, and after a few weeks she gave up."
Starchy and fried foods are always attractive to many people. Photo: Lan Huong
A craving is defined as a strong, sometimes irresistible, uncontrollable desire for food. The person experiencing the craving will feel restless, irritable, and unable to concentrate until they eat the exact food they are craving.
Dr. Phan Thai Tan, HomeFiT weight loss health coach, said that many people are dependent on food, considering it addictive because it stimulates the body to produce dopamine - a hormone that causes excitement and temporarily reduces stress. Over time, the dose of dopamine becomes higher and higher to meet the demand, which means the level of sweet intake also increases day by day, creating a vicious cycle of having to find something to produce dopamine every few hours.
A person who is always craving for food should identify the reason for the constant craving. According to Dr. Tan, there are 5 groups of causes as follows: First, because you lack energy from physical activities, relationships, career, consciousness, from which you tend to seek energy sources from eating and drinking. Besides that is the imbalance in the diet. A person who eats too much red meat, salty foods, fried foods tends to seek sweets, caffeine, cold foods... In addition, there is a feeling of positive nostalgia, for example, the upcoming festival season, Tet, naturally feels like craving pickled onions, banh chung... Finally, the body does not drink enough water, is malnourished or has hormonal disorders, which also increases the feeling of craving.
Doctor Tan once conducted a test, leaving a box of 150g dried mango, equivalent to one kilogram of fresh mango, on his desk. Although he was not a big eater, the result was that in just three days, the box of mangoes was gone, even though he repeatedly told himself not to eat it.
"That was also the time when I noticed how much I was snacking," he said.
Experts say cravings are a major obstacle for people who are maintaining their weight goals or practicing a healthy diet. Overeating is the cause of obesity, which in turn causes many other diseases of both physical and mental health, such as blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, anxiety disorders...
According to Dr. Tan, the first secret if you want to be serious about a weight loss plan and limit your appetite is to not keep any unhealthy snacks in sight, such as on your desk or in your house, because then your brain will spend a lot of energy making the decision: to eat or not to eat. This will quickly drain your energy, and at some point you will no longer be alert enough to make a decision and will give up.
If you really crave food, choose healthy, low-sugar, high-fiber snacks to control the increase in blood sugar, thereby keeping the body in an optimal fat-burning state. Some non-fattening snacks include cereal with milk, fresh boiled beans, a handful of nuts, fruit and vegetable smoothies, protein-rich drinks such as whey protein...
It is best to snack right after the main meal because the main meal is rich in fiber and protein. Therefore, when snacking, blood sugar will not spike as quickly as when eating separately, helping you avoid consuming too much food.
According to Healthline, some other ways to curb cravings include getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep affects certain areas of the brain, which can increase the desire to consume delicious, high-calorie foods.
Another way to control cravings and stay full longer is to enjoy foods that promote satiety. High-protein diets have been shown to reduce activation of areas of the brain associated with nighttime cravings. Combining protein-rich foods with healthy fats, carbs, and fiber is essential to promote satiety.
Thuy Quynh
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