Got cravings? When all you really want is a chocolate bar, it’s hard to focus on anything else until you take that first bite – and there’s a reason. Psychology professor Evan Forman says it all boils down to survival. Meaning that throughout history, the people who ate the most calories tended to survive another day. So, we tend to crave whatever provides the biggest calorie bang per bite – which tend to be fatty, salty and sweet foods. The good news is: You can learn to curb your cravings without feeling deprived. Here’s how, courtesy of the experts at Condé Nast Publications:  

• Minimize the damage. In other words, if you crave something sweet and creamy, try low-fat frozen yogurt. If you want something crispy and salty, try a handful of roasted almonds.  
• Schedule your splurges. When you bite into something delicious, your brain releases dopamine, the “reward chemical.” If you know ahead of time that you’ll be eating something sweet at 4 p.m., it’ll be easier to ignore your candy craving at noon.
• You can also: Wait it out. Most food cravings go away within 20 minutes. So, try to distract yourself, say by chewing sugar-free gum. A study in the journal Appetite found that people who chewed gum for 15 minutes every hour after lunch ate less when they snacked later that afternoon.
• Beware the witching hour. You’re more likely to want potato chips in the late afternoon, when you’re tired and have low blood sugar, but a dash of mint can boost your willpower. In a recent study, volunteers who sniffed the smell of mint during the day ate 3,000 fewer calories a week – which is almost a pound!
• Accept defeat – occasionally. A study at Tufts University found that people who sometimes gave into their cravings still lost weight. Registered Dietician Joan Blake says the trick is to make that occasional bite so satisfying, you won’t go back for more. So, if you’re craving chocolate, eat high quality chocolate and take small bites in order to savor it. After all, two individually wrapped pieces of Dove dark chocolate will set you back less than 100 calories.