No matter how good the intentions, it can be difficult to curb cravings for junk food and unhealthy drinks. Some of these natural approaches may help. When you do give in, forgive yourself: if you are eating a diet based around fruit and vegetables and drinking lots of water, the occasional lapse is no cause for concern.
How to curb your food cravings, tip 1: Keep a food diary
If some foods you crave don't leave you feeling too good, you may have an intolerance to them. Before visiting a doctor or nutritionist, keep a record of everything you eat or drink and your reactions to them for at least three days. Some foods are well-known for causing reactions, so pay attention if symptoms such as bloating, headaches, fatigue or mood swings follow when you eat or drink dairy foods, wheat, citrus fruit, tomatoes, eggs, sugar or caffeine.
How to curb your food cravings, tip 2: Change your habits
To banish something from your diet, ban it from the house. You can't eat what isn't there. Enlist your family in your campaign to cut back on cookies or crisps by removing those foods from family meals and snack times. Go to the supermarket without the kids to avoid pester power. Take things slowly if it helps, banishing problem foods from your home, but not entirely from your life -- yet -- by eating them only at friends' homes or in restaurants.
How to curb your food cravings, tip 3: Switch chocolate treats
If chocolate is your destressing treat, switch from milk chocolate to cocoa-rich dark versions (look for those with 70 per cent or more cocoa solids). You'll find you need to eat less to feel the positive effects.
How to curb your food cravings, tip 4: Enlist help
Urge friends to text you uplifting messages randomly during the day. They might just arrive as you are opening the fridge. Ask girlfriends to turn up not with a tempting cake, but with some exotic fruit or flowers instead. If they don't take the hint, invent a convenient allergy -- wheat bloats you, sugar brings you out in hives…
How to curb your food cravings, tip 5: Shop sated
Visit the supermarket on a full stomach, and take a list; both strategies help counter impulse-buying and stop you reaching for less healthy options with eye appeal, such as greasy pastries and fat-laden savoury snacks. Shopping online from a saved list also helps you hold out against bad impulse buys.
How to curb your food cravings, tip 6: Get herbal help
Herbalists recommend taking the herb kudzu to help eliminate food cravings. In a 2005 study it seemed to repress the urge to binge-drink. Ingredients in the herb are known to lower blood pressure; the herb may also increase blood flow to the brain. It contains oestrogen-like isoflavones, which may be helpful in menopause. Consult an herbalist, a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine or take 30 to 120 mg two or three times a day.
How to curb your food cravings, tip 7: Find a feel-good alternative
Try a quick breathing exercise when willpower wanes. Close your eyes and cut out thoughts and external pressure by watching your breath move in and out. When your breathing pattern feels calmer, imagine exhaling toxins and negative thoughts with every out breath. On each in-breath imagine your body being energized by cleansing oxygen that brings with it a new lease of life.
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Excerpted from 1001 Ways to Stay Young Naturally, copyright 2007 by Susannah Marriott. Excerpted with permission from Dorling Kindersley Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
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