Hi ,
Let’s talk about cravings.
You tell yourself you’ll “be good today”…
Then you walk past the biscuit tin and suddenly two biscuits are gone before you’ve even thought about it.
This isn’t you being weak.
This is how our brains and modern food are set up.
WHY CRAVINGS FEEL SO STRONG
Most cravings follow a simple loop:
Trigger – stress, boredom, tiredness, seeing or smelling food
Action – hand in the biscuit tin, scrolling, snacking
Reward – a quick “ahhh” feeling, comfort, distraction
And here’s the thing:
Avoidance is easier than resistance.
If you have sweets in easy reach, you’ll grab them before the healthier, less exciting stuff.
So instead of relying on willpower every time, we change the rules of the game a bit.
THE RULE THAT MAKES CRAVINGS EASIER
Rules get a bad name, but simple rules actually reduce decision fatigue.
One of my own rules is:
I never have a cookie on its own.
I never have a piece of fruit on its own.
They are almost always after a meal or after snacking on one of the options below – not as a random standalone snack.
And if I snack between meals, I keep it boring-but-effective:
Raw nuts
Cheese
Rice cakes with hummus
Yoghurt
Nothing fancy. Just things that actually fill me up.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH SUGAR (AND WHAT YOU CAN DO INSTEAD)
I gave up added sugary foods – chocolate, sweets, biscuits, that sort of thing – about six years ago.
But I’ll be honest with you: if there is any of that in the house and I’m hungry between meals (which is rare these days)… I still find it very hard to resist.
That’s normal.
Those foods are literally designed so you don’t want to stop.
For a lot of people, it’s:
No biscuit… or half a pack.
It’s almost never “just one or two”.
The point is: you don’t have to give it all up like I did.
Instead, you can:
Buy less of it – smaller packs, not huge “family” bags
Every few weeks, have a shop where you don’t buy any at all
Try healthier alternatives like:
75% (or higher) cocoa dark chocolate
Cold-pressed bars made from nuts and dried fruit (not sugar-coated cereal bars)
They still count as treats and are easy to overeat, but they usually have better ingredients and more fibre than standard sweets and chocolate.
And of course, keep shifting your everyday snacks towards better alternatives.
So treats become extras, not your main source of calories.
BONUS: MAKE YOUR KITCHEN YOUR ALLY
A few tiny tweaks that help a lot:
Keep biscuits and sweets in a cupboard or tin, not out on the counter
Keep fruit, nuts, yoghurt and “good enough” snacks where you can see them
If you buy treats, buy them in small amounts, not big bags “for later”
You don’t need perfect discipline.
You need a setup where the easiest option is usually a decent one, plus one or two simple rules you can actually stick to.
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Got questions about cravings, emotional eating or simple snack ideas?
Reply to this email – I read every message personally.
See you next week,
Gabriel, Nutrition Hacks | gbMeals