How do you fight off cravings?

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  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
    This is why there's no "one size fits all" approach, I guess! :)

    For me, it depends on the food - one square of milk chocolate probably wouldn't satisfy, whereas one square of a decent dark chocolate does. But if I'd told myself at the start that I couldn't have chocolate at all, I'd have craved it far more. (And substituting with something else doesn't help, I'd just end up eating what I really wanted anyway.)

    By letting myself have a little bit when I wanted it, somehow that's loosened its hold on me. But obviously other people find that doesn't work for them! We all have to experiment and find out what helps us and what doesn't. :)
  • sara0308
    sara0308 Posts: 1 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    gothchiq wrote: »
    NothingmaN79 wrote: »
    I just leave the food that will set me back at the store. Food that goes against my goal is my enemy. Chocolate made me fat. Potato chips made me fat. Doughnuts made me fat. My lack of willpower and self-control made me fat. There is a lot of willpower and self-control involved here. If you give into your cravings by even having LESS of what you crave (chocolate etc.), you will keep craving it. Break the cycle. Have the self-control to say no and eat something healthier.

    Or do what works for you I'm not your dad.

    This!!! Torturing myself with a tiny portion of a trigger food makes matters worse. It's much easier for me to say NOPE, off limits, there are lots of good things I will choose from instead.

    Yep, same here. For me, it's so much easier and less stressful to abstain than it is to moderate.

    I wish one serving of ice cream or cereal or cookies was enough/satisfying. It's Just not worth it and leaves me wanting more.

    I agree, it's so much easier to stay away from your cravings. Once I start, I just want another serving or two.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited August 2016
    gothchiq wrote: »
    I find that by suppressing these cravings long term they fade. The longer I avoid the trigger foods the more the cravings fade away. Replacements are fruit, hummus with veggies, homemade dressing for salads that has much more and better flavor than the typical bottled stuff..... It has been a process of finding things I like that are calorically acceptable to me, have a decent amount of nutrients, and taste good. I've been at this since.... 2013 I guess? long enough to have a list of go-to foods after which I will feel satisfied rather than just craving more sugar/fat/stuff that doesn't help me in any way.
    gothchiq wrote: »
    NothingmaN79 wrote: »
    I just leave the food that will set me back at the store. Food that goes against my goal is my enemy. Chocolate made me fat. Potato chips made me fat. Doughnuts made me fat. My lack of willpower and self-control made me fat. There is a lot of willpower and self-control involved here. If you give into your cravings by even having LESS of what you crave (chocolate etc.), you will keep craving it. Break the cycle. Have the self-control to say no and eat something healthier.

    Or do what works for you I'm not your dad.

    This!!! Torturing myself with a tiny portion of a trigger food makes matters worse. It's much easier for me to say NOPE, off limits, there are lots of good things I will choose from instead.

    It's eactly this. Before, when I have lost weight, and after, "tried" to "eat healthy", my alternative WASN'T good food, but "diet food". OF COURSE I longed for the "goodies", and caved.

    I too have practically cut out sweets, just because no decent amount will satisfy me. I haven't technically deemed them "off limits", but in practice, they are - I will have them once or twice per year, maybe? No big deal. I don't miss it now that my NORMAL diet is food I ENJOY and would have eaten even if it didn't make me maintain normal weight. The cravings was worse than the obesity, for me.

    I exert willpower in the grocery store. For how long, maybe half an hour per week. Much better than 24/7 at home :D
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    haha I don't even go down the cookie and chocolate isles anymore, and i buy a box of my beloved cheerios once a month, a small box lasts me a couple days. I have a quest bar every now and then, and I'm happy :smile: I pay $4 each for quest bars, so i treat them like gold and only have one if i really, really feel like it.

    I do have dessert every night, but things i have to make and prepare, like protein fluff or pb2 mixed in yogurt. I try and stay away from prepackaged quick and easy stuff like chocolate bars, chips , nuts and cookies etc etc
  • wrathofpascal
    wrathofpascal Posts: 47 Member
    For me cravings are an addiction. If you cold turkey the urge to eat sugar/chocolate foods will lessen. I do miss icecream when I'm on a cut though.
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    If I have a craving I work with it.

    Making my own treats from scratch really helps too, but sometimes I want a slice of that homemade cheesecake from my favorite place and you know what I get it. It's not often and sometimes I would split it with someone else however, I try to plan for it and I work for it (workout a little longer that day or I will save up some calories for it).

    Secondly, I don't keep treats in my house. If I want it I have to make it or go out and get it. Many times I end up forgetting about my craving and it goes away! If it was in my house I would easily eat it just because it was there.

    Cutting myself off of things made it worse. I'd do great for a short while then end up binging on what I was missing weeks later. So I eventually I learned I had to figure out how to work for what I wanted.

    Looking at my calories on a weekly basis and fitting what I want in has really helped me.

    Lastly I fit in a small sweet treat for dessert everyday. Something like 2 cookies, dark chocolate, a small homemade apple crisp serving or a serving (or 2, heh) of ice cream really helps me with my sweet tooth and it doesn't put a huge dent into my calorie allowance.

    Try different approaches and see what works for you.
  • honorthecolors
    honorthecolors Posts: 33 Member
    I take in about 50g of fiber a day and about 300 to 350 or more grams of complex a day so I'm normally feel well fed.
  • honorthecolors
    honorthecolors Posts: 33 Member
    STEVE142142 wrote: »
    For me I don't deny myself any of my cravings. I still occasionally eat a Wendy's hamburger a slice of pizza, beer on the beach. As long as it fits into my calorie goal I incorporate it into my food.
    I firmly believe that you can't look at this as a diet. Diets suck you're constantly giving up stuff that you like and eventually human nature is going to take over and you're going to go I can't do this anymore. And the funny part and I know other posters have said this I don't crave that stuff as much as I used to. I choose to control it it doesn't control me.

    I've are 8 slices of pizza in the entire year of 2016. The second time was cheese pizza.
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