Cravings

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mandagirl4816
mandagirl4816 Posts: 18 Member
in Getting Started
Omg!! Why is it that when I'm trying to watch calories and cut carbs everything that I'm trying to stay away from is on my mind and the cravings are so strong I feel like a crackhead looking for my next hit. I literately feel like I'm losing my mind with an itch I can't scratch. Lol

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  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Consider whether lowering carbs is the plan for you then ...it's not a requirement for weight loss, many just calorie count with an eye to hitting protein, fat minimums

    Low carb always made me crash and burn

    I finally lost all my weight (53lbs) and maintained for the last year eating 50-60% of my diet in carbs
  • WifiresGettingFit
    WifiresGettingFit Posts: 1,773 Member
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    I agree with rabbitjb on this. This doesn't sound like it's going to be sustainable in the long run for you.
    With that being said, I haven't run into this problem lately (though in all honesty this week I'm being very lax as I'm visiting family) but when I do find that I have no calories left and I'm having a craving, I generally drink a glass of water and find something to do to take my mind off the craving (a hobby, a book, etc) and I find that the craving goes away.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Are you cutting too much?
  • chimaerandi
    chimaerandi Posts: 153 Member
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    I eat carbs! I eat air-popped popcorn nearly every night--sometimes with parmesan, ranch seasoning, whatever I feel like.

    I lost about 50 pounds paying attention to none of my macros--just pure CiCo. Now that I'm in the last 10-15, I pay attention to my protein. Sometimes. Maybe.

    Don't believe that you have to torment yourself to lose weight!
  • steph2strong
    steph2strong Posts: 426 Member
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    How long have you been at it? for my husband, whenever he cuts out the junk food in his diet, he craves it for the first two or so weeks and then he no longer craves it all of a sudden. Also finding replacement snacks for the cravings helps... greek yogurt with sugar free maple syrup or PB2 is a go too.
  • RedBeardBruce
    RedBeardBruce Posts: 15 Member
    edited February 2016
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    What the above post said. I had *crazy* cravings for sugar, greasy food, and snacky things like potato chips. I'm talking about uncontrollable cravings that would cause me to drive to the store in the middle of the night for ice cream, lol!

    It took me several weeks of abstaining from these things, then the cravings went away. I tried to eat filling foods that would keep me sated and drank a lot of diet coke/coffee when I wanted to snack. I'm not saying that this is the healthiest thing to do, but it worked for me. There seems to be some truth to sugar particularly being a drug. If you don't want to crave it, you have to not eat it - at least for some people.

    Now, some of the foods I used to crave don't even sound good to me. I tried a candy that I used to eat a lot, and it was so sweet that I had to spit it out.

    Everyone is different. Some people can just eat less of the junk foods they love and still be within their caloric goal. If I eat less junk food, I just seem to crave more junk food. You just have to find what works best for you.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
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    RedBeardBruce wrote: »
    Now, some of the foods I used to crave don't even sound good to me. I tried a candy that I used to eat a lot, and it was so sweet that I had to spit it out.

    Oh man, I'm sorry I'm not targeting you personally. But. I can not imagine ever doing this.

    Like, if one day I decided Kit Kats were the devil and didn't eat Kit Kats for 6 months. Then suddenly take a bite of one after all of that time, only to spit it out like a baby trying that goopy cereal for the first time.

    Bish, please. That first Kit Kat after 6 months with no Kit Kats would be like nirvana, and I'd likely binge on them after depriving myself for so long.

    But I'm in the IIFYM camp - I don't get "cravings" because I don't deprive myself to lose weight.
  • WifiresGettingFit
    WifiresGettingFit Posts: 1,773 Member
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    RedBeardBruce wrote: »
    Everyone is different. Some people can just eat less of the junk foods they love and still be within their caloric goal. If I eat less junk food, I just seem to crave more junk food. You just have to find what works best for you.

    This has been true for me with certain less nutritious foods but I have also found that if I eat more satiating food, I usually have some calories left over that I can fill with whatever I want and can indulge in some cravings if I'm having them. I've found that I don't have cravings as often because I'm still able to have it here and there. For me, restricting a food makes me want it more. Like RedBeardBruce said, you really just have to find what works for you!

