What do you mean by cravings...

leanjogreen18

I often read folks on Keto don't crave carbs after being on Keto for awhile.
or
I often hear folks craving sweets etc.

I don't think I know what that means really.

For example I went on Atkins years ago. I was successful in losing my weight, it controlled my appetite to my best recollection, BUT I never stopped wanting a baked potato or french fries if I saw my friends or husband eat one. I did not constantly think of potatoes, I did not even think of a potato unless I saw someone eat one and even then it was more of "dang I wish I could have one" instead of " I NEED a potato". However after coming off of Atkins I ate quite a bit of potatoes because I could, because I was no longer "bound" by the diet. But it was never a compulsion which is what I think when I hear the word craving.

So for me it was a visual that invaded my thoughts, yet never a compulsion.

What is your experience? Or what do you mean when you say you have or a lack of a craving for something?

- Please note I'm not dogging Keto'ers nor people who have cravings. I'm genuinely interested in others experience with what they call a craving so that I can better understand where some people are coming from.

nowine4me

I have cravings for VERY specific things sometimes. Sometimes not even stuff I really like. Some cravings can be solved with a somewhat healthy alternative and some I just absolutely obsess over until I eat the real thing. No clue why it happens.

Edited to add: like Cinnamon Toast Crunch or baked beans or chicken wings.

Lounmoun

I would understand someone saying they had a craving for a food as having a strong desire or wish to eat that food.
I don't think that someone using the word craving means it is in their thoughts all the time or is a compulsion necessarily. It could be them being obsessive because they are on a restrictive diet but it might be a food they like and have regularly like tacos or chocolate.

When I was pregnant I craved cobb salad and fruit-by-the-foot. It would kind of hit me suddenly instead of being something I was thinking about all day every day. They were not foods I ate a lot before pregnancy or after. I wouldn't have said I needed them but it felt good to eat them when I did.

leanjogreen18

nowine4me wrote: »

I have cravings for VERY specific things sometimes. Sometimes not even stuff I really like. Some cravings can be solved with a somewhat healthy alternative and some I just absolutely obsess over until I eat the real thing. No clue why it happens.

Edited to add: like Cinnamon Toast Crunch or baked beans or chicken wings.

But respectfully what do you mean by craving? Is it an overwhelming thought? A bodily physical reaction?

livingleanlivingclean

I think it's a thought. or a need for a particular sensation - I often crave crunchy food. it doesn't matter what - i'd be happy with celery or carrot - but I get this desire to crunch.

sometimes I get the desire to "just eat" - I don't, or it would end in disaster, and the desire goes away anyway. it's usually related to being emotional or tired/stressed. I can't remember wanting a particular food in ages.

i'm not sure that answers your question. just my thoughts and experiences...

Seffell

Just a strong desire; an appetite as opposed to genuine hunger.

kommodevaran

My definition, as personal experience, of a craving, is an unwelcome form of appetite, not hunger, often materializing when I'm full and satisfied, triggered by an often arbitrary stimulus/association, that doesn't just go away. It's a form of compulsion/obsession, and driven by fear of food and eating and weight gain, by lack of balance - both rebellion to restricitive diet/mindset and bad eating habits can intensify them; if I do give in they can persist from unfulfilled anticipation.

I'm not really bothered by cravings when I do these things:
Eat well - make sure I get in enough of all the nutrition I need every day. I do this by eating varied and balanced, and only food I like.
Stick to a regular meal pattern (3 or 4 meals per day is practical) and normal sized meals.
Never denying myself anything I really want, but prioritizing so I don't eat too much over time.
Plan meals and shopping so I have what I need but no more.
Not stock up on trigger foods.
Limit thinking about trigger foods and reading cake recipes etc.
Get enough sleep and rest.
Manage emotion and stress.
Get moderate exercise and do something fun every day.

bioklutz

nowine4me wrote: »

I have cravings for VERY specific things sometimes. Sometimes not even stuff I really like. Some cravings can be solved with a somewhat healthy alternative and some I just absolutely obsess over until I eat the real thing. No clue why it happens.

Edited to add: like Cinnamon Toast Crunch or baked beans or chicken wings.

That happens to me too. The other day it was tomato soup. It is not something I love or even hate - it OK. Usually when I get a craving like that it kinda sits in the back of my mind and stays there until I have it - even if it is a month before I get to it. Not really as an obsessive thought or a NEED - but just something kind of hanging around - it almost has the feel of forgetting to do something.

jemjessik200

When I prepare meals for my husband and child, I want to eat it too, or when I watch a Comercial or the food channel.( *Is visual and smells, )for me. What I do is eat my common meal, quickly before I prepared their meals and I stop watching the food network, specially the baking cakes, sweets, whatever, try to avoid them and always have plenty of yogurt and fruits at hand and if it still doesn't work I'll eat whatever I please always reminding myself there's nothing wrong with eating a piece of cake, or a piece of candy, a French fry, whatever, just Don't eat the damn cake in one sit all by yourself.

Francl27

bioklutz wrote: »

nowine4me wrote: »

I have cravings for VERY specific things sometimes. Sometimes not even stuff I really like. Some cravings can be solved with a somewhat healthy alternative and some I just absolutely obsess over until I eat the real thing. No clue why it happens.

Edited to add: like Cinnamon Toast Crunch or baked beans or chicken wings.

That happens to me too. The other day it was tomato soup. It is not something I love or even hate - it OK. Usually when I get a craving like that it kinda sits in the back of my mind and stays there until I have it - even if it is a month before I get to it. Not really as an obsessive thought or a NEED - but just something kind of hanging around - it almost has the feel of forgetting to do something.

Hard to explain, lol. Kinda the same for me. It can last for a very long time... just really wanting to taste the thing.