8 Enjoyable Ways To Stop Food Cravings This Winter

On the JJ Barnes Blog, to help you have a healthy Winter, I’m sharing 8 easy and enjoyable ways to stop food craving when comfort food is your way of handling the cold weather and dark days.

As the days get shorter and the temperatures drop, something predictable happens: we all start craving comfort food. Google searches for “food cravings” have jumped 22% worldwide compared to last year, with over 823,000 monthly searches globally and more than 18,000 in the UK alone. Sugar tops the list (5,500 searches a month), followed closely by salt (3,940) and chocolate (1,790). Sound familiar?

The good news? You don’t have to white-knuckle your way through winter or swear off everything tasty. With the help of Dr Crystal Wyllie, GP and online doctor at ZAVA UK, I’m sharing eight surprisingly enjoyable (and evidence-based) ways to keep cravings under control without feeling deprived. Some of them might even become your new favourite rituals.

8 Enjoyable Ways To Stop Food Cravings This Winter

1. Reach for herbal tea instead of the biscuit tin

A warm mug of peppermint, chamomile, ginger, or rooibos tea is zero-calorie comfort in a cup. Peppermint in particular has been shown to reduce appetite and the desire for sweets, while the simple act of sipping something hot and fragrant tricks your brain into feeling satisfied. Keep a few different flavours on hand so it never feels boring.

2. Front-load your day with protein

Protein is the single most satiating macronutrient we have. People who eat adequate protein (roughly 20–30 g per meal) report fewer cravings overall. Quick winter-friendly ideas: Greek yoghurt with berries and a sprinkle of seeds, a couple of boiled eggs with everything bagel seasoning, turkey or beef jerky, a handful of almonds, or even a small tin of tuna on a rice cake.

3. Distract yourself with something genuinely fun

Cravings usually pass in 10–20 minutes if you can ride them out. Instead of staring at the clock, do something you actually enjoy: call a friend, scroll through a funny account, play a quick game on your phone, knit, doodle, or step outside for a five-minute walk under the fairy lights. Pleasure displaces the urge far better than willpower alone.

4. Keep sugar-free gum or mints in every coat pocket

Chewing gum increases satiety and reduces sweet cravings in multiple studies. The strong flavour (especially mint) temporarily desensitises sweet taste receptors, making that chocolate bar suddenly less appealing. Bonus: your teeth will thank you.

5. Treat stress before it treats itself to crisps

Cortisol, the stress hormone, directly increases appetite for sugar and salt. A few minutes of deep breathing, a quick body-weight circuit, stretching while watching TV, or even hugging someone (or your dog) for 20 seconds can drop cortisol fast and short-circuit emotional eating.

6. Protect your sleep like it’s your metabolism

Even one night of poor sleep increases ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and decreases leptin (the “I’m full” hormone) the next day – and makes you crave junk food specifically. A consistent bedtime, a dark cool bedroom, and winding down with herbal tea (see point 1) instead of screens can work wonders.

7. Start a tiny food & mood diary

You don’t need a complicated app. Just jot down what you ate, roughly what time, and how you felt before and after. Most people discover clear patterns within a week – “I always want chocolate at 3 pm when I’m bored at my desk” or “late-night salt cravings only happen when I skip lunch”. Once you see the trigger, you can fix the cause instead of fighting the symptom.

8. Eat like someone who actually enjoys food

Mindfulness isn’t just sitting cross-legged chanting – it’s also putting your phone down, chewing slowly, and tasting every bite. When you eat proper meals without distractions, you need less food to feel satisfied, and random grazing drops dramatically. Try the “20-minute meal” rule: take at least that long to eat dinner, and watch how cravings for dessert often melt away.

The bottom line

Winter weight gain isn’t inevitable; it’s usually just a few hundred extra calories a day from “little” snacks that add up. By swapping some of those moments for a soothing herbal tea, a protein-rich bite, or a 10-minute mood reset, you can stay in control without feeling punished.

Which of these will you try first? My money’s on the herbal tea – there’s something about holding a steaming mug when it’s cold outside that feels like a hug from the inside. Stay warm, stay satisfied, and enjoy the season without the extra kilos.