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »
    RedBeardBruce wrote: »
    Now, some of the foods I used to crave don't even sound good to me. I tried a candy that I used to eat a lot, and it was so sweet that I had to spit it out.

    Oh man, I'm sorry I'm not targeting you personally. But. I can not imagine ever doing this.

    Like, if one day I decided Kit Kats were the devil and didn't eat Kit Kats for 6 months. Then suddenly take a bite of one after all of that time, only to spit it out like a baby trying that goopy cereal for the first time.

    Bish, please. That first Kit Kat after 6 months with no Kit Kats would be like nirvana, and I'd likely binge on them after depriving myself for so long.

    But I'm in the IIFYM camp - I don't get "cravings" because I don't deprive myself to lose weight.

    I'm right in the middle. I've also had crazy uncontrollable cravings, that stopped when I stopped eating the things I craved all the time even though I knew it wasn't good for me. I don't demonize any food. I just prefer to eat in a way that makes me feel good. Eating lots of junk didn't make me feel good, I didn't really want to, I just couldn't stop. I had to work with my attitude, habits, environment, get more knowledge. I still have a desire for "junk", but I know that the amount I would want to eat is not going to fit into my calories, and the amount I can eat, I don't want at all. I don't miss them, I enjoy good food instead. I can't say that is depriving myself (other than from misery). But I know that they would taste just as good as before, and I would struggle not to binge if left unattended. For me, it's the exaggeration that is the problem with junk. Too much flavor, too many calories, too little nutrients, too much anticipation, too much diasppointment. For my own sanity, I keep it out of the house. Exposure for a few minutes now and then is no problem. The desire is always there, but I can live with it now.
  • clrug0912
    clrug0912 Posts: 43 Member
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    You have to figure out what works best for you. Personally, I don't like to deny myself of anything because of the exact thing you are going through. It's like the minute you say don't eat that, it's all your mind thinks about. Instead, I just like to tell myself to cut back. Maybe when you order a burger, skip the roll, or order broccoli instead of fries but don't deny yourself the carbs completely. I know that I also am ok with eating a smaller portion of some things. I LOVE ice cream... so instead of going and getting a full fat, i'll get yogurt and just get enough to make that taste go away. As much as I hate paying the extra money for pre-packaged snacks, sometimes they are my best friend because I know I can eat that much of something sweet without breaking the calorie bank. Just figure out what works best for you! The important thing is finding a lifestyle eating that you can stick with and feel good about!
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »
    RedBeardBruce wrote: »
    Now, some of the foods I used to crave don't even sound good to me. I tried a candy that I used to eat a lot, and it was so sweet that I had to spit it out.

    Oh man, I'm sorry I'm not targeting you personally. But. I can not imagine ever doing this.

    Like, if one day I decided Kit Kats were the devil and didn't eat Kit Kats for 6 months. Then suddenly take a bite of one after all of that time, only to spit it out like a baby trying that goopy cereal for the first time.

    Bish, please. That first Kit Kat after 6 months with no Kit Kats would be like nirvana, and I'd likely binge on them after depriving myself for so long.

    But I'm in the IIFYM camp - I don't get "cravings" because I don't deprive myself to lose weight.

    I'm right in the middle. I've also had crazy uncontrollable cravings, that stopped when I stopped eating the things I craved all the time and knew even wasn't good for me. I still have a desire, but I don't miss them, I eat good food instead. I can't say that is depriving myself (other than from misery). But I know that they would taste just as good as before, and I would struggle not to binge if left unattended. For my own sanity, I keep it out of the house. Exposure for a few minutes now and then is no problem. But the desire is always there.

    I get that. I don't generally buy things like candy bars to keep in the house, though if I really want one, I can go out and get one, and work it into my day.

    I do keep things like ice cream in the house, though, because I can plop my bowl right on top of the food scale and weigh out a sensible portion.

    I know different methods work for different people. I just don't buy the whole "OMG, that Snickers bar is so gross to me now!" - to me, that seems like a ton of denial. Or lying to your poor taste buds to justify a certain way of eating.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »
    RedBeardBruce wrote: »
    Now, some of the foods I used to crave don't even sound good to me. I tried a candy that I used to eat a lot, and it was so sweet that I had to spit it out.

