Kill Fake Hunger: Simple Strategies to Overcome Cravings and Hit Your Nutrition and Performance Goals

Writing a nutrition plan is simple — sticking to it is the challenge. At first, everything goes well: you weigh, measure, and eat as planned. Then, cravings hit. Your stomach growls, and suddenly you’re diving into snacks or overeating, feeling guilt and frustration afterward.

But there’s good news: you can regain control with the right knowledge and strategies. Cravings often stem from habit, boredom, or addiction to processed foods — not true hunger. Here’s how to overcome them and stick to your goals.

Step 1: Ensure Your Nutrition Plan is Solid

The first step in addressing hunger pangs or cravings is to ensure you consume enough high-quality food to cover your health and performance needs. “Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.” The guidelines outlined in CrossFit’s Nutrition 1 Course are a great starting point to ensure you get all the macro and micronutrients you need to thrive. Follow these guidelines:

• Focus on quality foods: meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar.
• Balance macronutrients:
  • Protein: 1g per pound of body weight daily.
  • Carbs: Multiply protein grams by 1.3 for daily carb intake.
  • Fats: Multiply protein grams by 4, and divide by 9 for daily fat intake.
• Stick to a schedule: Divide your intake into meals and snacks that fit your lifestyle.

If you’re meeting your caloric and protein needs, hunger is likely “false” — triggered by factors like boredom or sugar withdrawal.

Step 2: Address Common Causes of Cravings

Once your diet is in place, tackle these sneaky hunger triggers:

• Boredom: Cravings often arise from lack of stimulation. Next time you’re tempted to snack, try a walk, burpees, or a quick task instead.
• Dehydration: Thirst can mimic hunger. Drink water first and see if cravings fade.
• Access to Junk Food: Remove tempting processed foods from your home. If it’s not there, you can’t eat it.
• Sleep Deprivation: Lack of sleep increases hunger hormones and cravings for sugary, fatty foods. Prioritize sleep with a solid bedtime routine.

Step 3: Learn to Embrace Hunger

Feeling slightly hungry is normal when dialing in your nutrition. And it’s not a sign that anything is wrong. 

As Nicole Carroll put it in the article “Getting Off The Crack,” “The tiny bit of hunger that remained kept me on an edge that I have come to appreciate tremendously. I can only describe it as a state of readiness, of feeling honed physically and mentally.” 

Just as you need to experience discomfort in your workouts as you push for intensity and results, you must accept that being a little bit hungry is part of dialing in your nutrition for optimal health and performance. If you’ve always eaten until you’re full, this sensation of hunger will be uncomfortable, but you can manage it until you get accustomed to it. 

Step 4: Bounce Back Quickly from Slip-Ups

If you give in to cravings, don’t dwell on it. One misstep doesn’t have to ruin your progress. Simply make your next meal align with your plan and keep going. Progress isn’t about perfection — it’s about consistency.

—

Before your changes stick, you may succumb to your fake hunger and eat outside your plan now and then. That’s not a big deal. The important thing is when this happens, you don’t become consumed by a sense of failure and decide you’ve ruined your diet. This is not the path to health and peak performance. A better strategy is to realize you’re only one meal or snack away from returning to your plan and ensure your next meal matches your goals. That’s how you stop fake hunger from thwarting your nutrition efforts.

About the Author

Stephane Rochet is a Senior Content Writer for CrossFit. He has worked as a Flowmaster on the CrossFit Seminar Staff and has over 15 years of experience as a collegiate/tactical strength and conditioning coach. He is a Certified CrossFit Trainer (CF-L3) and enjoys training athletes in his garage gym.