If you’re on a fat loss diet and are currently finding that cravings are starting to rule your world – or at least it feels like it, then it’s time to sit up and take action so that they don’t get the best of you.
It’s perfectly normal to experience some food cravings as you go about your diet plan since you are cutting out many of the foods that you do typically like to enjoy on your menu. But, if you want to see success, it is important that these foods are kept out of the picture as often they are too high in calories, sugar, and are seriously lacking protein and dietary fiber.
Healthy Solutions
Fortunately though, if you’re smart in your approach, you can think of up healthier methods to satisfy even the toughest of cravings so that you can stay on track with your diet and still take in a reasonable calorie intake.
Sure, they may not taste exactly like the real thing, but it’s a small trade-off to ask for to stay with your diet and still see the weight loss results you desire.
Let’s go over some of the top foods that people are often craving on their diet plan and then show you a smarter, more sensible healthy solution to go for instead.
If you choose these, you can still eat great, while maintaining good nutrition overall.
Pizza
The first food craving that so many people get while on their fat loss diet is for pizza. Pizza is very high in calories and while it does contain a good balance of proteins, carbs, and fats, they typically aren’t the healthy varieties of proteins, carbs, and fats that you really need at this time.
So what do you do?
Whip up a healthier variety.
Do this by using a whole wheat tortilla as the crust, or alternatively you can make mini pizza’s with some English muffins instead.
Both will help you keep the carbohydrate content down and provide a better source of carbs than the classic pizza crust.
Next, smear on some tomato sauce and then top with as many vegetables as you can. Load up on these as they’re virtually calorie free but are very high in nutrients and fiber.
Add a lean source of protein next. Skip the sausage, bacon, or pepperoni, and go for diced chicken breasts, shrimp, or ham instead. Finally, top with some reduced fat shredded cheese and then place in the oven.
You’ll have a pizza that contains just a small amount of calories and is far more satisfying nutritionally speaking.
Chocolate Cake
Moving along, if you’re craving chocolate cake, you’ll definitely want to satisfy this craving in a hurry. Most women who crave chocolate want chocolate now and there’s not much time to spare before they find the nearest way to satisfy this.
Instead of opting for high calorie cake, whip up a chocolate pudding. Mix skim milk with sugar-free, fat-free pudding powder and then blend in a scoop of your favorite protein powder.
Top with some fresh berries and this will be a protein packed way to get your chocolate and save your diet.
Candy
Craving candy? If it’s a sweet tooth that you typically can’t handle while on your fat loss diet plan, there are options here too.
One of the best methods to satisfy yourself here is to make a box of sugar-free gelatin. You can add in sliced mandarin oranges or other fruit as desired to this as well, so that you do get some nutritional content from the snack.
Sugar free gelatin contains mere calories per serving, so it’s not going to put a dent in your diet plan. It does contain artificial sweeteners however, so just note that if you are trying to cut back on these. If so, go for a small serving or see if you can find one using a natural sweetener such as Stevia instead.
Burgers And Fries
If it’s burgers and fries that you have on your mind, you can easily find a healthy substitute for this as well.
For the burger recipe, rather than preparing this with traditional ground beef like most people do, opt for ground turkey instead. That change right there will save you hundreds of calories and provide a much lower fat meal than if you had used the beef.
Next, consider skipping the bun entirely for lower carb burger, or go with a whole wheat bun if you are going to have one.
For the fries, try baking up a batch of sweet potato fries. These are going to be much higher in nutrition and fiber than regular potatoes and since they’re baked, not fried, you won’t get the unhealthy fats either.
After cutting them into fry shape, coat them with two or three egg whites, add some seasoning salt or whatever herbs and spices you desire and then bake them in the oven until golden brown.
These also make for a great snack anytime and can be made sweet by sprinkling on a bit of cinnamon instead.
Ice Cream
Finally, if it’s ice cream that you want, you can quickly come up with an alternative.
Rather than going for full fat ice cream, go for protein packed, high calcium Greek yogurt. Mix it with some vanilla protein powder for added flavor and place in the freeze for about an hour. Top with fresh berries and a few chocolate chips if desired when it comes out and then serve immediately.
You’ll still get that chilled creamy taste without all the fat, sugar, and calories.
So there you have some quick and easy solutions for next time you have a serious food craving that just won’t stop. If you can turn to these instead, you can save your diet and feel good about the fact that you just indulged wisely and are still right on track to getting that lean body you desire.