You're doing really well on your diet. You've lost a few pounds, your clothes are getting a bit looser and you're starting to notice the difference. So you deserve a reward, right? One little biscuit won't hurt. Or maybe just a muffin with a cup of tea? STOP! Your brain is tricking you into believing you need that little reward. You need to re-train it so you'll never be tempted to snack again. The No-Crave Diet could help you!

What is it?
The idea behind the No-Crave Diet is that you lose weight by beating your cravings. It's estimated that 80% of diets fail because people give in to food cravings and the harder the diet, the stronger the cravings. By understanding the cravings and recognising the causes of them, you can stop them.

Top 10 food cravings while on a diet
1. Chocolate
2. Crisps
3. Biscuits
4. Cakes
5. Chips
6. Sweets
7. Cheese
8. Peanuts/nuts
9. Bread
10. Pizza

How does the No-Crave Diet work?
It works with a mixture of diet and lifestyle changes based on research into how the brain controls hunger.
Phase 1: Weight loss - you follow a plan to wean you off snacking, combat cravings and rebalance your metabolism to use food as fuel rather than store it as fat. It'll also increase your body's ability to fat-burn to help you lose weight safely. This phase lasts 6 to 8 weeks and you can lose 18lbs to 22lbs in 8 weeks.
Phase 2: Maintenance phase - Maintains your weight while reintroducing a full range of food types. It's designed to improve your energy and health and control your cravings.

Here are a few of the top reasons we get food cravings:
- We like to reward ourselves with snacks as it makes us feel good
- Sugary or fatty foods increase the desire for more foods of this type
- Daily stress increases hunger and the seeking out of comfort foods
- Emotional upheaval, feeling low or depressed leads us to reach for snacks that will increase our brain's happy hormone, serotonin
- The hormonal changes associated with PMS (premenstrual syndrome) cause major food cravings

By Anna Penniceard

• Next: Who is the No-Crave Diet good for?

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