A hunger pang is NOT the same as a craving. The first is a physical reaction by your body, and means that you need sustenance right away. For the vast majority of Americans, true hunger pangs are a race occurrence.

Instead we experience cravings for foods that offer the most immediate gratification – and usually a lot of empty calories rather than the nutrients we need. Cravings are generated mostly in your mind, not your body, and they are the downfall of many a dieter.

Cravings, whether for food or some other source of personal gratification, have been compared to ocean waves. They may seem gentle at first, but they are very likely to build up intense energy by the time they hit the shore – which is your mind and your body. To extend the wave metaphor to its counterpart, the way you react to the wave determines, to a great extent, whether it will knock you down or carry you further in the direction you want to go.

If you have ever tried body surfing (or even just watched) you know that the trick to riding a wave is to see it coming and be prepared. Don’t just stand there and wait for it to break over your head – that’s a guaranteed knockdown. Get a little ahead and swim with it!

To translate this concept to food cravings, there are several methods you can try. First you need to identify the craving and be aware of it before it hits full force. If, for instance, you know that certain places, times of day or other circumstances are surely going to trigger a craving for foods that you really need to avoid, take yourself out of harm’s way whenever you can.

Don’t sit around watching other people eat dessert – get up and do something else. That is just one example; you can probably think of hundreds more.

Riding the waves of food cravings involves timing also. One way to avoid letting your craving get the best of you once you’ve identified the source is to give yourself a ‘breather’. If you wait a few minutes and concentrate on something else entirely, quite often that craving will pass. Try this delaying tactic and you will be surprised at how effective it can be.

It is a fact that in almost every human endeavor, practice is necessary to develop any degree of skill, no matter what the undertaking. Each time you ride that wave successfully, you will find the next wave a little easier to handle. Remember also that perfection is not the goal. Sometimes you will almost certainly get caught by the ‘crave-wave’, but keep practicing – it works.

If you haven’t done so already, check out the practice of EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). This approach to weight control derives from some of the basic techniques used in the ancient art of acupuncture, and has shown significant value in alleviating many health problems. Information on EFT is free, and no special ‘diet’ foods or supplements are required.

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