How to Tame Food Cravings and Maintain a Balanced Diet

Written By Maria T

Food cravings can be a common struggle for many, leading to unhealthy eating habits and potential weight gain. Understanding what causes these cravings and learning effective strategies to manage them is crucial for maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet. In this guide, we’ll explore the science behind food cravings and provide practical, evidence-based tips to help you take control of your cravings and achieve your wellness goals.

Did you know I have a course on this exact topic? The course helps you understand in depth the reasons you’re getting food cravings, and ways to address them in a practical and healthy way.

  1. Understanding Hunger-Fullness Cues

Recognizing and responding to your hunger and fullness cues is key to managing food cravings. Research shows that people who are attuned to their body’s signals are better equipped to regulate their food intake. By learning to differentiate between genuine hunger and cravings, you can make more informed decisions about when and what to eat, ultimately leading to a healthier relationship with food.

2. Eat Enough Calories Throughout the Day

Consuming adequate calories is essential to prevent and manage food cravings. Studies have demonstrated that undereating or following restrictive diets can lead to increased cravings and binge-eating behaviors. To stabilize hunger and reduce intense cravings, maintain a balanced diet that meets your daily energy needs. This ensures that your body gets the fuel it needs to function optimally without triggering unnecessary cravings to compensate for what it didn’t receive throughout the day.

3. Include Filling Nutrients in Your Diet

The type of food you eat plays a significant role in managing food cravings. Research has shown that diets rich in fiber, protein, and complex carbohydrates promote feelings of fullness and satisfaction, thereby reducing the likelihood of cravings. Incorporate nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains into your daily meals and snacks to keep cravings at bay.

4. Enhancing the Satisfaction Factor

The "satisfaction factor" refers to the degree to which your food intake provides a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. Studies suggest that individuals who experience higher satisfaction from their meals are less likely to experience intense food cravings. Strategies like mindful eating, savoring each bite, and varying the flavors and textures in your meals can enhance this satisfaction factor and reduce cravings.

5. Address Emotional, Physical, and Mental Aspects of Cravings

  • Mental Restriction includes cognitive restriction (self-imposed rules about eating), “all-or-nothing” thinking (classifying foods as "good" or "bad"), and perfectionism (striving for a perfect diet) can all cause cravings when expectations aren’t met.

  • Physical Restriction includes nutrient deficiencies (like filling nutrients mentioned above), and large calorie deficits can all trigger food cravings.

  • Emotional Restriction like emotional distress (stress/anxiety) and boredom, for example, can lead to heightened food cravings.


Food cravings are influenced by a complex interplay of emotional, physical, and mental factors. Stress, boredom, and negative emotions can trigger cravings, while physical issues such as hunger-fullness hormonal imbalances and nutrient deficiencies may also play a role. Address these underlying factors through stress management techniques, seeking counselling, and addressing any health concerns to effectively manage your cravings.

Final Words

Mastering the art of understanding and managing food cravings requires a multifaceted approach. By incorporating these strategies, you can develop a healthier relationship with food, maintain a balanced diet, and achieve your wellness goals.

For those looking for more in-depth guidance, I invite you to explore my comprehensive course "Understanding and Taming Food Cravings", now available on my website. Together, we can empower you to take control of your cravings and embrace a fulfilling, nourishing, and sustainable eating lifestyle.


References worth reading with an open mind

  1. (2020) Reichenberger, J., Schnepper, R., Arend, A. K., & Blechert, J. Emotional eating in healthy individuals and patients with an eating disorder: evidence from psychometric, experimental and naturalistic studies. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 79(3), 290–299. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665120007004

  2. (2018) Van Strien T. . Causes of Emotional Eating and Matched Treatment of Obesity. Current diabetes reports, 18(6), 35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-018-1000-x

  3. (2001) Thayer R. Calm Energy: How people regulate mood with food and exercise. Oxford: Oxford University Press

  4. (2019) Canada’s Food Guide. https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/

  5. (2007) Klok MD, Jakobsdottir S, Drent ML. The role of leptin and ghrelin in the regulation of food intake and body weight in humans: a review. Obes Rev;8(1):21-34. Review.

  6. (2009) Mathes, W. F., Brownley, K. A., Mo, X., & Bulik, C. M.The Biology of Binge Eating. Appetite, 52(3), 545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2009.03.005

  7. (2015) Elran-Barak, R., Sztainer, M., Goldschmidt, A. B., Crow, S. J., Peterson, C. B., Hill, L. L., Crosby, R. D., Powers, P., Mitchell, J. E., & Grange, D. L. Dietary Restriction Behaviors and Binge Eating in Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder: Trans-diagnostic Examination of the Restraint Model. Eating behaviors, 18, 192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.05.012

  8. (2013) Clark, Michelle J, and Joanne L Slavin. “The effect of fiber on satiety and food intake: a systematic review.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition vol. 32,3: 200-11. doi:10.1080/07315724.2013.791194

  9. (1999) Gendall, K A et al. “The effects of meal composition on subsequent craving and binge eating.” Addictive behaviors vol. 24,3: 305-15. doi:10.1016/s0306-4603(98)00046-x

  10. (2018) Sayer, R. D., Peters, J. C., Pan, Z., Wyatt, H. R., & Hill, J. O. Hunger, Food Cravings, and Diet Satisfaction are Related to Changes in Body Weight During a 6-Month Behavioral Weight Loss Intervention: The Beef WISE Study. Nutrients, 10(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10060700

