Cravings? Cant stop thinking about foot? Ever put away an open packet of chips, only to find your thoughts straying back? You know it’s open and can’t stop thinking about it until it’s all gone?

Here are some helpful tips for when you know you aren’t hungry but still want to eat.

Phone a friend

Take your mind off the food in the cupboard by phoning a friend or relative. Bonus point: you should probably call your mum anyway.

Paint your nails

Keep your hands busy by painting your nails and they will stay out of commission while drying. No one wants to run the risk of accidently painting nail polish.

Wash your car

Get outside in the sun (and get your daily dose of vitamin D) to keep your hands and mind busy

Adult colouring book

Colouring books are a fun and calming way to focus your mind on something else and you can get some pretty artwork too.

Go for a walk

Or at least put on your sneakers. Usually, that can be the hardest part when trying to motivate yourself. Maybe try to find a new walking track or convince a friend to come with you too for a walking date.

Have a drink of water

The mechanism for hunger and thirst feels very similar so it could be your body telling you that you are thirsty.

Buy smaller packets

Buying items such as lunch box sized packets of chips or chocolate bars instead of blocks can mean you enjoy a small amount with worrying about eating it all before it goes stale or

Explore your emotions

Are you trying to eat instead of facing something? Are you actually stressed, angry, bored, anxious or procrastinating? Have a think about if there are other motives behind why you want to finish the packet so badly.

The multiphasic fertility acupuncture protocol tested in this trial did positively influence the women who received it compared to the women who used lifestyle modification alone. It increased their fertility awareness and improved their wellbeing. Those who conceived did so in half the time of their lifestyle only peers. (Suzanne Cochrane, Caroline A. Smith, Alphia Possamai-Inesedy, and Alan Bensoussan. Prior to Conception: The Role of an Acupuncture Protocol in Improving Women’s Reproductive Functioning Assessed by a Pilot Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 2016 (2016), Article ID 3587569, 11 pages)

There is preliminary data indicating acupuncture may improve menstrual health and coping for women experiencing delays falling pregnant. There is experimental data showing that acupuncture can influence female reproductive functioning, although the actual mechanisms involved are not yet clarified. Further well-conducted clinical research would benefit our understanding of the usefulness of acupuncture to women's health.

S. Cochrane, C. A. Smith, A. Possamai-Inesedy, and A. Bensoussan, “Acupuncture and women's health: an overview of the role of acupuncture and its clinical management in women's reproductive health,” International Journal of Women's Health, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 313–325, 2014.

Rubi-Klein K, Kucera-Sliutz E, Nissel H, Bijak M, Stockenhuber D, Fink M, Wolkenstein E, “Is acupuncture in addition to conventional medicine effective as pain treatment for endometriosis? A randomised controlled cross-over trial”, Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2010; 153: 90–3.

The present results showed the feasibility and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of Premature Ovarian Failure (in China). These findings suggest that acupuncture may decrease serums FSH and LH level, raise E2 (oestrogen) serum level, relieve anxiety, reduce mental stress, and improve the menopausal symptoms. No serious side effects were found.

Y. Chen, Y. Fang, J. Yang, F. Wang, Y. Wang, and L. Yang, “Effect of acupuncture on premature ovarian failure: a pilot study,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2014, Article ID 718675, 6 pages, 2014.

Picking a Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is great. It can make pretty much everything taste better and is a source of protein, healthy fats and fibre. But when you’re at the supermarket and see such a range of different peanut butters, which one should you chose? Is there a difference between the $2 and the $12 jars?

You can get a good choice without needing to spend lots of money on a spread. However, not all peanut butter is created equal.

Things to consider when buying:

Added oils – peanut butter should be crushed peanuts which are full of healthy fats. There isn’t a need to have extra oils, which may be coming from less healthy sources of fats.

Added salt – having too much salt can increase risk of high blood pressure and other medical conditions. It also affects our perceptions of taste, needing foods to be a certain saltiness to be enjoyed.

Added sugar – most diets have adequate or excessive amounts of added sugar. Eating a small amount is important for energy production, having too much can increase risk of weight gain, lifestyle diseases and dental decay.

“Natural” – in a nutshell, peanut butter doesn’t need to be fancy to give you some great nutritional benefits. “Natural” is a marketing term, since there aren’t any peanut butters on the market made with some sort of synthetic peanut.

Added seeds/nuts/cacao – this is more about taste preference. These are great since they add variety (which is the spice of life) but not necessary if you don’t want to.

American style – usually made with sugar, salt, oil and molasses to give it the signature American style taste. See above.

Organic – meaning that it has been grown without the use of pesticides. There aren’t any added nutritional benefits and there is debate about which is actually better for the environment (considering how much more of an organic product needs to be grown to produce the same yield).

And the final question – crunchy or smooth? Up to you!

What’s stopping you from seeing a dietitian?

You hurt your knee, you see the physio. You have the flu, see the GP. You have a car, it gets taken to the mechanic and serviced. So why don’t you see the dietitian about what you eat?

We have never before lived in an age where information is so readily available. Touch of a button and find a meal plan scroll through Instagram puppies and be told to start a detox. What comes with this wealth of information comes a sheer volume of conflicting advice.

Is it because it’s easier to listen to the quick fixes from wellness coaches, testimonials and dieting programs? What are the barriers stopping you from seeing a dietitian?

Don’t have the time

Is it that seeing a dietitian will be time consuming? You can get as much or as little time as you want or need. Most people have a one hour initial assessment and then reviews every 4-6 weeks to check up on progress and changes made. So, when it comes down to it, seeing someone who can help you made healthy lifelong changes about your eating pattern has less commitment than your favourite TV show.

It will cost a lot

The cost of seeing a dietitian is often cited as a barrier. But when you think about it, a dietitian works with you, with your specific nutritional needs to individually work out how to get the most out of what you eat. There aren’t magic pills, books, meals or shakes to buy – just food that you’re buying anyway.

Why would I want to see the diet Police?

Want to know what to expect when chatting to a dietitian at SportsTec? In the initial session, there are lots of questions. I want to know everything about you how you eat, what you like and what your body needs. From there, we could literally be talking about anything. It depends on what you want to be getting out of the session.

Commonly, there is a nutrition education session. You get to the learn the why and how behind the changes recommended. Using the latest evidence based research, you get to know which aspects can be tweaked for long term healthy habits. Together we set small achievable goals for performance, health and improved relationships with food.

A dietitian works with you. If you say that you don’t like eating mushrooms, I’m not going to recommend them.