Have you ever woken up feeling hungry? Most of us have at one time or another. You wake up, and you’re famished. You jump out of bed, and you head for the kitchen to make yourself something to eat. But when you get there, you find that you’ve lost your appetite. You might feel like this if you’ve tried to go on a diet before or if you’re in a bit of stress (hello, New York City!).
This can cause havoc with your dieting goals – especially if it happens often. So what can you do? How can you get your appetite back without having to starve yourself?
EAT WHAT YOU WANT WHEN YOU WANT IT. (DON’T SKIMP ON THE DISHWASHER.)
This seems so obvious as to be needless to say, yet we’re constantly being told to deprive ourselves of what we want. When you feel hungry, the last thing you need is more food restrictions. You need food, you need fat, and you need protein. So instead of depriving yourself of food, try to satisfy your hunger with what you want. If you feel like pizza, get pizza. If you need fuel to get through the day, chug a smoothie.
You might feel like you have to watch what you eat or follow a certain diet in order to lose weight. But here’s the rub: the more you watch what you eat and the more you restrict yourself, the more you’re going to crave foods that you’ve restricted. So the next thing you know, you’re trying to eat healthy and watching yourself waste away. It’s a vicious cycle that could just as easily be avoided by saying no to junk food and yes to wholesome, nutritious foods like dark leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. You’ll be doing yourself a favor by including those foods in your diet, and you’ll be saving your health in the process.
TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING.
There are plenty of fad diets that claim to be able to make you thin by denying yourself of certain foods. But why be so rigid about what you eat? Why not try a diet where you indulge yourself with some of the foods that you crave?
Yes, it’s true that some people are allergic to certain foods or have intolerances to certain foods. For those people, cutting out certain foods might be the only way to go. But for the rest of us, why not take a bit of everything? If you’re a seasoned chef, you might want to concoct a food blend that is perfect for your needs. Or if you’re looking for a ready-made option, try making your own all-natural peanut butter. Or if you’re feeling extra creative, why not try creating your own unique pasta sauce? The point is that with a little bit of creativity and initiative, you can find a way to make whatever you need to stay fit and healthy.
So instead of shunning certain foods and depriving yourself of the foods that you crave, why not learn to love and accept them? Why not learn to live alongside – and even indulge in – the foods that make you feel good? You might just find that you’ve weaned yourself off a lot of the bad foods and that your health has benefited in the process.
EXERCISE REGULARLY.
Another way to fight your appetite is with exercise. If you’re regularly getting exercise, you’re already on your way to losing some weight. But why not take it a step further and actually join a gym? Get a personal trainer to help you reach your goals. Or, if you prefer, get a workout partner and meet up with them regularly for a workout.
The advantage of working out with someone is that they can keep track of how you’re doing and help you stay motivated. They might also be able to suggest different routines or workouts for you to try out. Or they might just have a healthy meal waiting for you when you get done working out. The point is that when you exercise regularly, you’ll be burning calories and getting rid of the fat that you don’t need.
If regular exercise isn’t your thing, there are plenty of ways to get a workout. Join a gym and work out with a personal trainer. Or run around the block a few times or play a pickup game of basketball with some friends. Ultimately, it’s up to you what you do, but at least you’ll be doing something – even if it’s just moving around a lot.
So instead of trying to deprive yourself of the foods that you crave, why not learn to live alongside them? Instead of trying to exercise without anyone else around to help you, why not get a workout partner or try an online workout class? You might just find that by including the foods that you crave in your diet and by engaging in some form of regular exercise, you’ll be able to tame your appetite and shed off the extra pounds.