Suddenly, you crave cookies and milk. Or maybe some calorie-laden comfort food slathered in gravy. Or a cheeseburger and jumbo fries. Doesn't that huge chunk of pecan pie look delicious?

Can you stick to your healthy eating plan under all this pressure? Follow these steps to short-circuit your cravings.

•  Avoid triggers. The more you're away from foods that start you to hankering, the less likely you'll want them—and you may even start craving fruits and vegetables.

•  Destroy temptation. If you've bought one of your trigger foods and feel bad while noshing it, don't throw it away—destroy it! Rip up the package. Douse it in running water. You'll get a sense psychologically that you've defeated your binge.

•  Drink two glasses of water and eat an ounce of nuts to extinguish a craving. But keep the nuts to only an ounce because of their calories.

•  Sip coffee to quench your appetite rather than that calorie-laden candy bar that beckons you with its siren song.

•  Let go of stress. Learn various ways to reduce stress, such as deep-breathing exercises, and relaxation and affirmation techniques.

•  Snooze. Cravings can sneak up on you when you're tired.

•  Brush your teeth, garble with mouthwash or chew on a mint.

•  Call a friend, listen to music, run an errand or, better still, exercise.

•  Indulge once in awhile, but don't go overboard. Those 100-calorie packs of cookies and candy look healthy, but eating more than one of them is just like eating the old kind of snacks—you’ll get just as many calories and fat.

•  Avoid places that pump up your cravings. Got a yen for pizza? Don't go past the pizza place. Got a hankering for donuts or fried chicken? Avoid the neighborhood with the donut shop and the chicken stand.