Help in sticking with routines

nadinemadison36

Hi. How do I stick with my diet? How do you avoid cravings. Any good alternatives with cravings?

debz_hart56

Hi there! I'm no expert, but I believe if you're craving certain things, your body is lacking in certain nutrients. I can't remember what off the top of my head, but if you Google "craving salty foods" it should come up with an article about that. Cravings seem pretty standard though when dieting. Try drinking plenty of water when you feel a craving coming, or try and find something to distract you enough that the craving passes without giving into it.

Good luck! xox

BMcC9

Here is the link to the March 2019 UAC group

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/131420-ultimate-accountability-challenge-march-2019

It is a great place to develop self-awareness / accountably habits and shift yourself towards a new sustainable lifestyle. Works no matter what your food plan, exercise strategy, or where you are on your journey (everyone from just starting to nearing goal weight to maintaining for years now)

We have a raft of brand new members also starting this month, a crew that are only on their second or third month with us, and more than enough olde-timers like me who can guide you through your transition period.

Hope to see you there.

csplatt

I don't have cravings, but I do sip hot water to keep myself busy when I'm snacky. When I use a calorie deficit to lose weight, it always takes me about 3 weeks to stop being annoying with feeling a bit hungry all the time. Then I get used to it and credit it to not necessarily always needing to eat but simply not being full parts of the day. This last time I told myself I wasn't going to fall off the wagon for SIX WEEKS. That's how long I needed to see real results, and after that it was the movement on the scale that kept me motivated.

Danp

There are loads of ways to achieve the required calorie deficit to lose weight. It's just a matter of finding one that works for you. There's also nothing to say that you have to stick to one method forever so if the routine gets boring then change it up.

For example when I first started to manage my weight I was happily eating 4-5 pretty evenly split meals a day and that worked fine but I soon go bored with this approach. So now I eat very little during the day (maybe like a cup of coffee and a small snack) and eat pretty much all my calories at night and that's working fine for me right now.

This also applies to exercise. I know that if I stick with one activity exclusively or for too long I'll get bored so I'll change things up. Sometimes I'll hit the pool and swim, other days I'll head out and run or get on the bike and cycle. Having multiple different activities means I'm always keen to do at least one of them so I'm able to keep active which is the main point.

As for cravings, I really don't have much of an issue here as I don't deny myself anything. If I feel like something I make it work. I have a bit of a sweet tooth so I make sure I have enough calories left over at the end of the day so I can have some chocolate pretty much every night. If I feel like a pizza, or burger and fries or whatnot then I have it but I make it fit in my calorie budget or just accept that indulging will mean that my progress for the week will be very very slightly less and that's OK.

G'luck

Dilvish

Make cravings a part of your plan. Denying yourself every time a craving comes up and you'll eventually lose control and start binge eating.

Dieting, or rather a lifestyle change is a slow process. If your goal is to lose weight you have to eat less and move more for the rest of your days...reaching a goal weight and then stopping will almost surely backfire and you'll end up gaining everything back. That's a fact with "dieting".

Sustained weight loss means changing both how/what you eat and getting regular exercise and it is a slow process. Unfortunately many people think weight loss should be fast and the weight should always stay off once the "diet" has ended. Untrue. This is one of the reasons "diet" businesses make so much money. They get a lot of repeat customers!

ahoy_m8

This is what helps me stick to a plan &avoid cravings:
1) eat appropriate #calories. A deficit that’s too big is a binge waiting to happen for me. Sure, it’s obvious overeating works against fat loss goals, but there’s a real danger -not often recognised- in under eating too. This is my #1 tip.
2) get enough sleep. Seriously. Google “sleep leptin ghrelin”. No amount of willpower can match the ravenous caused by these hormones when they’re out of whack.
3) make small changes. A lot of sticking to a plan boils down to habits. Good news: they’re changeable. Bad news: it takes effort. I’m truly a believer that the biggest impacts in life (marriage, kids, health, anything) come from small things done consistently and faithfully. Not one big Herculean effort that’s done once and forgotten. Not the over-the-top valentine but the daily kindnesses. Not the juice cleanse but the consistent modest caloric deficit. You get the idea. So pick one habit that would really help you to transform. E.g. pre-logging all your food in advance. (Not everyone does this, obviously, but it has really helped me). Whatever habit you adopt/change, practice it until you feel you can rely on yourself doing it before taking on another habit to transform. Too many big changes at once=burnout.

