cravings

beautifulsoul

beautifulsoul

Cathlete
I am 28, 5'6", 131 lbs, 26% body fat. I am trying to lower my body fat and get rid of my cellulite. I am really trying to clean up my eating, I do good for about 2 days then I get uncontrollable cravings. I'll eat 6 sugar cookies in one sitting. Cookies are my weakness and am working on keeping them out of the house, my fiance is reluctant though, lol. I used to get a huge tub of chocolate chip cookie dough and eat it right out of the tub with a spoon, Mmmmm (quit that bad habit). I have tried munching on baby carrots but they are just don't do the trick when I get those cravings.

My question is, what do you all do when that really stong craving hits. Thank you all in advance, it is so frusterating working out really hard then ruining it.

Adina
 
If you really are craving something, I'm all for having just a little bit to satisfy you. Why not keep snack pack size in the house, like Snackwells or maybe the 100 calorie packs. I know it's not a clean choice but I think moderation is key and you will go into the binge modes if you keep depriving what you are truly craving.


Live with sincerity, love with passion, and dance like you mean it.

Debbie
 
Someone asked this question not to long ago and Cathe had some suggestions. She mentioned that cravings don't really last very long and you should try to do something else until that craving passes. She suggested doing 10 pushups when a craving strikes. I tried it for a while and it did help. Unfortunatly, life got in the way and I've jumped back up on the unclean eating wagon. Good luck to you.
 
I am so with you Adina! Chocolate attacks happen to me alot. I have just started to get serious about clean eating, but I am not perfect. Especially TTOM! LOL!
For me, I do need to give in SOME times, to avoid a binge. Weight Watchers desserts help me. Most are 140 cal or around there, so I try to watch cal the rest of the day if I know I am going to NEED a sweet.
I also have been doing hot tea with equal. I use 3 packets (no cal) and it makes it real sweet, so I have been able to satisfy the craving sometimes with that.
Hope this helps, but either way, you are not alone!!! LOL!!!


Maeghan AKA megadoo

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar072/slider-but3/lb/203/145/159/.png[/img] [/url]

http://www.picturetrail.com/megadoo2
 
These ideas worked for me and I was a big cookie eater:

Try to only keep cookies you don't care for in the house. My hubby likes oreos. I'm not a huge fan. I can keep oreos in the house without being tempted. But I have a tough time with chocolate chip.

Ask fiance to hide the cookies. Then when you want one, you have to ask him to get you one. This works in several ways - you're less tempted because you don't see them every time you open the cabinet. And you tend to be more aware of how often you're asking for that cookie. And he controls the portions so you tend to eat less. Plus your fiance has access to them whenever he wants so he doesn't feel deprived. Note - fiance can't be judgemental, when you ask - he should give you a cookie without any comments or disapproving looks.

Last option, and I suggest you use this if you're really desperate -
Find a healthier cookie, one low in calories and fat and higher in fiber. This way it's better for you if you indulge. My favorite - A bag of chocolate (or chocolate & peanut butter) chips 12oz, melted in the microwave, mixed with a sleeve of Fiber One cereal. Mix well, drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper (make 24 good size cookies)and put them in the freezer overnight. Next day put them in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer. Weight Watchers points = 1 point each cookie. Not exactly clean, but better than the pillsbury sugar cookies you get in the store.

The first time I made them, I ate all 24 in two days. It was a while before I tried them again because I was scared to eat them all. The next time I managed to keep it to one or two a day. I keep them in the basement freezer so that I have to walk further to get them. I have to admit, I have to stop myself from making them because they are really good. Once I make them I have one every day until their gone.

Edit - And don't beat yourself up about it - it takes time to master those cravings. I went to nabisco vanilla wafers at first and then weaned myself off of those before I stopped craving cookies daily.
 
