Are Food Cravings Different For Men Than Women?

My husband never seems to crave anything. Occasionally he’ll say “mmm, that looks good” as we’re watching our favorite cooking show; but he’ll usually have forgetting it 15 minutes later. Meanwhile, I sometimes feel like I would almost be willing to walk 45 minutes in the snow and blowing wind just to have a slice of pumpkin-cheesecake from the little organic restaurant some distance away. While I have never actually made the trek, there have been times when a craving has lasted until long after sundown, always just on the horizon of my thoughts. As it turns out, that might just be part of being a member of the fairer sex.

Women have a more difficult time taking their minds off cravings
A study conducted at the Brookhaven National Laboratory had women and men fast for 17 hours. Following that, they presented the fasters with foods that they had scored as at least 7 out of 10, desirability-wise. The food was placed in front of them so they could smell it; the way it was prepared was described to them in detail, and they were given a small amount of the food on a cotton ball so that they could taste it. Then, they were asked to do the unimaginable (keep in mind, they had been fasting for 17 hours): they were told to try to think about something different, while keeping their eyes open, for 40 minutes while brain patterns were measured.

It was discovered that, while both sexes are able to reduce their feelings of hunger, men were more successful at stifling their conscious craving for food. Women, on the other hand, were more likely to continue feeling a desire to eat and to ruminate on food. Although the researchers could see that it was the amygdale, the most primordial brain structure implicated in hunger and cravings, they were unsure what caused this particular difference (though they suspect that hormonal differences may be the culprits).
How both women and men can face their cravings while keeping fit

You'll Only Lose Weight If You Get Those Cravings Under Control!

You'll Only Lose Weight If You Get Those Cravings Under Control!

Self-Discipline
First, you have to begin by accepting that you are going to crave things, and that it won’t always be practical (or wise) to give in to every craving you have. If you can’t say no to yourself about anything, you’re going to have trouble avoiding giving in to cravings.

If that’s the case, you should start trying to exercise a little more: (I’m going to say that evil compound word here folks) Self-Discipline. (If just the sound of that word in your head makes your hair stand on end and your skin crawl, you’re not alone. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s article on just how you can develop that self-discipline, without having to deny yourself everything you enjoy.)

Don’t Kid Yourself
Next, stop kidding yourself that you are craving foods because your body needs specific nutrients. That is very unlikely. Usually the things we crave are either fatty or sugary and rarely are they the highest sources of the minerals and vitamins you hear people claiming they must be deficient it to be having their current craving.

Plan Ahead
The best thing you can do for a craving is have a plan. People often only have a small list of items that they crave. If you know what that list is and plan for each item on the list, you can satisfy the cravings without compromising your desire to get fit fast.

For example, I was a chocoholic for a very long time. If a study came out that one could live healthily on chocolate alone, I would have be elated and would have proceeded to stock up. Of course this wasn’t the case and so I couldn’t indulge in a 1/4 lb piece of chocolate every time I got a craving for it. So what did I do? I decided that whenever I craved chocolate, I would have 5 chocolate chips (from a bag of the best quality dark chocolate chips I could lay my hands on… which I always had in the cupboard).

Since I was only having 5, it was almost an event. I would sit down and really enjoy the taste of the chocolate melting on my tongue. I paid so much attention to eating that small amount that I often, paradoxically, ended up feeling more satisfied than in the past when I might have eaten a whole chocolate bar and barely even noticed it. And because I had made an agreement with myself that I would have only a certain amount, I didn’t fall prey to just-one-more-itis.

If there are specific foods that you crave, make a plan, determine an appropriate amount, and allow yourself to indulge in your cravings occasionally when they arise (of course, you’ll want to limit how often you do that). If you keep it to small amounts and really take the time to enjoy them, it’s a much more pleasant solution than quitting your craving altogether!