For most of us, weight loss will be a multi-week effort. You really have to have a way to genuinely enjoy yourself, and enjoy what you’re eating, to be able to sustain the effort. So find a way to tuck in your favorite treats here and there. Cheers!

Sharon_C

Make sure it fits your calories, eat what you crave within your calories, log it and move on.

I know some people just can't control themselves around certain foods. If that's the case then you will need to find other foods that help with the craving but you don't binge on.

quiksylver296

It depends on the craving. I can fit a chocolate bar into my day pretty easily.

If it's a bigger calorie hit, like a cheeseburger and tater tots with lots of fry sauce, I tell myself I can have it this weekend (or a day 3-4 days down the road). I save 100 calories or so per day, so I have the extra 400-500 calories to put toward that item. A lot of times though, I'm not craving that item any more by the time the weekend rolls around.

Hanna3831

Hello. I’m definitely no food/craving expert. My biggest problem when I started was soda. I try to drink water, but at some point every day I end up craving soda. I hate Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi. So I tried diet Dr Pepper and diet Mountain Dew. They have unique enough tastes that the diet doesn’t make it too bad. Zero cals.

Sweets are hard. I find that if I need something sweet I have a single piece of dove dark chocolate.

I’d say to figure out what you’re craving and try to find other things that would hit the spot.

Good luck!

cwolfman13

When I'm dieting I don't overly restrict calories. I also am of the belief that dieting can be both nutritious and delicious and in no way requires me to eat endless salads, plain chicken breasts, and broccoli. I exercise regularly for my overall health and well-being, but also because regular exercise allows me to be able to eat more calories and fit in things like a couple slices of pizza or whatever and still hit my goals. I don't beat myself up over special occasions or even a day here and there of overeating and just pick up where I left off...I tend to look at the bigger picture and not drown in the minutia of the day to day.

Panini911

nadinemadison36 wrote: »

Hi. How do I stick with my diet? How do you avoid cravings. Any good alternatives with cravings?

- I don't include things I don't like. don't like going to the gym? don't put that in your routine. pick an exercise you DO like.
- I set a reasonable rate of loss. going for too fast a rate can create something one cannot keep for long (and weight loss comes from a calorie deficit OVER TIME) or a cycle of loss and binge.
- I include food I like in my daily diet. Or weekly. For example, I eat chocolate daily.
- I did not remove any food groups from my diet.
- trigger foods are not kept in the house. I can have them in portion controls outside the house if I chose too
- if I crave something more than a few days I eat it. I've been craving a peanut butter and jam sandwhich so I am fitting that in tomorrow. in fact I am fitting that AND a pizza tomorrow AND staying within my calorie goal. Or like today I am going to have mac and cheese for dinner cuz it's been on my mind for months (but I ended up going with other treats). I will likely end up eating maintenance today and that's fine.

So there is no outrunning cravings, but being "on a diet" doesn't mean you can't fit in foods you love and cravings. Just eat smaller portions, fit it in your daily or weekly calorie count ( cut a few calories over a few days to make room for them), chose to eat maintenance once very week or two...).

ETA: a big thing is PLAN AHEAD. it's easier to fit something in if you plan it the day or week before to set out your entire day (or if you opt to look at it on a weekly goal).

planning also means having food on hand that fits your calorie goal (snacks, ready meals) and meal prepping/planning to avoid getting home at 7pmand being starving and starting to think about what to have for dinner. Have a ready to go option (for me I make batches of things then freeze in portion containers and have lots of frozen veggies around so in a pinch there are always meals). similarly stuff like eggs can make a great meal very fast. canned tuna.

MrsLambert16

My advice would be to eat it, but only a little bit, so you're not cut off and you're not going to rush into binge eating, I lost 100lbs last year cutting out bread and soda and eating mainly fat, vegs and fruit and just walking