If I were you, I'd allow myself one day off a week. A day when you can eat anything you want all day. Maybe do this for a month and then cut it down. Maybe do 1 day every week and a half or do one cheat meal a week or something. I know for me, if I make something 'off limits', it makes me just want it more. But if I know that I can have it sometime in the near future, the craving doesn't seem so dire.

c
 
I am going to agree with Pixie. I too give myself one day "off" (Saturday in my case) a week and let myself eat what I want. That way whenever I get a craving for something I tell myself "Saturday, I can have all I want on Saturday." Once Saturday comes around I usually don't have the cravings anymore and usually don't ear nearly as bad as I think I'm going to. It has worked great for me and I have continued to lose weight while still getting my pizza fix every week.:7

Katie
 
I think cravings can be psychological (you associate X food with pleasure or some positive emotion, and therefore crave the food) or physical (your body needs something OR your body is jonesing for a substance that is physically addictive, like sugar).

You can also work at finding a healthier substitute for whatever craving the cookies satisfy.

Is it the flavor of chocolate? Then how about a chocolate-flavored herbal tea? Or just a bit of raw chocolate (www.rawfoods.com or www.eatraw.com carries it) in some rice or soy milk? That's what's I'd do, but other folks might just get chocolate soy milk or chocolate milk).

Is it the crunch of the cookies? Then how about a handful of nuts? (raw is best, as they contain enzymes the help with the digestion of their fat and protein). Or maybe a crunch fruit, like an apple, which can help with both the sweet craving and the crunchy craving. And the pectin (fiber) in the apple will help you feel satisfied.

(Loving to eat apples instead of cookies doesn't happen automatically! You have to make the choice to eat the apple instead of the cookie, until the apple is actually what you prefer.)

Also, what do YOU mean by 'cleaning up your eating"? If it includes avoiding carbohydrates, that could be a source of cravings for sweets (because your body is lacking glycogen). Try to incorporate fruits in your diet (if you are concerned about such things, stick with low-glycemic fruits like berries and apples and pears).

Also, since you know what your weakness is (cookies!), do as you intend and keep them out of the house. "Working on" keeping them out isn't cutting it, it seems, so you have to declare a moratorium on cookies in the house. When you feel a craving, bake some from scratch from a healthier recipe or even prepare the dough ahead of time so you can keep it in a roll in the freezer, and cut off what you need---limit yourself to 2 or 3 at a time. When you eat those cookies, savor them, eating slowly, and relishing every bite, givning your full attention to the cookies and not just mindlessly eating them while watching TV. That can make 1 or 2 cookies as satisfying as 6 that you scarf down without thinking.
 
Adina, are you eating enough protein with each meal, and are you eating enough, period, to fuel your body? The cravings may originate from your body feeling deprived or unsatisfied on some level. What does a typical breakfast look like for you? Possibly if you adjust your meals and snacks a bit, the cravings will come down to a controllable level.

I know that for myself, if I eat enough and have properly balanced meals early in the day (when I'm not even thinking about cravings), I don't get demon chocolate cravings in the late afternoon and evening -- but otherwise, watch out.

Stebby
 
Adina
I used to be a surgaraholic. I ate cookies, brownies, and my favorite chocolate. I recently did a herbal cleanse that lasted 10 days. The only reason I'm mentioning that is because it came with a stricted diet. Part of that diet for 10 days was no surgar. You no how tough that was, but I stuck it out after a couple of days I didn't crave sugar any more. In fact I finished the cleanse, and still haven't gone back to my old ways. My body feels so good internally, I don't want to put the toxins back in. I feel too good. Not only that but the weight keeps coming off, beacuse I only eat good food. I am only 3bls away from my goal weight. I have been trying to loose this weight for 5.5 years. I still can't get over the fact I am almost in those prepragnancy jeans I used to wear. And it was all due to bad eating habits. Now that I rambled on( I can do that sometimes) all I ment was if you stick it out the cravings will go away. And yes I still have junk food in my house my kids and husband eat it, but I don't even want it. It's amazing, but can be done.
Melissa
 
I just want to say that in my experience carb cravings come from eating carbs. Eating sugar leads to eating more sugar. You must have some kind of simple carbs in your diet that are leading you to crave the sugar cookies. It may be something you don't even realize has white flour or white sugar in it, so look closely at what you last eat for your last meal before you crave the sugar cookies. Switch any simple carbs you are eating to complex carbs, and I'll bet the cravings will go away. It has worked wonders for me.
-Nancy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top