How To Manage Food Cravings: 9 Practical Tips

Almost everyone gets food cravings. They are not a sign of weak willpower, and you do not have to win every one of them. What helps is understanding what a craving is, noticing what sets yours off, and having a few things ready for when one arrives. This guide pulls together advice from NHS dietitians and the British Dietetic Association (BDA). None of it needs special foods, apps or products.

Is It Hunger Or A Craving?

The two can feel alike, but they behave differently. Hunger builds gradually, often hours after a meal, and almost any food will satisfy it. A craving tends to come on suddenly, often after a cue, and only one specific food will do, often something sweet, salty or fatty.

The dietitians at Cambridge University Hospitals put it simply: hunger can be satisfied by eating almost any food, while a craving is satisfied only by the food being craved. The BDA adds that emotional hunger "craves specific comfort foods" and "is not satisfied by a full stomach".

So the first question when a craving hits is a simple one: if I were offered an apple or a sandwich right now, would I want it? If yes, you may simply be hungry, and eating a proper meal or snack is the right answer. If only the specific food will do, it is probably a craving.

Why Cravings Happen

The honest answer is that the cause is not fully understood. Cravings may sometimes reflect something your body needs, but most people crave sugary or salty foods they do not need, so that cannot be the whole story.

Two things play a big part:

• Habit. Doing the same thing at the same time builds a link. A biscuit with every cup of tea, crisps on the sofa at 9pm, something sweet after dinner. After a while the situation alone starts the urge.

• Feelings. Food can bring comfort, relief or a reward at the end of a hard day. Stress, boredom, tiredness and loneliness are common triggers.

The useful part is that these links can be unlearned. The Cambridge leaflet notes that people are very susceptible to this kind of association, and that it can be reversed.

9 Practical Ways To Manage Cravings

1. Ride the wave instead of fighting it

Trying to push a craving away tends to make it stronger. A technique called urge surfing works the other way: notice the craving, accept that it is there, and watch it.

Cravings usually behave like a wave. They build, peak and then fade. The Cambridge leaflet notes that a craving left unsatisfied may get stronger at first, but with time it diminishes. Each time you ride one out, the next one tends to be easier.

2. Give it five minutes

The BDA suggests "taking a good five minutes before giving into any food or drink to satisfy an emotion". Five minutes is short enough to feel doable, and long enough for the peak of many cravings to pass. If you still want it afterwards, you can decide then.

3. Have a distraction ready

Doing something else while the craving passes works better if you planned it in advance. Ideas from NHS dietitians:

• go for a short walk (the BDA points out "there is no limit to how many ten-minute walks that you can take in a day")

• call or message a friend

• finish a small task you have been putting off

• do a puzzle, crossword or game

• have a bath or shower

Pick two or three that suit you and keep the list somewhere you will see it.

4. Ask what you actually want

Sometimes the craving is really for something else: sweetness, something to chew, a reward, a break, or a drink. If it fits your plans, a hot drink, a sugar-free drink or sugar-free gum can sometimes meet the need. A non-food treat can too, like a bath or a film.

5. Do not skip meals

Going too long without eating makes it harder to tell hunger from a craving, and harder to resist either. The NHS advises not skipping meals, because you may end up snacking more when you feel hungry.

6. Build meals that keep you full

What is on your plate affects how soon you feel hungry again. NHS Better Health suggests:

• Some protein at every meal, such as beans, pulses, fish, eggs or lean meat. This can help you feel full for longer.

• Plenty of vegetables. Most are high in fibre, low in calories, and can help you feel fuller for longer.

Most of us also fall short on fibre. Adults are advised to get around 30g a day, but the BDA reports the UK adult average is about 18g. Wholegrains, beans, lentils, fruit and vegetables all help close that gap.

7. Make the craved food a little harder to reach

You do not need to ban foods. But the BDA suggests not keeping your comfort foods easily to hand, and the NHS suggests not stocking unhealthy food at home, with popcorn, fruit and rice cakes as alternatives.

A few small changes help:

• buy single portions rather than family packs

• put snacks in a bowl rather than eating from the packet, so you can see how much you are having

8. Look after your sleep

Tiredness and cravings are closely linked. In one study, two days of restricted sleep raised levels of ghrelin, a hormone that signals hunger, lowered levels of leptin, which signals fullness, and left people hungrier.

The effect on eating is measurable. A 2017 review of the research found that people who were short of sleep ate on average around 385 more calories a day, with no significant change in the energy they used. The BDA adds that getting enough sleep can help with willpower and self-control.

If cravings hit hardest on days after a bad night, that is not a coincidence, and it is worth planning those days with more filling meals and a distraction or two ready.

9. Write it down for a week or two

Keeping a short record shows you patterns you would not otherwise spot. When a craving comes, note:

• what you were craving

• the time and where you were

• how you were feeling

• how strong it was, from 1 (mild) to 10 (intense)

• what you did, and whether it helped

The Cambridge dietitians suggest rating the strength every ten minutes until it passes, which also shows you, in your own handwriting, that cravings do fade. After a week or two, most people can see their two or three biggest triggers, and those are the ones to plan around.

If You Give In To A Craving

It happens to everyone, and one biscuit or one evening does not undo anything. Sometimes you will satisfy a craving, and sometimes you will leave it. Both are fine. What matters is the pattern over weeks, not any single moment. Notice what happened, think about what you might try next time, and move on without guilt.

When To Get More Support

Talk to your GP if:

• you often feel out of control around food

• you eat large amounts in a short time and feel distressed afterwards

• cravings or eating are affecting your mood, sleep or daily life

These can be signs of binge eating disorder or another eating problem, and help is available. You can also contact Beat, the UK eating disorder charity, free and in confidence:

• England: 0808 801 0677

• Scotland: 0808 801 0432

• Wales: 0808 801 0433

• Northern Ireland: 0808 801 0434

Sources

• Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Dealing with food cravings (version 2, approved December 2023)

• British Dietetic Association, Emotional eating and our relationship with food (Dr Amanda Avery, March 2022)

• British Dietetic Association, Fibre food fact sheet

• NHS Better Health, Healthy eating when trying to lose weight

• NHS, 12 tips to help you lose weight

• Harpenden Health Primary Care Network (NHS), Wellbeing: weight management

• Spiegel K, Tasali E, Penev P, Van Cauter E. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2004;141(11):846-850

• Al Khatib HK, Harding SV, Darzi J, Pot GK. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2017;71(5):614-624

• Beat, Support now

Frequently Asked Questions