Five Sure-fire Craving Busters

I'm sure you know how it is? As soon as you start to diet and there's a favorite food you can't have it starts to get under your skin and you crave it. It's something we all have to go through, but here are five good ways to help you deal with craving and make both your life and your diet just a little easier .

1. Try some exercise.It need not be a major physical workout nor yet take up more than fifteen minutes of your time but a short session of some form of exercise is a vital weapon to beat cravings. If you are unsure what to do then pull down the blinds, put on some music, kick off your shoes and dance, The point about dancing is that it's fun, it's energetic and most people like doing it and you probably never thought about it as exercise.

As well as using this as a spot cure, fifteen minutes, twice a day for three or four days a week will make you feel good and decrease your craving for food generally.

2. Keep busyOK, so it's an old idea but it's none the less true and it works! Make sure that you have something you can pick up and continue on with when the cravings bite. Maybe a crossword from the morning paper or a book you're reading but tell yourself you will do just a little of that first and then see about eating. In ten minutes or less you will have forgotten about your craving.

3. Have a hot bath or showerIf possible have a bath so that you can lie and soak in some water that is, preferably, enlivened with aromatherapy oils. Lavender is a firm favorite here, as is rosemary (use ylang-ylang or orange if you are a man) and, by the time you have finished your bath or shower, you will have forgotten all about food.

Don't forget that an aromatherapy bath is good for relieving anxiety, to which food cravings can be related, and a bath or shower can make you feel good about yourself which also helps to keep food desires at bay.

4. RelaxIf you have the opportunity and your exercise quota is done for the day, then sit and listen to some music or – dare I say this – sit and watch TV. There is nothing wrong with watching TV for half an hour for relaxation if you try and find an easy-to-watch program or try the music channels.

Alternatively, if you have a hobby that is relaxing then do that; finding something that you can get absorbed in will help take away thoughts of food.

5. Suck it and see!OK, suppose this is a major craving and the advice above, good though it is, won't make it go away (or maybe you don't really want it to go away). Try what I call the 'Suck and See' way to deal with it.

Let's suppose it's chocolate that you want (it often happens that it is!). Take three pieces of chocolate and put them in front of you. Glance at the clock and tell yourself that you will give in and eat just these three pieces but you will wait fifteen minutes before you do.

It's important that you wait first and it's also important that you do the next part properly for it to work. If, after the fifteen minutes, you still want the chocolate (and don't be disappointed if you do) sit down and put the first piece into your mouth and let it slowly melt on your tongue. You body probably wants just to experience the taste of the chocolate and this is a good way to get the experiences without the calories! See how long you can keep it there before you eat the next piece and then the last.

Doing it this way will give you a taste of the food that will probably satisfy your body and only cost you a few calories and, equally important, let you feel satisfied and able to carry on with the day.

Don't feel that you have given in when you do this, look upon it as a way to withdraw from the craving.

Remember, if you diet you will have cravings – everyone does – and it's quite natural; it's how you deal with them that's important and these five tips are five sure-fire craving busters!