Eat This, Not That!

wizzybeth wrote: »

Ok, I'll bite.

When I'm craving spaghetti - I will eat spaghetti squash with tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, and maybe even a meatball or two - because I'm not really craving the pasta as much as the hot tomato sauce and meat. The spaghetti squash is not a real substitute for spaghetti but it's a reasonable vehicle to deliver the tomato sauce and meatball without 200 calories for a skimpy serving. I can eat a LOT of spaghetti squash for a fraction of the calories...

Is it the same? No - but like I said, my craving isn't really for the pasta but for what you put ON the pasta. I don't want to eat a bowl of sauce and a meatball...hence, the spaghetti squash.

If you're craving something sweet, then have some watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe in a fruit salad with a dollop of cool whip on top. Much more satisfying than a vegetable salad with vinaigrette. That's just a weird compromise to make when your sweet tooth is acting up.

These are about the only "Eat this not that" things I can think of where I wouldn't be trying to stab someone with a fork for trying to get me to eat it instead of what I am wanting.

Ok I'm actually with you on that one. I make some pretty good pasta sauce and I tried it on spaghetti squash and actually liked it better than pasta too. Go figure. But that doesn't work if it's really pasta than I'm craving... only when I'm craving the sauce (and I TOTALLY get you there).

The only other substitution that has worked for me was French bread pizza when I was craving pizza, but the calories are just as bad, so...

About going bunless when I crave a hotdog or burger... Typically if I'm craving a burger, I want the whole thing. I eat plenty of bunless burgers.. but not when I'm craving a burger.

Otherwise, from experience, if I crave something and try to eat something else instead, I end up eating both things. Bad idea.

My housemate was once on a weird diet and made 'chocolate mousse' from a diet recipe and thought it was disgusting. She gave me some and I thought it was delicious. It was made from avocado and cocoa powder and may some other thing too. I quite like avocado and I also like not-very-sweet chocolate. I would happily eat that instead of actual chocolate mousse.

Margaritas yeszz

popcorn7225 wrote: »

I don't mean to hijack but since so many of you have the same recommendation.....if you want it, make room for it and eat it but how do you control yourselves? If I were to have a piece of pizza for dinner I think that would lead to two. Or if I have a brownie for dessert I know that would lead to more picking later in the evening. How do you summon up the willpower to stop at just one? I've been back on MFP for 2 weeks now and really trying to eat well but snacking is going to be the death of me.

One way I have been managing, most days, to control my appetite and cravings is by eating enough protein, fiber, and iron during the day - I really focus on meeting my macros. I find I am not really as hungry as I used to be when I didn't pay attention to my nutrition goals.

How do I control myself? Admittedly, some days - I do not. Some days, I am careless and go over my calorie intake (but usually not by more than 200-300 calories). Most days I remind myself that I have goals, and I want to meet them and I do not want to be obese anymore. I enjoy my indulgence and then satisfy myself with either drinking some water or coffee, snacking on something filling but low cal like raw veggies, going to bed, or taking the dog for a vigorous walk in order to earn more calories.

I don't believe in letting food be the boss of me. When I know I have met my nutritional goals for the day it's harder for my body to trick me into saying "I'm starving" when I know it's probably just habit-munchies or boredom-munchies.

When I want a giant bag of M&M's and I know it just does not meet my health goals, I eat a small piece of dark chocolate. I do not feel deprived. I feel really great about making a healthy choice.

If you're craving something, eat a little bit of it or it will come back and bite u in the a**...seriously

hollydubs85 wrote: »

popcorn7225 wrote: »

I don't mean to hijack but since so many of you have the same recommendation.....if you want it, make room for it and eat it but how do you control yourselves? If I were to have a piece of pizza for dinner I think that would lead to two. Or if I have a brownie for dessert I know that would lead to more picking later in the evening. How do you summon up the willpower to stop at just one? I've been back on MFP for 2 weeks now and really trying to eat well but snacking is going to be the death of me.

For me, I log whatever it is I ate the second I'm done swallowing it. Seeing the number of calories left for my day go down does a lot for my self-control. For example, I ate two cookies. Log it right away, and bam, automatically 200 calories are gone. If I eat one or two more, is the satisfaction of the cookies going to outweigh the disappointment of seeing the number of calories left for the day go down? Again though, I have to log everything immediately.

I have friends on here that pre-log their days or entire weeks, and allow for 200-300 calories of whatever they want per day. I think this is probably the smartest way to handle it.

I'm sort of in between these approaches. I pre log my days if I know what I'm eating for my meals, and then at the end of the evening I may have anywhere from 200-500 calories left for splurges. I prelog all of them, like 2 glasses of wine, a serving of gelato, or two cookies, and then see where that puts me, then I can adjust before I actually eat them. Maybe only one glass of wine and half a serving of gelato fits, that's about 250 cals. Maybe I want four Oreos instead and have a glass of milk, that's about 350. I tweak it then I eat it!

popcorn7225 wrote: »

I don't mean to hijack but since so many of you have the same recommendation.....if you want it, make room for it and eat it but how do you control yourselves? If I were to have a piece of pizza for dinner I think that would lead to two. Or if I have a brownie for dessert I know that would lead to more picking later in the evening. How do you summon up the willpower to stop at just one? I've been back on MFP for 2 weeks now and really trying to eat well but snacking is going to be the death of me.

I prelog my snack before I'm going to eat it... seeing the number of calories I have left for the day come down is usually good motivation.

Then I take small bites and don't watch tv or do anything else while eating (ok sometimes I'll browse the web but I make sure to enjoy my food). 2 cookies eaten that way will be more satisfying than a sleeve of cookies eaten while watching TV. Pay close attention to the taste of your food... Guaranteed that after a couple cookies, it won't be as enjoyable anymore. Still be good, sure, but won't taste like those first few bites goodness. That's when you know it's time to put it down so you can enjoy it again fully tomorrow.

But yes, I tend to mostly eat things that will keep in my pantry/fridge/freezer. So mostly chocolate, packaged cookies and ice cream. I know it's there and I can have some more tomorrow. Freshly baked goods? I don't do so well with them as I know it won't be as good the next day. So I don't buy anything perishable that I know won't fit in my calories for the day if there's more than one serving (unless it's something I know my kids will eat too). And I typically don't bake much because my kids don't eat the stuff and I have to eat it before it goes bad (ok, husband helps).

Mostly I learned that if I restrict myself and don't eat the things I'm craving, I'll eat the whole box next time I have some. It never fails.