Cravings - The Personal Hunger Games

As all of you in the northern hemisphere might know, its summer! Time off university or college, full of sun, sea and for most bodybuilders and meatheads out there, its cutting season. Let’s break it down.

Supplementation – Check

High intensity workouts/circuits – Check

Cardio days – Check

Nutrition plan and meals prepped for the week – Check.

10 days of this seems a breeze so far. I can definitely do this for another 20. I’m hungry though?

How many of y’all had that saying in your head, or something similar to that. I have. The temptation is to hunt down the fridge/cabinets and get anything that fills your cravings! Don’t get me wrong, we all have cravings, its normal. Its OK to have a bit of junk here and there, to shock the body and get some new tastes and flavours.

But I’ve had 4 out of 6 meals, I can’t eat whatever I like, it doesn’t work with my macros!

Water!

Water is important, we all know that. But it’s a great way to know whether you’re hungry or not. Every time you want to wolf down food, drink a glass of water. Water has no calories and it refreshes the body. After that water, wait an hour. If you’re still hungry after that hour, you need food. With small frequent meals, its common for the brain to think that you haven’t had enough food. So drink some water to really tell yourself if you’re actually hungry.

So I’ve had water and I’m still hungry. Can I have that piece of pizza now?

Hold on there! Just because you now know you’re hungry that doesn’t mean you can eat till you fill that hole! Eat wisely. Choose fruits and nuts (and I don’t mean the ones in chocolate!). Almonds are high in fats and are small. Eat a handful to fill your cravings and you should be good from there. Eat fruit. Apples and Oranges may not be the most exciting thing, but its vitamin C. Be wary of this though. They have natural sugars. Sugars are sometimes good for bodybuilders but too much stores the excess sugar as fat (the opposite of cutting season I’m sure you’ll agree).

Cravings are normal. We all have them. And its OK to have cheat days. Most people would agree. But if you’re keeping the diet and meal plan strict, these are small ways of filling that hole and not breaking your macros. If these still aren’t working, you need to look over your meals and see whats in them. Complex carbs are a must to keep the body going for longer throughout the day.Try them and comment if you have any more tips.

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