how do you deal with cravings?!?!

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  • roswyn80
    roswyn80 Posts: 114 Member
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    I've found that eating one little square of dark chocolate, such as Loving Earth raw organic dark chocolate, satisfies my chocolate cravings (although I'll admit to normally caving and having three, maybe four squares). As a bonus it's delicious, full of antioxidants, and you can justify it by saying it's good for you. ;) Eating it slowly helps - I nibble it and slowly suck on it rather than wolfing it down.

    If you have a craving, I think it's best to satisfy it with a low calorie option if possible, because when you deny yourself is when you end up binging badly the next time you have that particular food. The other day I was craving fast food burgers, so I bought myself some low fat mince meat, made some patties, and had my own burgers which were just as yummy... and better for me. :D Pizza is one of my worst cravings, but I've found that spreading a little tomato paste on bread, then toasting it with some cheese on top satisfies that craving, too. :)
  • queensturg
    queensturg Posts: 60
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    I think there are two good ways to handle cravings. One is to let yourself have just a little bit of something that you really want, that way you don't feel deprived, and really, a little junk food in moderation isn't going to set you back at all.

    As for cravings, I've found that you can change them just by changing your way of thinking. Focus on the healthy foods that you like, think about how much you like them and how good they make you feel when you eat them. Then think of the foods you don't want to eat, how fatty, greasy, etc. they are, and how you feel worse when you eat them. I've found that I rarely crave junk foods now just by telling myselt things like that, after all, cravings are all in your head so all you really have to do is just change your mind about things!
  • liveit
    liveit Posts: 11 Member
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    The great thing about MFP is that you can manage what you eat based on your calories. If you have to have your fav chocolate bar, you can then adjust the remainder of your calories for the day/week to work around it. I think it's important to be easy on yourself. To be truly fit requires many lifestyle changes that don't happen overnight. The beauty of this system is that once you can see how that chocolate bar wreaks havoc on your calorie intake, you can gradually make adjustments, choosing lower calorie, more nutitionally dense foods. Discovering foods that I enjoy that are better for is half the fun. There's not enough talk about nutrition here, and it's so important to consider. Once we start making better choices our palette change and we no longer crave the bad stuff. It gets easier.
  • Code7526
    Code7526 Posts: 52
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    Eat Apples to deal with cravings. Apples contain pectin which is a appetite suppressant and they help with sugar cravings. If you are hungry between meals, eat apples.
  • liveit
    liveit Posts: 11 Member
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    P.S. I love chocolate. I've gradually moved from milk to dark. I used to always have it in the house. My one treat.
    Now I enjoy dates as my chocolate alternative. I find they satisfy me just as much and are also full
    of nutrients. Dried fruits or an apple with peanut butter rocks too.
  • jcorinne16
    jcorinne16 Posts: 12
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    have sex
    lol i think this is my boyfriends favorite reply!!
  • liveit
    liveit Posts: 11 Member
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    Find a healthy alternative. I don't believe in complete denial, try Medjool dates when you crave chocolate.
  • mitchL93
    mitchL93 Posts: 4
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    There are lots of alternatives to aid you in suppressing your sweet tooth, urge to pig out or whatever it may be. There are lots of low calorie, sugar and fat recipes out there with ingredients that will actually benefit you. Foods like stevia which is an all natural sugar free sweetener are an absolute god send aswell. You can buy flavourings too to add to your meals and there's also a range of calorie-free products by Walden Farms. Check out leanbodylifestyle on youtube for instructionals, recipes and ideas.. there's everything from pancakes, cookies, pizza and southern fried chicken!

    Also on the flipside, implementing cheat meals into your diet plan may benefit you too. I find it works as a pressure release valve and if I know i'm going to get my cheat at the end of the week then i'm more inclined to keep myself on track during the week and I won't feel guilty having it when that times comes. I do cheat meals weekly, on a sunday because after my meal is finished i'm ready to reset and begin the new week ahead with a fresh mindset. Not only are they psychologically beneficial but they also jump start your metabolism and keep it ticking over as when you put your body into a caloric deficit, your metabolism slows down. This is why you generally tend to find at the beginning of a diet you lose significantly more than you do three weeks into it.

    Hope this helps!

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