  11. (2008). A single night of sleep deprivation increases ghrelin levels and feelings of hunger in normal‐weight healthy men. journal of sleep research, 17(3), 331-334. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00662.x

  12. (2018). Objective physiological measurements but not subjective reports moderate the effect of hunger on choice behavior. frontiers in psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00750

  13. (2006). Brain mechanisms underlying flavour and appetite. philosophical transactions of the royal society b biological sciences, 361(1471), 1123-1136. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1852

  14. (2020). Emotional disorder symptoms, anhedonia, and negative urgency as predictors of hedonic hunger in adolescents. eating behaviors, 36, 101343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2019.101343

  15. (2014). Weighing the evidence of common beliefs in obesity research. critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 55(14), 2014-2053. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2014.922044

  16. (2015). Effects of chewing on appetite, food intake and gut hormones: a systematic review and meta-analysis. physiology & behavior, 151, 88-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.07.017

  17. (2015). Food reward. what it is and how to measure it. appetite, 90, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.02.032

  18. (2016). Empty calories and phantom fullness: a randomized trial studying the relative effects of energy density and viscosity on gastric emptying determined by mri and satiety. american journal of clinical nutrition, 104(1), 73-80. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.115.129064

  19. (2011). Both longer oral sensory exposure to and higher intensity of saltiness decrease ad libitum food intake in healthy normal-weight men. journal of nutrition, 141(12), 2242-2248. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.111.143867

  20. (2019). Feeling hangry? when hunger is conceptualized as emotion.. emotion, 19(2), 301-319. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000422

  21. (2015). Mouth rinsing with carbohydrate solutions at the postprandial state fail to improve performance during simulated cycling time trials. the journal of strength and conditioning research, 29(8), 2316-2325. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000000882

  22. (2018). Explaining the relationship between attachment anxiety, eating behaviour and bmi. appetite, 127, 214-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.04.029

  23. (2011). Fatty acid–induced gut-brain signaling attenuates neural and behavioral effects of sad emotion in humans. journal of clinical investigation, 121(8), 3094-3099. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci46380

  24. (2015). Global update and trends of hidden hunger, 1995-2011: the hidden hunger index. plos one, 10(12), e0143497. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143497

  25. (2019). Increased hunger, food cravings, food reward, and portion size selection after sleep curtailment in women without obesity. nutrients, 11(3), 663. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11030663

  26. (2018). Predicting preschool children's eating in the absence of hunger from maternal pressure to eat: a longitudinal study of low-income, latina mothers. appetite, 120, 281-286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.09.007

  27. (2015). The time-varying association between perceived stress and hunger within and between days. appetite, 89, 145-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.02.001

  28. (2022). Hangry in the field: an experience sampling study on the impact of hunger on anger, irritability, and affect. plos one, 17(7), e0269629. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269629

  29. (2020). Hunger bias or gut instinct? responses to judgments of harm depending on visceral state versus intuitive decision-making. frontiers in psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02261

  30. (2016). The evolutionary psychology of hunger. appetite, 105, 591-595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.06.021

  31. (2020). Longitudinal prospective association between hedonic hunger and unhealthy food and drink intake in adolescents. international journal of environmental research and public health, 17(24), 9375. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17249375

  32. (2020). A fatty acid mouth rinse decreases self-reported hunger and increases self-reported fullness in healthy australian adults: a randomized cross-over trial. nutrients, 12(3), 678. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12030678

  33. (2016). Neural processing of calories in brain reward areas can be modulated by reward sensitivity. frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00371

  34. (2022). Biomedical gastronomy in the management of smell and taste disorders., 1(2). https://doi.org/10.33696/mentalhealth.1.007

  35. (2022). How to combine hunger solutions to improve their effectiveness: building the framework for a country profile approach. technium social sciences journal, 35, 318-345. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v35i1.7195

  36. (2016). Hunger reduction in china: an analysis of contextual factors. asian social work and policy review, 10(3), 295-310. https://doi.org/10.1111/aswp.12098

  37. (2000). Comparison of verbal and pictorial measures of hunger during fasting in normal weight and obese subjects. obesity research, 8(8), 566-574. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2000.73

  38. (1987). The feeling of hunger. british journal of clinical psychology, 26(2), 153-154. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8260.1987.tb00745.x

  39. (2000). Satiety and 24h diet-induced thermogenesis as related to macronutrient composition. näringsforskning, 44(1), 104-107. https://doi.org/10.3402/fnr.v44i0.1777

  40. (1951). Satiation of hunger from food injected directly into the stomach versus food ingested by mouth.. journal of comparative and physiological psychology, 44(5), 412-422. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0061340

  41. (2014) Wuorinen "The Psychophysical Connection Between Exercise, Hunger, and Energy Intake" American journal of lifestyle medicine doi:10.1177/1559827613520526

  42. (2008) Halford and Harrold "Neuropharmacology of human appetite expression" Developmental disabilities research reviews doi:10.1002/ddrr.20

  43. (2006) Avalos and Tylka "Exploring a model of intuitive eating with college women." Journal of counseling psychology doi:10.1037/0022-0167.53.4.486





Keywords: Food cravings | Hunger-fullness cues | Caloric intake | Nutrient-dense foods | Satisfaction factor | Emotional eating | Stress management Nutrition |Cognitive reappraisal | Food craving regulation | Eating behavior

Maria T
Next

Health Benefits of Cinnamon: A Versatile Spice for The Winter Season