How I Tricked My Brain into Stopping Cravings

I discovered 3 Slippery Slopes that would tip my brain into helplessly craving junk food and sweets. So, I took these 3 points and flipped them into Clarity Guardrails, which over time became stronger and stronger to the point that my brain hardly ever craves junk food and sweets now.

When I had cravings after a long day, I used to head straight for the ice cream in my freezer or grab the leftover pizza. I never thought about how our brains seem wired to crave junk food and sweets. While their composition does mess with our brain chemistry, we actually have more control over our cravings than we might think. I discovered three key triggers that would send me down a path of helplessly craving junk food. So, I flipped those triggers into what I call “clarity guardrails.” Over time, these guardrails became stronger, and now, I hardly crave junk food at all. Let me walk you through these triggers.

When I was trying to lose weight, my mornings were rushed. I’d grab a banana on the way to work and convince myself that fewer meals meant fewer calories, so it was a win-win. But within a few hours, I was hungry, heading to the vending machine for some tea and nuts to tide me over. By lunchtime, I would finally get a proper meal, usually a salad. On days when the specials caught my eye, I tried to keep a 3:4 ratio—three days of salads, one or two days of specials. It seemed like a good plan to eat less overall. Between lunch and dinner, I’d feel hungry again, grabbing more snacks like nuts or string cheese. I drank zero-calorie soda all day, thinking it would help me stay on track.

But once I got home, exhausted from the day, I would start craving chocolate or ice cream. Watching TV seemed so much better with a treat. When I was serious about losing weight, I could fight off the craving with just a cup of tea, but after a while, chocolate and ice cream would sneak back in. I always thought my nighttime cravings were my downfall. Each weight-loss attempt would involve trying to battle those cravings—whether it was hiding the junk food or finding low-calorie substitutes—but nothing worked. I finally realized that nighttime cravings were the last slippery slope in a series of problems. The earlier issues needed to be fixed first.

The first major issue was not fueling my body properly throughout the day. This caused my hunger and cravings to build into a monster by nighttime. Hunger is like the rider of an elephant, and cravings are the elephant itself. If you can’t control hunger, you won’t be able to control the cravings. The first “clarity guardrail” I put in place was staying hydrated. I realized that many times when I thought I was hungry, I was just thirsty. Soda doesn’t help as much as water, so once I started drinking more water, the number of times I felt the need to snack decreased.

The second guardrail was adding more protein to my meals. After trying a paleo diet for three weeks, I learned how to better incorporate protein into my meals. Even after stopping paleo, I kept up with the habit of eating a palm-sized amount of protein four times a day. This helped stretch the gaps between hunger pangs to the normal three and a half to four hours, and my nighttime cravings reduced significantly.

Once my hunger was under control, I tackled the second slippery slope: the moment between craving and action. I had tried making junk food harder to access, like hiding ice cream deep in the freezer, but I still found it. I also tried not buying sweets at all, but that only worked until I got my hands on something at a party. It was at a party when I had a big realization—I wasn’t as interested in the ice cream as I thought. I had given myself permission to eat as much as I wanted, and the delay in getting the second serving gave me time to lose the craving. From that moment, I set up a new guardrail: full permission to eat whatever I wanted, but only after a speed bump like drinking water or eating a small salad first. This slowed me down enough to let my brain catch up to my cravings.

The final slippery slope was the trickiest because it required changing my relationship with food itself. I noticed that my friends didn’t turn to food for stress relief or celebration the way I did. They seemed to view food as fuel, especially after a workout, rather than as a treat or source of comfort. This made me question my own habits—why did I associate food with pleasure or relief? Over time, I started observing my thoughts and writing down how I wanted the food I was about to eat to serve me. Initially, it was embarrassing to see how many times I wrote “energy” while preparing to eat pizza and soda. But gradually, my choices began aligning with my actual goals for the food.

Addressing these three slippery slopes—proper fueling, delaying cravings, and changing my relationship with food—helped me stop sabotaging myself. Though these changes didn’t get me all the way to my weight-loss goal, they were crucial in breaking the cycle of cravings and indulgence. With these guardrails in place, I was able to build better habits and lose weight more effectively.

While these clarity guardrails helped me make significant progress, they weren’t enough to completely reach my weight loss goal. Even though I had managed to reduce my nighttime cravings and my snacking frequency, I realized that the weekend posed a different challenge. Weekends were when I would still overindulge, often letting go of the discipline I had built throughout the week. This brought me to the final slippery slope, which was the slipperiest of all—how I handled my cravings in the long run.

