One of the hardest things to control when you are on a diet are food cravings. The fact that your food is restricted makes you want the wrong food all the more. And the food types we crave are always the ones that will not help you lose weight like bread, cheese, chocolate, ice cream and peanuts. So what do I do to stop my cravings for the wrong foods.

The first thing I do is make foods that I crave unavailable or at least difficult to get hold of. I clear the food cupboard and fridge of anything that is going to tempt me into a food binge. This makes it difficult for the family person but the diet will be a team effort anyway so they will understand.

The second thing to do is surround yourself with permitted foods that you can freely snack. For low fat type diets you can use fruit and vegetables to help you. If you were on the Atkins style diet you could have some cold meat in the fridge.

The issue will be that you will not your bad cravings for the wrong food. You might be eating a fresh carrot to stop your craving but you mind is thinking about a bar of chocolate. What you have to do is train your mind to crave the good foods instead of the bad ones.

The way to do this is first of all choose your favourite fruit. Take the humble apple. Many fruits seem humdrum and ordinary like the eating apple. What I do is say to myself that It is not just an apple. I picture it as a crunchy fresh apple with a glossy red skin that has a bright sweet tangy flavour. Can you taste that apple. By picturing your allowed food in this way again and again you will find yourself craving the right sort of food.

To try this with another fruit imagine a mandarin. But look at it this way. This mandarin just falls out of its peel and smells of the juice that it contains. When you eat your fresh juicy mandarin it just fills your mouth with tangy flavour. If you really cannot stop eating the wrong food you should start training your mind in this way.