    Oh man, I'm sorry I'm not targeting you personally. But. I can not imagine ever doing this.

    Like, if one day I decided Kit Kats were the devil and didn't eat Kit Kats for 6 months. Then suddenly take a bite of one after all of that time, only to spit it out like a baby trying that goopy cereal for the first time.

    Bish, please. That first Kit Kat after 6 months with no Kit Kats would be like nirvana, and I'd likely binge on them after depriving myself for so long.

    But I'm in the IIFYM camp - I don't get "cravings" because I don't deprive myself to lose weight.

    I'm right in the middle. I've also had crazy uncontrollable cravings, that stopped when I stopped eating the things I craved all the time and knew even wasn't good for me. I still have a desire, but I don't miss them, I eat good food instead. I can't say that is depriving myself (other than from misery). But I know that they would taste just as good as before, and I would struggle not to binge if left unattended. For my own sanity, I keep it out of the house. Exposure for a few minutes now and then is no problem. But the desire is always there.

    I get that. I don't generally buy things like candy bars to keep in the house, though if I really want one, I can go out and get one, and work it into my day.

    I do keep things like ice cream in the house, though, because I can plop my bowl right on top of the food scale and weigh out a sensible portion.

    I know different methods work for different people. I just don't buy the whole "OMG, that Snickers bar is so gross to me now!" - to me, that seems like a ton of denial. Or lying to your poor taste buds to justify a certain way of eating.

    Yeah, I don't really buy it myself (I think it's "humblebragging", but I tried to be polite, lol). Junk is engineered to hit our taste buds, and they do. That's exactly why some of us have to be careful. I will eat on occasion, but there's always going to be occasions. "Afternoon" is not occasion, so no reason to buy and (try to) keep.

    I used to overeat ice cream. Sensible portions is torture, I can't handle that. I don't really do "replacements" either, but I do eat full fat Greek yogurt with nuts or nut butter and honey or maple syrup, or smoothies made from banana, other fruit, and milk, and real hot cocoa made with milk, sugar and cacao, and I'm satisfied with a reasonable amount. I don't think it's the sugar or sweetness per se that's the problem for me, maybe just that it's too sweet (my homemade variations are less sweet), or maybe the lack of nutrients. Anyway, I'm in a much better place now.
  • RedBeardBruce
    RedBeardBruce Posts: 15 Member
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    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt wrote: »
    RedBeardBruce wrote: »
    Now, some of the foods I used to crave don't even sound good to me. I tried a candy that I used to eat a lot, and it was so sweet that I had to spit it out.

    Oh man, I'm sorry I'm not targeting you personally. But. I can not imagine ever doing this.

    Like, if one day I decided Kit Kats were the devil and didn't eat Kit Kats for 6 months. Then suddenly take a bite of one after all of that time, only to spit it out like a baby trying that goopy cereal for the first time.

    Bish, please. That first Kit Kat after 6 months with no Kit Kats would be like nirvana, and I'd likely binge on them after depriving myself for so long.

    But I'm in the IIFYM camp - I don't get "cravings" because I don't deprive myself to lose weight.

    Don't get me wrong - I still enjoy some things that I know arn't good for me. But I eat those things very sparingly, and usually do it on a cheat day to help myself limit them.

    For one of my last cheat days I had creme brulee, and it was very sweet but just as delicious as it ever was. Maybe even more so since I don't eat sweet/creamy things that often.

    The candy I was talking about are the Brachs jelly beans. They are almost pure sugar, and I used to eat them by the bagfull. The *large* family sized bags, so you can see it was a problem, lol. They were one of my favorite things to snack on, but after going without sugar - or really, just very very little sugar - for almost a year I couldn't even eat them because they tasted too sweet.

    It's possible it's all in my head. It actually is, technically speaking. But things now taste sweeter to me than they used to. Fruit tastes sweeter. I use less artificial sweetener in my coffee, etc. I feel like my tolerance for sweet things has gone down dramatically, but it's a good thing as I now enjoy heathier things more than I used to.

    I can't objectively prove it, but that has been my experience and afaik it is possible for people's tastes to change for various reasons. Either way, I feel like I am also in a better place now, so do what works for you :wink:

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