Why You Crave The Foods You're Trying Not To Eat

Have you ever decided to completely cut out sugar, chocolate, cookies, chips, pizza, burgers, or some other favorite food or snack because you wanted to lose weight? You started out with the best intentions. You were motivated, determined, and ready to follow your new diet rules.

But then something strange happened…

Instead of forgetting about those foods, you started thinking about them more than ever. You couldn’t stop imagining how good they would taste. And eventually, you gave in, sometimes eating far more than you intended.

If you’ve ever wondered why you crave sugar, chocolate, or other foods you’re trying to avoid, the answer might surprise you.

One of the reasons you crave certain foods could be that you’ve made them forbidden in the first place.

In fact, research suggests that the harder you try to avoid certain foods, the more intensely you crave them.

And here’s the biggest surprise: Simply eating fewer calories to lose weight doesn’t necessarily create the same problem.

What Research Reveals About Food Cravings And Restriction

In a 2020 scientific review published in Current Nutrition Reports, researcher Adrian Meule examined the relationship between food deprivation, dieting, and cravings. The findings were fascinating.

In experiments where subjects were told to avoid specific foods such as chocolate or bread for several days, they reported stronger cravings for the foods they were forbidden to eat.

The review also reported that people classified as “restrained eaters” tended to experience more frequent and intense food cravings than unrestrained eaters.

But here’s where the research gets interesting.

When scientists examined longer-term weight-loss studies involving calorie-restricted diets, they generally found the opposite result.

Instead of increasing, food cravings often decreased during weight loss, even though people were eating fewer calories.

This challenges a common assumption: That eating fewer calories automatically makes food cravings worse. Apparently, it’s not that simple.

Why Cutting Out Your Favorite Foods Can Make Cravings Worse

I’ve been coaching people for decades, and one of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen for years is making dieting unnecessarily restrictive.

People decide they want to lose weight, so they start making rules: No sugar. No bread. No pasta. No pizza. No burgers. No desserts.

Before long, they have a huge list of foods they’re “not allowed” to eat. Plus they make other rules as well like, “No eating after 7 PM.” Or is that “No eating before 11 am?” Who can keep track of all the diet rules anymore?

And here’s the huge irony: The entire diet industry is built on telling people what foods they must never eat. Meanwhile, decades of research has pointed to an undeniable truth:

You tend to want what you’re not allowed to have.

Part of the problem is psychological. When you label a food as forbidden, you make it seem more desirable.

You feel deprived without it, and experience stronger urges when you’re exposed to it. Researchers sometimes call this perceived deprivation.

Plus there is the well-known phenomenon of ironic rebound. Tell yourself not to think about chocolate, and all you can think about is chocolate.

That’s a very different situation from simply eating fewer calories without banning any specific foods.

There’s another problem with rigid food rules: All-or-nothing thinking.

Suppose you’ve decided that chocolate is absolutely forbidden. Then one night, you eat a piece. Instead of eating it slowly, enjoying it and moving on, you tell yourself, “I’ve blown my diet. I might as well eat the whole bag and start over tomorrow.” Sound familiar?

Psychologists call this the “What the hell effect.” (Yes, that’s the actual “scientific” name for it).

I’ve seen this pattern countless times. And it’s one reason I’ve always been an advocate of flexible dieting rather than rigid dieting. Flexible dieting means you can enjoy chocolate, pizza, pasta, burgers, or dessert in reasonable portions and still lose body fat.

Many people refuse to believe it, but you don’t need to give up your favorite foods to lose weight. What you need is a calorie deficit.

There’s a big difference between controlling how much you eat and declaring certain foods completely off-limits.

How to Lose Fat Without Making Cravings Worse

Let me clarify something important. I’m not against dieting. I’m against unnecessarily restrictive dieting in the sense of cutting specific foods. Reducing calories to achieve a calorie deficit is a necessary condition for fat loss to occur, not banning specific foods.

You’ve probably heard people say, “Diets don’t work.” Well, that depends on what you mean by dieting. If you mean following a rigid list of food rules, depriving yourself of everything you enjoy, and trying to survive on willpower, then yes, that kind of dieting usually backfires.

But if you mean creating a sensible calorie deficit while eating a balanced, satisfying variety of foods, that’s an entirely different approach.

For most people, I recommend starting with a moderate calorie deficit of approximately 20% rather than crash dieting or starving yourself. Eat adequate protein. Include plenty of filling, nutritious foods. Plan regular, satisfying meals and don’t skip them. And leave some room in your calorie budget for foods you genuinely enjoy.

