Let’s be honest. Even when we’re on a diet, we still allow ourselves to indulge every now and then. We all suffer from food cravings and when they hit, it’s only human nature to oblige—I’ll just have a bite, get just a taste of what I want, and I’ll be back to eating like planned … sound familiar? It’s easy to convince ourselves that it’ll do no harm. I mean, how bad could one tiny bite be, really?
Well, according to new research, it could be terrible. In fact, it could be the one thing that’s derailing your efforts to slim down.
A new study published in the journal Obesity set out to determine how momentarily giving in to cravings changes your diet. Researchers observed the habits of 367 overweight participants who were placed on a highly restrictive diet for two years and found that cravings actually disappeared when people entirely avoided their indulgent food, rather than giving in just a little bit.
It’s that one little taste, researchers explain, that gives your brain the reward it’s been craving and when the dopamine is released, you continue to savor and crave those flavors and feelings.
But if your goal is to stay on-track with your weight-loss plan, the best bet would be to just stay away from the cravings wholly. That means no little nibble, no sneak taste, and no I’ll have just one excuses.
Banishing those cravings once and for all is no quick fix. At one point or another, we’ve all tried to take a break from sugary treats or salty snacks, but curbing our most common cravings could be simpler than we thought. It could all comes down to having serious self-control (which this can help with) and not letting ourselves get even a taste. Then, you’ll finally achieve those #goals once and for all.
