Downward Spiral

I drink a glass of water and then chew a piece of gum. Oh, and I usually have a small (1/2 ounce) amount of chocolate as dessert so I don't feel like I'm depriving myself (I used to have a full dessert every night).

I noticed a lot of views on this topic but no responses... I'll admit it.

:grumble: Yes I do. I get the most horrible cravings ever & it's rare that I DON'T give in.

Who doesn't? I think it's safe to say, EVERYONE does. Especially when we're trying not to.
I'm a firm believer in no deprivation. If we totally deprive ourselves of the naughty stuff, then we're more than likely to binge BIG TIME.
So, the hard part is not allowing yourself to have a little something here or there, it's the LITTLE part of it that is difficult. But it's just something that we need to "train" ourselves. Go ahead, have a little chocolate, have a piece of cake, have a little ice cream... just be very cautious on the amount. And, of course, try not to sneak some in every day. Save it for a special treat.
By allowing yourself to have a small amount of our vices, we're less likely to stuff ourselves silly and feel so horrible later.

:bigsmile: good luck

One thing I noticed is if I have a craving and I try to work around it, I usually end up eating more than if I just ate what I wanted...like today I really wanted a cookie, or something like it. I don't keep anything like that in the house so I ended up eating a bag of popcorn, my son's goldfish crackers and a bowl of honey nut chex...I really would have been happy with one cookie, maybe a brownie. :grumble:

I try to first figure out exactly what it is I'm craving. If I crave pasta, I actually crave carbs, if I crave pizza, it's probably fat and salt, if it's cookies or chocolate, it's sugar and if it's something random like oat meal or rice, it's probably just energy.

This way I'll be able to sort of lower the damages so to speak, by making healthier choises. For me, it's better if I curb my carb cravings with whole wheat, fiber rich products accompanied with protein, so that I can get the full nutrients and also a fuller feeling. For fat cravings I eat almonds or hazel nuts (mildly salted or spiced if I feel like I need more salt) and for sugar cravings I try to mix myself something like a berry smoothie (frozen berries in a blender with either water or low fat milk and a dash of soft honey for extra sweetness.)

For me, it's all about listening to my body and actually hearing what it really needs. I believe cravings are just signs that something is missing from my body that it really needs, and at that point I say screw the calories, eat something healthy and then possibly exercise a little extra to make up for it.

I also get really bad cravings in the evening, but I have noticed a pattern...they are MUCH worse if I've had a high carb meal (even if it's healthy carbs). Pasta or bread are the worst! I always crave sugary foods after that. So I try to have my carbs early in the day, usually some oatmeal, then I for dinner I have lean proteins and veggies. It's definitely helped my nighttime cravings!

Jumping jacks, jumping jacks, jumping jacks.... I've been trying to jump away my cravings! My over eating is definately linked to emotion - so when emotion/boredom strikes my best revenge has turned out to be jumping around my living room or back yard like a crazy woman until I am so out of breath I couldn't eat if I wanted to! So far, I've overcome about 90% of those cravings with this tactic...

Be strong! You can overcome this obstacle!

Someone said this already, but it bears repeating- -gum gum gum gum gum. I keep 3-5 flavors on hand & stashed in diff places (car, desk, gym bag, purse, kitchen etc) and just chew away!