I noticed that when I experienced stress or celebration, I would instinctively turn to food for relief or reward. My friends, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have the same relationship with food. They could treat it as optional or as a source of fuel without attaching emotional significance to it. This got me thinking about my own deep-rooted habits. Why did I always equate food with comfort or celebration? Why did stress automatically push me towards sugary treats? The answer wasn’t obvious at first, but as I continued reflecting, I came to realize that I had long associated food with emotional pleasure as a way to distract myself from stress or discomfort. Changing this mindset was a slow, ongoing process.

To tackle this, I started observing how my friends treated food in different situations. When we were at the gym or after a workout, they saw food as a way to refuel their bodies. If we were at a party and the food didn’t taste great, they wouldn’t bother eating it, while I would eat it anyway simply because it was there. Over time, I began asking myself the same question before every meal: “How do I want this food to serve me right now?” This simple reflection made a huge difference. I wasn’t just mindlessly eating anymore; I was consciously thinking about whether this food aligned with my goals. Sometimes I realized that I was about to eat something unhealthy, even though I claimed it was for “energy.” The more I observed my eating patterns and wrote them down, the more my habits started to shift towards healthier choices.

This method of self-observation became the third clarity guardrail. Instead of setting rigid diet goals, I focused on understanding my relationship with food and allowing myself to honestly evaluate each meal or snack. By doing this consistently, I could gradually align my choices with my long-term goals, rather than relying on willpower or strict rules.

These three guardrails—hydrating and fueling my body properly, delaying gratification with speed bumps, and understanding my emotional connection to food—helped me break the cycle of cravings and indulgence that had held me back for so long. However, I soon realized that while these tools helped me stop sabotaging my progress, they weren’t the entire solution. I needed to address other factors, like my metabolism, and explore ways to boost it naturally.

That’s when I discovered a video from a coach named Lucy, who had successfully lost 30 pounds without resorting to extreme diets or grueling workout plans. She used three simple methods that could be easily implemented right away. Her strategies provided the final piece of the puzzle for me, helping me continue my weight loss journey in a more sustainable way. If you’re trying to make lasting changes, don’t overlook this approach—it’s not just about discipline, but about understanding your body and your mind and setting yourself up for success step by step. And remember, no matter where you are on your journey, you can absolutely do it!

With this newfound understanding of my cravings and habits, I began to see weight loss as less of a battle against food and more as a process of learning about myself—my emotional triggers, my body’s needs, and my relationship with eating. It was empowering to know that I had more control over my cravings than I once believed, and that small changes in my habits could make a huge difference.

The first clarity guardrail, making sure I was properly hydrating and fueling my body, helped prevent the mid-day crashes and late-night cravings that had once derailed my progress. It turned out that many times, when I thought I was hungry, I was actually just dehydrated. By simply drinking more water throughout the day and focusing on consuming enough protein at every meal, I managed to space out my hunger pangs and keep them under control. This kept my energy levels stable, making me less likely to reach for unhealthy snacks.

The second clarity guardrail, using speed bumps to delay the action on my cravings, was another game-changer. Whether it was drinking water after each bite or starting meals with a small salad, these simple practices created a pause that gave me time to think before I acted on my cravings. I also gave myself full permission to eat whatever I wanted, which removed the sense of guilt and made it easier to control how much I ate. No longer was I frantically trying to resist certain foods—by stretching the time between craving and action, I could make more thoughtful choices and stop mindless eating in its tracks.

Finally, the third clarity guardrail, understanding the emotional reasons behind my cravings, made the biggest difference. I started to see that my cravings weren’t just about food—they were about how I was feeling. When I was stressed or celebrating, I used food as a way to cope or reward myself. By simply writing down how I wanted the food to serve me before eating, I began to shift my mindset. Slowly, I started making choices that aligned with my true goals, like opting for healthier options when I needed energy rather than reaching for pizza or soda just because it was comforting.

As I continued to apply these three guardrails, I noticed a dramatic reduction in my cravings and emotional eating. But I also realized that, while I had made great progress, there were still areas to work on—especially boosting my metabolism and continuing to refine my habits on the weekends, when I tended to let loose a bit too much. This led me to explore other resources, like the video from Lucy, who shared her own journey of losing weight by focusing on metabolism rather than extreme dieting or excessive workouts.

In the end, the key to my success was not in depriving myself or forcing strict diets, but in understanding my cravings and building habits that allowed me to make better choices without feeling deprived. These guardrails gave me the structure I needed to stay on track and the flexibility to enjoy the process. I wasn’t perfect every day, but I didn’t need to be—what mattered was that I was consistently moving forward.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this journey, it’s that lasting change comes from within. It’s not just about what you eat or how much you exercise, but how you think about food, your body, and your habits. By being patient with myself and gradually implementing these strategies, I was able to make real, sustainable progress. And if I can do it, anyone can. All it takes is a little curiosity, a willingness to observe your habits, and the courage to make small, steady changes over time. Remember, you’ve got this!