Those cravings

marius_paps

I know there's a whole lot of topics about those cravings and I hope you don't mind me starting yet another one.

Those cravings are so bad.

Checking to see whether there's something to snack on - fortunately there isn't (anymore). Being apprehensive to go to the shop where they also sell my favorite cookies and stuff. It feels like an addiction or at least lack of discipline or self control. And this from a rational (...) grown-*kitten* (excuse my french) usually optimistic adult?
It just makes me moody. And sad also.

Oh, I'm not new to losing weight (again) but this time it's hitting me like a ton of bricks (or cookies or whatnot).

I need to overcome this.

Purplestuff102

What has helped me is having almond or walnuts and maybe sunflower seeds without the shell. They have calories fiber and protein a serving is like 1 oz before I was having way less . They say to measure one oz and don't go crazy on them because the calories do add up one oz twice a day should be good helps with my cravings

goal06082021

I find ways to fit things into my budget. The distribution of culturally-food-centric holidays and birthdays of my loved ones is such that there's a food-related Special Occasion basically once a month for me, so I also give myself some grace around those and figure a dozen or so days spread throughout the year aren't going to be what keeps me fat, it's my choices on the other 350ish days that matter more.

I plan things - batch-cook breakfast and lunch in advance for the whole week, so they're easy to account for ahead of time and I know how many calories I have to play with for dinner, dessert, and snacks.

I "bank" calories - if after tallying up breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert for the day, I have more than a hundred calories left over, I'll set those aside and add them to the weekend or a weekday where I have something planned (birthday dinner, etc). Kind of like calorie cycling, but being really anal-retentive about it. So if my stated calorie goal is 2200, during the workweek maybe I'll come in closer to 1800-1900 each day, so I can have 2400-2600 on the weekend and still maintain my deficit for the week. (I think Premium has a way to set different calorie goals each day, but I hack it together in the free version by having one meal called "Banked" where I quick-add my extra calories, and a cardio exercise called "Banked Calories" where I distribute those on Saturday and Sunday under the Exercise tab. I don't normally log my exercise, I used a TDEE calculator and manually overrode the guided setup's calorie goal because my exercise is now a daily habit so that calorie burn is pretty consistent week-to-week.)

I can't remember who it is that's posted before about the difference between an impulse and a craving, maybe they'll chime in here as well. But that's also important. An impulse is seeing that someone brought tacos for lunch and thinking "oh man, I want some tacos!" An impulse can be ignored. But, if it's days later and you're still thinking about those tacos, that's a craving and all there is for *that* is to indulge it. Get your dang tacos and move on with your life. It's usually possible to either make healthier choices that still scratch the itch, or move calories around to fit it into your budget while maintaining your deficit, but sometimes the heart (and stomach) want what they want and the only thing that will fill the boneless-wings-shaped hole in your soul is some g-d boneless f-ing wings, so you switch to maintenance calories for that day, or just enjoy your boneless wings and damn the calories, and then get right back on the horse the next day.

wunderkindking

So.

I used to think about food a lot. Food I had, food I would have, when I would have it, what's for dinner, what fits in my calories, how do I get my macros, whatever.

(Time helped. Time I spent doing mostly online grocery shopping so I wouldn't have walk past all those foods I'd normally impulsively buy, and once I got an order or two on my 'click to collect' history it was just the same stuff over and over, anyway. I don't think about food all that much, anymore and I think about food a lot less over all).

But.

That thinking about food/even a specific food was not an actual craving for me. That was 'I remember brownies exist and I haven't had a brownie in a while and I would like to eat a brownie because I used to eat brownies a lot', but then I'd get distracted by the next thing (a different food, usually at first) and forget about brownies for a while. It was that I was used to having a brownie or cookie or whatever it was that popped into my head. It was the force of habit.

I have had a CRAVING for a whopper and a maple donut for the past 3 weeks. Those. Exact. Specific. Things. The cravings stick. They don't go away. I cannot eat something else - even a similar thing, much less a healthy one - and have it go away. I might forget about them in as much as I don't think about food all that often, but they don't just constantly rotate - ie: I want chips/a cookie/chocolate milk/peanut butter/the next thing. It's a very specific food and it's consistent. It also *goes away* when I eat that thing, rather than sparking the desire to eat 'the next thing on the mental rotation'

When THOSE hit and they're sticking around, the only answer for me is to go get the things. Otherwise I'm going to cave anyway but also have now not planned for it AND have eaten calories I didn't actually want in the 'healthy substitution'.

To whit - today I ate a Jr. Whopper and 2 maple donuts. TWO. Not the healthiest dinner ever, no, but. Stayed in my calories for today, the craving's gone.

So. IME, examine whether you're having an impulse born of habit or true food cravings and respond accordingly. If habit, yeah, probably shove some celery into your mouth and keep your hands and mouth occupied for a while and work on new habit formation and letting your tastebuds readjust.

If specific, actual, craving - go out and get a single serving of the thing - 1 cookie, a donut, one of those tiny ice cream cups, whatever. But wait a while and BE SURE it's not just impulse or habit.

elisa123gal

what cured me on cookies is looking at the back of the packages and reading the calories. and the thing about cookies.. is...how many does it take until you stop eating them? Now that would be a good thread.

I haven't had any since last Christmas.. but I'd say..six. cookies. but then I 'd go back for more an hour later.

snowflake954

I think this is very difficult for many starting out. It's not that you won't get cravings down the road, but you're used to resisting or working a smaller, controlled amount into your calories. When you're new to MFP you're used to immediately satisfying that craving and not controlling the amount.

There are many good threads on this topic ( as are the above answers), and the short version is that you have to find what'll work. Some chew gum or brush their teeth or eat a carrot or go for a walk or make a cup of tea or eat a lower calorie snack (prepared for just such an emergency)......... The ideas are endless.

