Tips and tricks for overcoming cravings?

I used to eat chocolate everyday, and have a sweet protein smoothie after workouts, and constantly crave sweet things after meals.... and then it just stopped. I dont remember it stopping, but it did sometime in the last few months. I keep some sort of dessert in the house, right now i have frozen trader joes macarons. they are 40 calories each and i eat one if im craving dessert. Ive eaten 3 in two weeks.

I dont know quite how to explain it.. but for the past few years I had been trying to do a low carb diet, cutting down on breads, rice, noodles etc.. and it wasnt working for me. It made me crave carbs and sugar and cookies etc. But now I dont limit my carb intake, i just eat whatever I want within my calorie goals. I eat sandwiches, pasta, burritos and whatever and now i dont crave chocolate or sweets.

I noticed my worst cravings are around my menstrual cycle, and increasing my iron intake around this time really seems to help.
But I generally just try to keep my protein level high, and balance my macros around 50% carbs, 25% protein and 25% fat (versus MFP's recommended 55 carb/15 protein/30 fat). Quest's protein powder with almond milk and ice blended together have changed my life and helped me to stay full and clean up my snacks a bit! I also frequent dark chocolate (just a few squares every night as a treat), and dry cereal for on the go snacking (I prefer Honey Bunches of Oats due to it's high iron content, and it's sweet and something that lasts me a while).
Different things work for everyone though, you'll get better at handling it with time, just hang in there and don't give up!

After every dinner I make a cup of vanilla decaf coffee and add 1 TB heavy whipping cream. I relax and get comfortable and it keeps me From feeling unsatisfied and wandering the kitchen It also makes dinner last an hour.

I can't remember where I read it, but I read somewhere that fruit flavored gum helps with sweet cravings after a meal. It seems to work for me, and the one I have is only 4 calories

dejababi423 wrote: »

Il drink about a cup of vanilla almond milk!! Fills you up and curves your appetite and its ssoooo good!!!

Yes!

mistikal13 wrote: »

Whenever I feel like a snack after dinner, a tbsp of peanut butter always works for me.

This works for me too! I even eat some before a meal and I get fuller faster.

I actually started feeling terrible eating simple carbs! Sugar makes me bloated! I never noticed this before but I can eat 1 oz of chocolate and my stomach blows up like I am 7 months prego!

I eat complex carbs now and limit simple sugar and I do not know how it happened but because I work out (lift and cardio 5 to 6 days a week) when I eat higher foods in protein and fat I noticed I felt great and if I ate candy/chocolate etc.. I felt terrible. My body rejected me putting this in my body!!

But I do eat bread (multi grain 45 calorie bread), potatoes, cheese, cereal, and other things like this.. My body tells me what it wants and I now listen to it because I HATE the bloating and stomach distention problem... but do not despair I still make "sweet goodies" I substitute sugar and watch the "fake sugar" symptoms that come from sugar alcohols...

It is a catch twenty two!!!! Darned if you do and darned if you don't..LOL

I like to save calories after my meal for a snack cause I'm just like you, I love something sweet after a meal. A piece of dark chocolate is good for me. If I do something like candy , I can't stop myself at one or two pieces, so I like a dark chocolate. The richer the better.

I also drink flavored water and chew fruity gum throughout the day to tackle my sweet tooth.

I overcome my cravings by giving in to them. If that makes any sense, lol. But I don't go HAM on them. I almost always crave for chocolate daily - but I just have a nibble on a square of dark chocolate or Cadbury Oreos (these are the bomb!). 1 square = 28 cals. DONE!

Dragn77 wrote: »

yeah, if I have a craving for something, I have a little bit of it then move on. Otherwise, I can eat all the whatevers I want instead of it, but its not IT know what I mean? And Ill just end up eating it anyway...except more..waaay more.

So now, not only did I end up eating what I wanted to begin with, but also all that extra stuff trying to distract myself from what I want. Thats how it goes down when I deprive myself!! lol

Exactly what I feel! LOL. If I eat anything other than chocolate, there will always be that little voice at the back of my head whispering "chocolate... chocolate... we want chocolate..."

Then I'll just end up eating chocolate anyway + 200 calories of cookies / cheese / whatever else I ate. Might as well just get that chocolate fix straight up.

I like to say I'm so rebellious, I will even revolt against myself if I tell myself I need to do / cant do something. It's kind of a joke, but not really!!! With my personality, I have to go with moderation. Once I say "I can't have" even if I don't want it, even if I don't like it...its all I'll ever want in the world. No one tells me what to do! Not even me!!! Lol *sigh*

I've been putting essential oils in my water. My cravings go way way down when I do that! They also help lessen my appetite!

I save 200 or more calories in the evenings, whether I'm at a deficit or at maintenance. Helps me make room for a sweet snack whenever I really can't push it off. And if I do avoid it, I either have a non-sweet midnight snack (I get a little hungry when I'm having trouble sleeping, happens often) or just save those calories up for a bigger splurge later on.