Cravings are killing me!

turtle080808

I get the worst cravings for sweets and candy! Plus its late at night and I am starving! How do I get over that? I know I cant eat this late....and the cravings are driving me nuts! Any suggestions?

mattdef11

Well in terms of cravings, I think apples are good - they aren't too many calories, nice and sweet and seem to do the job

One question though - if you really have these cravings, are you maybe trying to reduce your calorie intake too much? I'm trying to lose 1.5lbs a week, which is fairly high, and my calorie allowance seems completely adequate (although I do a fair bit of exercise) to stop the cravings :-)

weezy8150

My sister told me a handful of almonds or walnuts works for her....I thought I would want the whole bag, but found out she is right....they do satisfy. I choose apples, grapefruit slices in the jar, celery with salsa, oatmeal with cinnamon, skim milk, and almonds and blueberries is very filling....but for the sugar cravings, I absolutely love the slimfast meal bar which is salty chocolate almond....exactly like an almond brownie....and filling and nutritious.

SASSYJAX

First of all, you look amazing in your profile pic...in my opinion you certainly dont need to lose any more!

Cravings are horrible but you should not be starving at any point really, maybe you are not balancing your meals out across the day. ?

Cravings are just evil - try and distract yourself, but if you do need to eat and you are craving sugar maybe it is hormonal TOM or you can try frozen grapes (100 cals for 10) or I have frozen fruit ice-lollies which dont hurt more than 20 cals and by the time i am done I am usually over it...but really you need to get past this in your head.

There is always the vege route, you know carrot sticks etc...

you can try and allow yourself say 100 cals a day for tyreats...how about sugar free boiled sweets, they are low cal and give you something to taste, or even sugar free gum?!

FireMonkey

Does it happen every night? If so, save some calories from the day for a small treat. Hot milk with a teaspoon of honey is sweet and will also help you sleep. And analyze what you eat during the day. Maybe you need to finish off your dinner with dessert, could be fruit and cheese. Experiment a bit - the cravings will go away. :flowerforyou:

stroutman81

I have to agree with what everyone else has mentioned.

First, what are your goals in terms of body composition? You look pretty lean already.

Secondly, my first guess would be rigidity in terms of diet. How strict are you being and could it be that you're being too strict in terms of calories, nutrients, and/or food type?

Third, eating late at night isn't "bad for you."

Fourth, here are a few tips with regards to hunger control... it's by no means a complete list, but if everything we mentioned above doesn't seem to be a problem, maybe one of these things will prove helpful:

1. Decipher between true physiological hunger and non-physiological hunger. Physiological hunger is that which is triggered by the body - hormonal fluctuations, empty stomach, etc. Non-physiological hunger is that which is triggered by your environment - boredom, triggers (commercials, company, etc), food availability, etc. If it's the former, we should be focusing more on meal frequency, dietary composition, calories, etc. If it's the latter, we should be focusing more on tweaking our environments. Typically it's a combination that's skewed to one side or the other.

2. Adequate protein consumption makes a world of difference. It's the most satiating nutrient we have at our disposal. If you're truly eating roughly 1 gram per pound of lean body mass... especially if this is coming from whole foods... it becomes increasingly hard to BE hungry.

3. Volume of food matters. Our bodies acclimate to food volume. By this, I mean if we're used to eating food in the amount of the size of our fist ever 3 hours and we cut that volume in half, our bodies are going to let us know by way of sending hunger signals (primarily via stomach size). So it is evident that not only is caloric control important... so is volume control and that's where energy density comes into play. Paying particular attention to foods that provides the biggest bang for your buck in terms of volume without a huge caloric punch makes a difference. No, veggies aren't the be all end all fix. But they fit this category of foods nicely and they're just one piece of the puzzle.

4. Fruit is a bit more energy dense than veggies but it's typically less energy dense than the foods seen in the American diet. In addition to providing volume without a terribly high caloric "punch," it also does some nifty things in terms of liver glycogen, which, in its own right is a method of squashing some of the hunger signaling.

5. Eating adequate fiber also plays a role via slowing down digestion thus leaving you fuller longer. Plus, high fiber foods tend to be low on the energy-density scale so it's a double whammy.

These lean more towards physiological hunger. Non-physiological hunger is too individual and complex to discuss in one post like this. But hopefully some of these points make a difference for you.

turtle080808

Thanks so much for all the advice!! I am an emotional eater! I hate that about me....and I am very hard on myself because I used to be big and dont want to be big again!

turtle080808

I was also told if I have to have a treat to eat it early in the day.....how true is this?

stroutman81

I was also told if I have to have a treat to eat it early in the day.....how true is this?

Eating a "treat" in the PM isn't magically going to make you hoard fat assuming calories are accounted for. I suppose one way of looking at it is many people tend to unwind at night after a long day of work. It's when they don't want to have to think about much beyond relaxation. If you eat treats during this time, and your susceptible to the mentality of unwinding at night... a small treat can turn into a binge, thus erasing any caloric deficit you had going.

kdiamond

There is nothing to 'when' you eat, it is and always will be calories in/calories out. I find I am also hungry near bedtime but usually by then I'm at my calorie allotment for the day. ) First I try drinking tea (usually mint or chamamile) or one of those 0 calorie Sobe Life Waters. If I absolutely MUST have something sweet, I take one of those Dove dark chocolates (the individually wrapped ones) and melt it slightly in the microwave and have a few strawberries dipped in. One chocolate is 42 calories, and I can usually dip 3 berries in there for a total of about 50 cals, plus you're actually eating something good for you and no artificial sweetners (which can usually make you hungrier). Try it!

turtle080808

Thank you so much for the advice~~ anything i can learn will help me along!

BrendaLee

I'd recommend quitting the sweets. Find a healthier alternative like cereal or a banana (or both), and save that for your bedtime snack. Sugar leads to cravings for more sugar, so it's best to save sweet treats for night time.

weezy8150

I agree that sweets makes you crave more sweets....happens without me even thinking about it....but I have found a slimfast meal bar that is identical to a chewy brownie. The slimfast salty chocolate almond meal bar....all nutritious and does NOT make me crave more sweets.....in fact I can eat 1/3 the bar and be satisfied, and maybe eat another 1/3 a couple hrs later on break at work if still hungry.

turtle080808

That is a very good point! I do crave more sweets when I have just a little.....I never realized it!

Supermel

i mix either .5 tbsp peanut butter in with 1/2 pack of instant regular oatmeal or do a full pack with a full tbsp .. depends on how many calories i want to allot to the snack. This is my primary 3pm snack and i get thru to dinner without an issue! No more snacking as i make dinner or binging cause i'm starving trying to hold off for dinner. This has really really helped me stay on target and the peanut butter makes it seem like such a treat! When I'm having a full out sweets craving I have a few smarties or hershey kiss but usually find i'm worse off if i do indulge. I do better having a 1/2 choc and oats fibre1 bar .. but they always make my sugar count over for the day.

gummibaehr

Everyone is different, but here's how I handle the sweet cravings!

1. If I eat enough, I have less intense cravings for sweets. Protein especially keeps me feeling satisfied. (Almonds are my life line most days!)

2. If I'm just craving something sweet, I eat fruit which usually always does the trick.

3. If I'm craving something very specific, I have a little bit of it. Instead of a cup of ice cream, I have 1/4 of a cup. Instead of a 4" square brownie, I have a 2" square. Instead of 3 cookies, I have one. Etc. If I don't give in to my specific craving, I feel like I'm going crazy and will often overeat on other things in an attempt to avoid what I want. So I just have it! Log it! And move on!