Hunger vs Cravings

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tbirk
tbirk Posts: 25 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I struggle with cravings, especially for sweets! I'm sure we all do. I came across the Mayo Clinic Diet article below about distinguishing between hunger and cravings. I found this really helpful. I'm wondering: What are your tips for beating cravings?

The Mayo Clinic Diet: Hunger vs. craving: What's the difference?:


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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited June 2017
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    Cravings can be really tough. I don't have the perfect solution, and I don't know if it exists, but I have seen a reduction in intensity, frequency and duration after I've implemented some changes:

    Make sure I am well fed - sufficient nutrition through balanced and varied diet.
    Plan meals.
    Only eat food I like.
    Eat freely from all the foods I can eat to satiety.
    Don't demonize or deem any foods off limit - this will only make them more tempting.
    Don't keep any substantial amounts of foods I have trouble moderating in the house.
    Out of the house, I will eat whatever I like that is offered.
    Working on stress and emotions.
    Getting some exercise every day (doesn't have to be planned exercise, or vigoruos, just move).
    Get enough sleep end rest.

    I have been an advocate for distraction from cravings, but I have never done it myself, and I'm not sure if it's effective. I am beginning to think cravings have to be faced if you want them to loosen up. I talk to myself - remind me that if I want something, I want it when I plan, too; this "want" here is an impulse, not a real want. I can have anything I want, I can choose to eat and choose to not eat. It will still be there tomorrow if I don't eat it today. If I don't have this (random thing) now, I can have something (delicious) tomorrow or next week.

    I try to think how I will feel about this tomorrow if I eat it, and if I don't eat it. I try to remember how it was last time I ate after an internal battle, and how it was last time I didn't. I know that I have never regretted not eating something random, but I have regretted doing it. My mind always tries to persuade me that this time will be different. It's not easy. But many important things are difficult. And it's kinda interesting to feel through cravings now. It used to feel like I was ripping apart. I know I will survive not eating, but I had to reassure myself it was okay to eat, too. The feeling of failure made me feel miserable. Feeling miserable is not a good feeling. Eating can make bad feelings subside for a moment. Enough rambling. You get my point now, I'm sure :D

    ETA, lol, sorry: Cravings often feel like it's a "life or death" situation, because it is. The reaction is right, and necessary for survival, it's just inappropriate in the situation at hand (an environment overfilled with food at any time). It is usually brought forward by exposure to easy, calorie dense food, often more easy and calorie dense than nature could have created. This can make our brains (midbrains, "reptile" brain) really excited; in nature, such an event would have been rare and thus important to seize. Today these foods are all around us. The triggering is stronger and more frequent, but the need much much less. Add to this the exploitation of this phenomenon by money making food producers and the diet industry, you can understand how this has become a conflict of interests, internally and externally.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    If it's a craving like "I need to eat this right now," I usually distract myself/wait it out, and I don't have those much when I'm used to a regular eating schedule and eating adequate calories and a balanced diet.

    If you mean feeling like you really want a particular food (for example, I gave up meat for Lent and was really craving lamb by the time Holy Week came around), then I usually figure out a way to fit it in. If it's high cal, I might think about what aspect of it I really want -- for example, I crave buffalo seasonings/flavor but not specifically wings usually, so am satisfied with a buffalo chicken salad a local place does (around 400 calories, so easy to fit in) -- but usually it's not that tough. But I do so within my usual week and don't overeat on it.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    It depends on the craving. If it's for something small like chocolate, I'll try to fit it in my calorie allowance for the day and just have some. If it's for something bigger, like a cheeseburger and fries, I'll bank some calories through the week and allow myself to have it on the weekend. I can usually hold off a craving like that for awhile.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    It depends on the craving. If it's for something small like chocolate, I'll try to fit it in my calorie allowance for the day and just have some. If it's for something bigger, like a cheeseburger and fries, I'll bank some calories through the week and allow myself to have it on the weekend. I can usually hold off a craving like that for awhile.

    This is exactly my strategy. If I am craving something I can easily fit in, I'll usually just rearrange my plan for snacks and have what I'm craving. If it is something bigger, I tell myself I'll have it on the weekend. With the combination of banking and me usually doing longer runs on the weekends, it's rare that I can't fit a portion of whatever I'd like into Saturday or Sunday. Once I "know" I'm going to have it, the craving usually dies down. Sometimes I wind up not even having it because the craving has gone away or just want something else.
  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
    edited June 2017
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    If it's a craving like "I need to eat this right now," I usually distract myself/wait it out, and I don't have those much when I'm used to a regular eating schedule and eating adequate calories and a balanced diet.

    I have found this to be true as I have made my diet more balanced. I rarely get cravings but when I do, I usually will try to find a way to work them into my deficit (like @quiksylver296 or use something as an acceptable substitute that works better into my calories for the day).
  • ManBehindTheMask
    ManBehindTheMask Posts: 615 Member
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    When craving something sweet, I find sugar free jelly and Pepsi max to be absolute life savers
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    I think cravings are manageable. You need only recognize that denial is a use of will power, and will power is a diminishing resource which will fail miserably. Rather than try to deny yourself your cravings, manage them through planning to have them without regret.
  • tbirk
    tbirk Posts: 25 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the helpful replies! Trying to stay strong, and also treat myself to a little sweet every now and then. :smile:
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    Sometimes when I'm craving sweet right after a meal I know was decent I'll set a timer on my phone/watch for 20-30 minutes and tell myself I'll just check in again then and see if I am actually hungry still.

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