That does not mean eating unlimited amounts of anything you want. It means practicing moderation, planning portions, and making deliberate choices rather than blindly following lists of “good foods” and “bad foods.”

The Two Most Important Skills To Control Cravings And End Over-Eating

I also believe that two of the most valuable skills anyone struggling with cravings and overeating can develop are flexible dieting and mindful eating.

Flexible dieting teaches you to stop thinking of foods as either allowed or forbidden.

Mindful eating teaches you to become more aware of your hunger, cravings, emotions, eating habits, and feelings of fullness in the moment, rather than eating automatically.

And remember, just because you experience a craving doesn’t mean you have to act on it. A craving is not necessarily physical hunger that truly needs to be satisfied. A craving is just a thought in your head. And like all negative thoughts, you can talk back to that voice in your head. This is the whole basis of cognitive psychology.

One qualification: A small handful of people find that abstinence or at least keeping all trigger foods out of the house is a must for them rather than trying to practice moderation. There’s nothing wrong with that.

The goal isn’t to force everyone to eat every food in moderation. It’s to find an approach that helps you manage your eating without unnecessary deprivation or constant mental battles.

For most people however, moderation and flexible dieting is the answer.

Stop Making Your Favorite Foods Your Enemy

Here’s what I hope you’ll take away from all this. You don’t have to make your favorite foods forbidden to lose weight. And in fact, the research shows that doing this can make cravings harder to manage, especially in the short term.

And remember the surprising part of this research: eating fewer calories doesn’t necessarily increase cravings. In longer-term weight-loss studies, cravings often declined with a balanced, non-restrictive diet in a calorie deficit.

Of course, severe hunger from aggressive dieting or skipped meals can make controlling your appetite more difficult. That’s one more reason to use a moderate calorie deficit and eat satiating meals.

But here is the bigger lesson: You can lose fat without declaring war on your favorite foods. You can enjoy foods you love without guilt, stay within your calorie budget, and make consistent progress.

After studying the research and also coaching people for decades, I’m more convinced than ever that the answer isn’t more rigid rules or depending only on willpower. It’s learning how to eat with more flexibility and awareness. Basically, to have a good relationship with food and learn to enjoy it sensibly.

But Remember, Food Restriction Is Not The Only Cause Of Cravings

Understanding the causes of cravings is important, and now you know you about one of the major culprits: Banning specific foods.

The solution is clear: Embrace flexible dieting and avoid all or nothing thinking about food (good/bad, allowed/forbidden, etc).

This is a great first step. But there are many other causes of cravings and overeating, and it’s important to understand them all and have solutions to each of these challenges.

That’s why I created my new course, How To Beat Food Cravings

This program gives you not one, but 24 research-supported strategies: 10 psychological techniques to help you manage cravings and strengthen self-control, plus 14 behavioral and environmental strategies to make healthy eating easier and more automatic.

If you finally want to get control over your cravings, end over-eating, and achieve the health and ideal weight you want – without cutting our your favorite foods – visit this page to learn more ==> How To Beat Food Cravings – The Complete Course

The course is 50% off during our new release week, until November 7th, then it goes up to the regular price.

Train hard and expect success!

-Tom Venuto
Author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle – “The Bible Of Fat Loss”
Founder of Burn the Fat Inner Circle
Creator of How To Beat Food Cravings – The Complete Course

Scientific References:Meule A, The Psychology of Food Cravings: The Role of Food Deprivation. Current Nutrition Reports, 9:251–257, 2020.

About Tom Venuto
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilding and fat loss coach with 35 years of experience. He holds a degree in exercise science and has trained hundreds of clients in person and thousands online. He is also a recipe creator specializing in fat-burning, muscle-building cooking.

A former competitive bodybuilder, Tom is now a full-time evidence-based fitness writer, blogger, and author. His classic book Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is an international bestseller, first as an ebook and later as a hardcover and audiobook. He is also the author of Meal Prep For Fat Loss, a practical guide to smart shopping, batch cooking, and kitchen strategies that make healthy eating simple and sustainable.

Tom is also the founder of Burn the Fat Inner Circle, a fitness support community with more than 59,000 members worldwide since 2006.

Tom’s work has been featured in Men’s Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Oprah Magazine and dozens of other major publications. He is best known for his no-BS, scientific approach to natural fat loss and muscle-building.

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