Healthy Cures for Cabin Fever

Snowed In? Here in the Greater Dayton/Cincinnati area, the snow continues to fall fall fall. If you have the luxury to, enjoy it. Pull on those snow boots and go for a walk. Build a snowman with your kids or grab someone and have a good old fashioned snowball fight.

There's something to be aware of if you're thinking there's no way I'm going out in that. Food cravings. As the winter wears on, we have a tendency to look to the fridge as a cure for boredom and cabin fever. You know the signs of hunger. That hollow, gnarling pit in your stomach, gotta have sustenance feeling. Cravings, on the other hand, are the result of other emotions - boredom, stress, fatigue. Additionally, cravings are usually very specific. Instead of gotta have food, it's gotta have brownies.

If you find yourself craving something you know you shouldn't eat and you know it's not hunger causing that craving - they key is to distract yourself. Try these little tricks to outsmart those cravings:

• If you're at work, start a project or talk to a coworker.
• Clear the clothes off of the treadmill and go for a walk.
• Read a book or magazine article.
• Listen to soothing music and take 5 minutes just to breathe.
• Drink a glass of water.

Determine the difference between actual physical hunger and cravings and you're on the right path to giving your body what it needs to be healthy.