It's around four o'clock, three hours after lunch and probably also three hours before dinner. The umpteenth cup of tea has been poured but you need more. Something substantial. Something with chocolate. Or nuts. Or French cheese. Whatever. You need food. And immediately. In the vain hope of forgetting my growling stomach online, I came across this fine article on guffingtonpost.com, thank the angels. An impending candy attack? Read this and heal.

Yes, yes, yes, we know that of course. Breakfast is good for the human and prevents your attack on that scale with Mini Mars bars from starting at 11:00 AM.

If you're craving chocolate or other sweets, take a large bowl of sweet fruit. Same experience (well, it's close), no guilt which reduces the chance of a subsequent candy attack. The well-known 'I-don't-care-the-damage-is-already-done' effect. Craving chips, then take cashews because they are much healthier and moreover, you have less urge to binge.

A university in the USA researched and concluded that people who ate smaller portions felt much more satisfied than those who ate a portion three times as large. So serve something delicious in a small amount. You'll feel fuller, eat less (we do have the clean-your-plate-think-of-all-the-children-in-Africa syndrome so a large plate must be empty) and have less chance of a relapse.

Keep a very small food diary. Don't expect too much from it but write in two sentences when you crave sweets. You'll see that you often have a ‘craving’ at the same time (I always do at 4:00 PM) or that it happens when you're tired, sad, something like that. Insight helps you to curb your cravings.

If you really want fries, order them. But on the side. Your ‘main menu’ is a healthy salad, you eat those fries, controlled and slowly, on the side.

If you associate something delicious, like chocolate, with something negative (Must Not Eat) it will take on mythical proportions which only worsens the craving.

A craving usually lasts only about ten minutes. Be strong. Go for a walk or shop online. Cleaning your desk is also a good idea, you haven't snacked and everything is neatly in order.

If you deny yourself everything, the craving for everything you want to eat builds up until it explodes at some point and leads to a gigantic eating binge. And that’s exactly what you didn’t want, right?

Nice to see a picture of a well-made meringue pie or that Ossobuco alla Milanese that Jamie Oliver just posted on Instagram, but it's not a good idea for controlling your hunger.

Go for it. And if you really can't take it anymore, you can always send our Jet an email for happy and healthy advice.