How do you stop cravings?

ciscosdad

I want to know how you stop your cravings. I have no problem all day, My desire for the foods I shouldn't have hits me as soon as I get my kids to bed. I am having a hard time saying no. Chips, hot dogs, and ice cream are my biggest monsters.

FatFreeFrolicking

You're eating out of boredom. Go for a walk, do yoga, lift weights, paint your nails, take a bath, read a book. Do something to keep you occupied and your mind off food.

If those are the foods that are ruining your progress, don't buy them.

kpk54

In for the tips. I've had way more problems in maintenance than with loss dealing with cravings.

1Timothy311

I am having the same problem. I know it is because I am bored, it is so hard resisting.

ciscosdad

Probably is out of boredom. Wife works overnight so I can't go for a walk, kids tucked in and sleeping. I might take up painting my nails though, my girls like to paint them anyway. Thank you for your advice. I do have a knock off bow flex type machine I should get up and do that. Ill give it a try.

steveyinasia

For me, if there were a pocket of Doritos in the house they would be gone in seconds, so I don't keep any around.

margaretturk

I know when I am tired I have less resistance and tend to overeat. I try to get to bed fifteen minutes earlier than the night before if I get cravings I have also increased the fiber in my diet. I aim to hit the fiber they recommend or go over. I did have to change my settings to get the fiber reading. Those two things have helped me the most.

ccourtneyraee

Junk is all I think about and I hate it!!

ciscosdad

Margaretturk Thanks I never thought about increasing fiber. I will try that also, Thanks Great idea.

tfisher679

It's ok to give into your cravings just dont over do it. Want chip it one small bag that you might throw in you lunch. Want Ice cream have one scoop or one small cup. It isn't good to go to bed hungry and I've heard somewhere that if you crave certain things that your diets somewhere out of wack. I suggest finding and diet that works for you.

kendylmarrs

I like to be mindful and allow myself to fully realize what exactly I'm craving. Like right now I really want to eat some ice cream. But then I don't allow myself to be impulsive and I think about whether I really want the ice cream, or whether I'm bored, or whether it's simply a bad habit. Sometimes after thinking about this I decide it's ok to eat a couple scoops, but usually when I really think about it I'll be able to decide against it and feel good about it.

satantra

Get rid of all the junk food at your home and grocery shop only when you are full, it is the only way I can imagine for myself, if I see or know that there are some candies or cookies ( specially nutella paste, and rafaello candies) at home I just cant keep myself from eating these...and it is healthier for your kids to get rid of this stuff , because they may never forgive you in the future if they become fat because of this junk food.
And exercise a lot. I feel that when I exercise very intensively I feel too tired to eat more and eat even less calories that I should have without the exercise, at these times I am just thinking how to brush my teeth and fall asleep....
About food: raw vegetables have very few calories. even though i don't like them I eat them a lot just because this way I can eat a lot more without extra calories. Fruits is a good replacement to sweets...

FindingAmy77

I want to know how you stop your cravings. I have no problem all day, My desire for the foods I shouldn't have hits me as soon as I get my kids to bed. I am having a hard time saying no. Chips, hot dogs, and ice cream are my biggest monsters.

Get rid of the foods that you cant resist. That is how you will stop. You may think of them but you wont have any. Have some good alternatives, have tea, drink water, get you some single serve chips. Go to bed earlier.

gramarye

For me, if there were a pocket of Doritos in the house they would be gone in seconds, so I don't keep any around.

This. I simply had to stop keeping certain sorts of foods within arms reach. Most often it's not worth the effort to leave the house to go get whatever it is I want to eat late at night. (And when it is, I go get it, lol.)

I will say that with time, it became easier to tell myself no when they are available. I'm able to better evaluate if I really want something before I decide to eat it, whereas before I would eat something and decide afterwards that I didn't really want it.

TL;DR: I know it's not super helpful advice, but for me I had to make it hard to indulge cravings and suffer a bit while adjusting to telling myself no.

MKEgal

First, I recognize that I'm having a craving.
Then I think about how long I've been having it. If it's just a little while, I try distraction, drinking water, having a healthy snack.
If it's been a few days, I give in. I have some of whatever it is I want. The key word being _some_. Don't go overboard, and keep it within your calorie goal for the day.

When you make a food forbidden, you give it power.
You need to learn to control it.
If that means buying a bag of Oreos, having a few, and giving the rest to a neighbor to keep out of your sight (making it harder & more embarrassing to get), do it.
I've had a big box of Twix (36 double bars) sitting here since December (it was a gift), and I think I've had maybe 8. It doesn't control me, even though I really like them.

LolaKarwowski

Get rid of all the junk in your house. If that's not a possibility then my suggestion is make little baggies (100 cal) of everything you have that way when you do start craving you are making a conscious decision to get another bag after you finish the first one. Instead of eating one huge bag all together. Sounds time consuming but it's actually not.

Drink lots of water. Yes, boredom could be the main reasons for your cravings but I find that when I am full from drinking water my cravings aren't so bad.

