What do you do when you have a craving?

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missylectro
missylectro Posts: 448 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How often do you give in?
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  • MsWisconsinite
    MsWisconsinite Posts: 23
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    I drink a lotttt of water/chew on ice when I get a craving
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
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    I give in as often as the food item fits my calories/macros which is all of the time.
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
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    Go for a walk and drink water. Cravings are your body screaming out for something that is has adapted to need. It is better to not give it what is is missing because if you don't you will reduce cravings in the future as your body mends itself. The cravings reduce because your body will start to function better. Talking here about alcohol, sugar, gluten and stuff like this. If you are"craving" food because you have only eaten 500 calories per day though better eat something :-)
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
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    Depends on the time of the month! :wink:

    I usually try to ignore it and it usually goes away but if it's persistent then I save calories to have it. Sometimes you just have to have chicken balls and rice!
  • UnoriginalScreenName
    UnoriginalScreenName Posts: 8
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    I give in as often as the food item fits my calories/macros which is all of the time.

    Same here. I always "budget" for the odd food craving and it has paid off so far.
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
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    or cheetos

    or Mrs. Vickies salt and vinegar chips

    or french fries

    or a bottle of wine

    or cake

    Damn....now I'm hungry
  • bigsistruck
    bigsistruck Posts: 125 Member
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    It depends on where I am at the time. Most of the time I will pop in a piece of sugar free cinnamon gum, ignore it, or even take a nap or go to bed if it's the middle of the day or late evening. If I give in, it will usually lead to eating too much of whatever it is so I don't do it at all except for allowed cheat meals.
  • Schtroumpfkin
    Schtroumpfkin Posts: 123 Member
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    I drink a cup of tea. Sometimes just the process of making it is enough to calm me down. I'll switch this to a fruit or herbal tea if I'm feeling REALLY saintly.

    However, taking the bigger picture, my cravings/obsessing about food have become more controllable since taking the advice of some of the people on these forums and being less restrictive of my calories in the first place. For example, rather than skipping breakfast, I now fill up with a big, bountiful serving of full fat yogurt and fruit, meaning I don't even think about food until lunchtime. I realise this doesn't work for everyone, but it has been a recent revelation to me. If you find that you actually can't concentrate on anything else and are simply counting the minutes until your next meal - then there is something up. I only just figured this...
  • ilfaith
    ilfaith Posts: 16,769 Member
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    I usually will have a small amount of whatever I am craving. I find that if I try to substitute something else, eating around the craving, I end up eating more, because I am trying to fill that void and then often end up eating the thing I originally wanted anyway.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I give in as often as the food item fits my calories/macros which is all of the time.

    This^

    Everything in moderation. I'm going to continue to each chocolate even when I'm thin.....BUT I have to control how much chocolate and how often I eat it. Control is going to be a lifetime thing (for me).
  • waltcote
    waltcote Posts: 372 Member
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    Cold shower!! :bigsmile:
  • waltcote
    waltcote Posts: 372 Member
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    i take 2 or 3 cookies out of the package and set them aside and eat the rest of the package. :devil:
  • jessieleah
    jessieleah Posts: 204 Member
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    I can usually fit it into my calories.

    If I can't, drink something or chew some gum. Or sheer will power.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    I satisfy it. Life's short.
  • KrzyGal
    KrzyGal Posts: 139 Member
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    Depends on the craving; sometimes I satisfy it! If it's something I can't satisfy right away I move on and stay busy until I get the time to satisfy the craving! :wink:
  • ruffnstuff
    ruffnstuff Posts: 400 Member
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    Go for a walk and drink water. Cravings are your body screaming out for something that is has adapted to need. It is better to not give it what is is missing because if you don't you will reduce cravings in the future as your body mends itself. The cravings reduce because your body will start to function better. Talking here about alcohol, sugar, gluten and stuff like this. If you are"craving" food because you have only eaten 500 calories per day though better eat something :-)

    I am going to respectfully disagree here. Sometimes I crave a burger or a steak. I think perhaps it's my body needing iron or some other nutrient I can get from these items. Or, sometimes I just really want item X I am craving. I do not at all find that cravings diminish if I just ignore them. Quite the opposite. However, if I fit in the "craving" and satisfy it, I can go months without craving that thing again.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
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    I wanted donuts last weekend. So I ate a dozen. This is how it works.
  • climbing_trees
    climbing_trees Posts: 726 Member
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    Don't eat it.
    Have some carrot sticks or an apple instead if I have to eat.
    I'm likely just bored and want something to crunch on.

    However, I don't get cravings for specific foods. Never have.
    I'm just craving the act of putting something in my mouth, chewing, etc
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    It totally depends.

    I don't consider ANYTHING off limits completely. If I am craving pizza, cheesecake, or whatever ridiculously high calorie treat, I will plan an indulgence - usually on the weekend when I have extra time to burn a lot of extra calories.

    As for small cravings...I try to opt for something healthy. If I feel like "I want to eat all of the chocolate I can find!" I always start with something that has protein such as a boiled egg or string cheese. Then I allow myself chocolate, and find that 1 square is usually enough.

    I am not an evening snacker at all. So if it's late in the evening and I crave any food, I will have a small snack even if I'm very close to my daily calorie goal and it will put me over. I usually opt for something with protein in those cases. If that doesn't sound good then I'm not hungry enough and I just go to bed.

    One thing I'll say for my time so far on MFP is that I've become a lot better at knowing when I have a REAL craving (usually nuts, chocolate, or a specific type of ethnic cuisine) versus just seeing a photo of something on Pinterest or a fast food commercial and thinking that response of "yum!" is a craving. I'm also better at delaying satisfaction and still fully enjoying when it comes time to have whatever it is...like lately I've been in the mood for sushi but it may be a couple of weeks before I satisfy that craving...a few years ago it would have been within 1-2 days at the MOST.
  • gcarterIT
    gcarterIT Posts: 20 Member
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    I wanted donuts last weekend. So I ate a dozen. This is how it works.

    :laugh:

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