How Can I Stop Food Cravings When I Am on the Atkins Diet?

According to Dr. Robert Atkins, author of "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution," the purpose of a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet is to correct "an unbalanced metabolism." Carbohydrates quickly raise blood sugar levels and trigger insulin production. They also increase levels of the brain hormone, serotonin, which can have a calming and mood-boosting effect. The Atkins diet requires you to follow a series of stages whereby you count and strictly control all carbohydrate intake. When you follow the Atkins diet you may experience cravings for carbohydrate-rich foods. These cravings are partly due to physiological reactions to a low-carbohydrate eating plan and are partly the result of psychological associations between sweet or starchy foods and feelings of pleasure and satiety. Curb food cravings with healthy lifestyle choices and careful planning and preparation of meals and snacks.

Instructions

• 1

  Prioritize a good night's sleep and aim to sleep for about seven to eight hours each night. Lack of sleep leads to decreased levels of the hormone, leptin, which suppresses appetite, and increased levels of the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates appetite and carbohydrate cravings.

• 2

  Stay hydrated by drinking at least six glasses of fluid each day. Maintain feelings of satiety by drinking a glass of fluid at regular intervals during the day. Feelings of thirst are sometimes misinterpreted as hunger pangs, according to an article reviewed by Dr. Louise Chang, at MedicineNet.

• 3

  Eat small amounts of foods that are recommended by your Atkins eating plan every few hours to prevent food cravings caused by a severe drop in blood sugar levels.

• 4

  Take part in physical exercise that you enjoy for approximately 30 minutes each day. Physical activity stimulates production of brain chemicals, known as endorphins, which are the body's natural painkillers and mood-boosters. When you feel good about yourself you are less likely to sabotage your diet plan by succumbing to food cravings.

• 5

  Relax, close your eyes and spend five minutes each day visualizing the food that you are craving, for example a piece of chocolate cake. Imagine the whole process of eating the cake, from the soft feel of it in your hand, its chocolate aroma, sweet taste and crumbly texture, to placing it in your mouth, chewing and then swallowing. According to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, repeated, imagined consumption of a particular food helps to curb cravings and appetite for that food.