Eat healthy until you don't want to eat unhealthy. If I want a bag of Doritos for instance I decide to eat a big bowl of broccoli first. Since broccoli isn't my favorite, I often choose to go without both.

Go to bed. What a great reason to get some extra hours of sleep!

nomad1000

If you can't do something that gets your feet/body moving, take up a hobby where you use your hands (fly fish lure tying, wire jewelry making, house of card building, etc). Stuff where you occupy your mind and your hands.

It is when I have time to kill and am just sitting that I find myself fighting the boredom eating.

Stripeness

One more thing about things you don't keep in the house - it doesn't have to become "bad" food. For example, I like to have Coke Classic and movie popcorn. So I happily do that when I go to a movie. I'll also have Coke if I'm eating out. It's a system that makes me happy. Others have opted for microwave popcorn & Diet Coke in their home. Experiment and see what seems to work best for you.

What leaped out at me about your post though? Your insightful identification of the problem time: after your kids go to bed. Now, the Intermittent Fasting crowd might immediately suggest "don't eat after x time!"...but I think over the long haul you'll be happier following up on the underlying issue: bored/lonely in all likelihood. So:

--Can you shift *your* bedtime earlier? (If your kids are too young that may not be practical)
--What can you change about your daily routine to fill those hours? Workout? Study?
--Find a routine where you feel good about what you're doing with those hours, and then reassess.

Look at it as a logistics problem and experiment.

:flowerforyou:

kwantlen2051

In for the tips. I've had way more problems in maintenance than with loss dealing with cravings.

Yes, please share some tips!

sherambler

First, and I know this is very literal, you can't stop cravings...not really, but you can learn to manage them so they feel less like cravings and more like you're in control. I find keeping my hands busy is key. Reading, exercising, going on to MFP, looking at weight loss blogs...it seems obsessive, but it keeps me motivated. I'll also groom my cat or clean. Anything to help me refocus. When I'm having cravings I avoid the TV not just because of the mindlessness of it, but because TV is full of food triggers. Someone's always eating something I want.

I also find alternatives to my cravings. Simple swaps like sugar free pudding instead of ice cream or strawberries and whipped cream instead of cake. I try to isolate the texture, flavor, etc. that I'm craving. Okay you're craving cake...but what about cake...is it the frosting, the moistness, the chocolate? I can usually at least minimize the damage.

I also make a game out of it.Seeing how long I can wait before caving. Often this means I'll eat two foods I'm craving rather than three or four.

Also, never eat out of the container. Even for chips or popcorn. Count out a serving and look at the calorie content before eating. Then compare it to a healthy alternative...I can eat three apples for this one bag of chips...suddenly I'm craving the apple not the chips because I want quantity. Sometimes I still eat the chips, but at least I know what i'm getting into.

Finally, log the food before you eat it. When you think about it as an individual event, it doesn't seem like a big deal, but when i see what it does to my daily numbers, it can sometimes stop me in my tracks.

Sometimes you just have to give in because we're human. But knowing that I've avoided it other times or done everything I could not to eat it at least gets rid of the guilt associated with eating it. So I'm not tempted to binge on something else out of shame or regret. I can eat that craved food, enjoy it for what it is, and move on.

cgvoabc

What do I do when I crave Ice cream? Before my eating change I would polish off a carton in a few sittings. But now i just give myself the recommended serving size of 1/4 cup. I get to take care of the craving without going overboard. Hasn't failed me yet!

ILoveGingerNut

I think we are all in the same boat. Try not to keep trigger food around the house and have satiating meals. Distraction. Keep your hands busy. Doing my nails works a treat for me Think I just had my 5 a day in watermelon. Not a bad thing either

MizTerry

At first I read this as "How do you stop carvings."

LOL

I see you are a married man...sex. Lots and lots of it.

Also, add chia seeds. I get some nonfat yogurt and add chia seeds to it, it bulks it right up. I love it, personally.

Jacwhite22

willpower. You have to choose either JSN or JSF.

angela233Z

Log it on MFP - when you see how many calories it adds to your day and how much you will weigh in 5 weeks, It usually stops me!

angela233Z

I see you are a married man...sex. Lots and lots of it.

I was going to suggest that - but thought it might be inappropriate

ruby_red_rose

A few ideas:
- work your craving into your calories. Eat 200 calories less during the day, and then when you have cravings at night, measure out 200 calories of chips/hotdogs/icecream and eat it
- chew gum
- brush your teeth
- since you can't go out due to the sleeping kids, try something like jogging in place, a few pushups, a few squats etc.

adcahall

sounds silly....but get a red stop sign magnet and put it on the front of the fridge. It will at least slow you down and make you think about if you really want it.

ILoveGingerNut

Sipping a drink you love may stop you from having other stuff. I like camomile tea and fennel tea. Or diet coke when it's hot.

Peloton73

I have a portion of pistachios and a glass of water. If it's sugar I'm craving, I'll have a few chunks of pineapple. It'l spike my blood sugar a little but I'm getting some tasty micronutrients and it beats a hot fudge sundae.