I also think people are afraid to have a controlled amount. The idea that "You can't eat just one" prevails. It takes awhile to trust yourself. However, in the long run that's what you have to do, or renounce that food for the rest of your life. Few can do that.

I wish you the very best of luck. This is just a small bump in the road. Get over it as best you can and then keep going. Don't give up. Ever.

marius_paps

Purplestuff102 wrote: »

What has helped me is having almond or walnuts and maybe sunflower seeds without the shell. They have calories fiber and protein a serving is like 1 oz before I was having way less . They say to measure one oz and don't go crazy on them because the calories do add up one oz twice a day should be good helps with my cravings

Thanks.

Yes, nuts are good. Thing is, they're so dense, it's too easy to swallow a handful in no time at all. OTOH, anything is better than a handful of candy.

I discovered raw pumpkin seeds yesterday, I like them and they are kind of satiating.

marius_paps

goal06082021 wrote: »

..
I can't remember who it is that's posted before about the difference between an impulse and a craving,..

Good point. What if it's both?

I'm trying to resist and show some force of will.

I move so much, I ought to be thin as a nail; On weekdays I can rack up to 2000 extra exercise calories a day (yes yes 2 thousand) . I'd have tons to 'bank' or space to fit in all sorts of stuff.

But this little voice in my head tells me that given I've got that many calories, a bag of cookies doesn't do any harm and then things get out of hand...

marius_paps

Thank you all. Some good tips, suggestions, and most important of all, support!
Thanks

wildstarsgirl

I also think that having a cheat day once a week is important -- mine is Saturdays. When I'm really craving something, I will say, well, Saturday I'm getting X. Sometimes Saturday comes and I don't want X anymore. Sometimes I've been thinking about X for 4 days and it's the first thing I go get Saturday morning. But the point is, I don't say I can never have X again -- because I'd give up. Usually I can talk myself into waiting until Saturday.

I agree with the above about if you're craving something to the point that you've been thinking about it for days, and it's all you want -- then go get it and work it into your calorie count. Do an extra 30-60 minutes on the treadmill or go for a longer walk - or if able, walk to go get the thing (burn some calories in the process). I've noticed I haven't had cake in forever. Cake used to happen quite frequently in my pre-MFP days. But when cheat day rolls around, usually I want fries, or chips, or some big foody meal that I haven't been able to fit into my calorie budget -- not cake.

ehju0901

Cravings are tough. There are some cravings that will pass if I wait it out, or I can possibly find a healthier option that is similar.

I had been craving mozzarella sticks for about a week now. Last night, I finally just caved and bought some. Luckily, I was still able to fit it into my calorie allowance for the day, but I was going to eat them anyway even if they didn't.

I see it as a mental health thing. You can't restrict EVERYTHING you want just to lose weight. Sometimes you need to give into those cravings to get it out of your system and improve your overall morale, and THEN continue on your goals. Just monitor how often you are giving into the cravings obviously, since it's a balancing act between dieting and giving in to cravings lol.

Once I have satisfied certain cravings, I am usually in a much better mood and I find it easier to get back into eating my "diet" foods. (For the record, I do actually enjoy most of my diet foods lol).

marius_paps

ehju0901 wrote: »

Cravings are tough. There are some cravings that will pass if I wait it out, or I can possibly find a healthier option that is similar.

I had been craving mozzarella sticks for about a week now. Last night, I finally just caved and bought some. Luckily, I was still able to fit it into my calorie allowance for the day, but I was going to eat them anyway even if they didn't.

I see it as a mental health thing. You can't restrict EVERYTHING you want just to lose weight. Sometimes you need to give into those cravings to get it out of your system and improve your overall morale, and THEN continue on your goals. Just monitor how often you are giving into the cravings obviously, since it's a balancing act between dieting and giving in to cravings lol.

Once I have satisfied certain cravings, I am usually in a much better mood and I find it easier to get back into eating my "diet" foods. (For the record, I do actually enjoy most of my diet foods lol).

Hmmm, I think I should be fortunate to not even know what mozzarella sticks are 😁. LOL.
I have a suspicion it hasn't got a lot to do with the mozzarella cheese as we know it, which isn't all that caloric.

It's important to actually enjoy your 'diet' foods and, indeed, give in to these cravings. But only from time to time and with moderation (my biggest problem).

Anyway, thanks for your suggestions.

ehju0901

marius_paps wrote: »

ehju0901 wrote: »

Cravings are tough. There are some cravings that will pass if I wait it out, or I can possibly find a healthier option that is similar.

I had been craving mozzarella sticks for about a week now. Last night, I finally just caved and bought some. Luckily, I was still able to fit it into my calorie allowance for the day, but I was going to eat them anyway even if they didn't.

I see it as a mental health thing. You can't restrict EVERYTHING you want just to lose weight. Sometimes you need to give into those cravings to get it out of your system and improve your overall morale, and THEN continue on your goals. Just monitor how often you are giving into the cravings obviously, since it's a balancing act between dieting and giving in to cravings lol.

Once I have satisfied certain cravings, I am usually in a much better mood and I find it easier to get back into eating my "diet" foods. (For the record, I do actually enjoy most of my diet foods lol).

Hmmm, I think I should be fortunate to not even know what mozzarella sticks are 😁. LOL.
I have a suspicion it hasn't got a lot to do with the mozzarella cheese as we know it, which isn't all that caloric.

It's important to actually enjoy your 'diet' foods and, indeed, give in to these cravings. But only from time to time and with moderation (my biggest problem).

Anyway, thanks for your suggestions.

https://cravnflavor.com/mozzarella-sticks/

Definitely worse things to eat out there, but it's a lot more calories than I typically like to spend.