food cravings?

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brenn24179
brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
edited October 2019 in Health and Weight Loss
how do you handle food cravings.

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  • Terytha
    Terytha Posts: 2,097 Member
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    Pickles are filling, delicious, and like 5 calories each.
  • kjp3553
    kjp3553 Posts: 6 Member
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    The first thing to do is to simply ignore the craving for an hour or two. Sometimes, it’ll just go away on it’s own. If that doesn’t work, try to make healthier versions of what you’re craving, like replacing ice cream with “nice” cream (made of frozen bananas and flavorings like cocoa powder or peanut butter). You can also look for lower calorie versions of what you’re craving. Usually sugar free and fat free foods have fewer calories. Finally, remember that everything is okay in moderation! If you deny your cravings too much, you may end up overindulging and undoing all of your hard work. If you want, you can add me as a friend. My diary is open to friends so you can see what I eat when I’m craving something.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    When I do the following, I don't have cravings:

    1. Get sufficient sleep
    2. Exercise regularly - when I get the happy hormones from exercise, I'm not prone to seeking them from food. Additionally, mild to moderate exercise appears to work as a mild appetite suppressant for me.
    3. Get sufficient protein in relationship to carbs. I'm not low carb, but reducing carbs and upping protein worked for cravings for me. See also http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html
    4. Eat moderate amounts of fruit. This makes me less interested in higher calorie sweets.
    5. Take a magnesium supplement. This can be especially helpful for women premenstrually.
    6. Save foods like chocolate for after dinner, in small amounts
    7. Stay hydrated
    8. Have a calorie deficit that is appropriate for the amount of weight I need to lose. An overly aggressive goal can definitely lead to cravings.
    9. Eat at maintenance when my appetite goes up premenstrually.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Within two weeks of eating pescatarian, which is a plant based diet with seafood, eggs and some dairy, my cravings were gone. I don't know how or why it happened, I'm just grateful it did. ☺

    I eat the foods I love every day. I never feel deprived, so I'm able to just enjoy the journey.

    Are you omitting some foods that you can easily fit into your calories?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Depends on what I am craving. If it's something I can eat for a relatively small caloric hit, say a 250 calorie candy bar for example, I'll probably just eat it and fit it into my calories for the day.

    If it's something more calorically expensive, I'll tell myself I can have it "Friday" (or some day in the future, 4-5 days away). Usually by "Friday" I'm not craving it any more anyway. If I am still craving it, I have it. I log it and own it. I'll make that day a maintenance day. One day won't slow my progress much.
  • candylilacs
    candylilacs Posts: 614 Member
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    Take some water/a Propel drink and Kshama2001's advice. After a couple days, give into the craving. By the way, Cheetos are my weakness. I get a 11/2 oz, like at Dollartree, and I get my craving. There's no getting the family size!

    Terytha, I loathe pickles!
  • QuinntessentiallyMe
    QuinntessentiallyMe Posts: 88 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Distraction. Distraction and discipline. Nothing else works for me.

    It also helps to know if I am emotionally craving something, or actually need something in the food. I was taught by a doctor that if the craving comes on sudden and hard, it's emotional or boredom. If it comes on slowly, and doesn't go away for days or weeks, you may actually need it for some reason. Reasons vary. I get like this with some of my favorite treat foods. I allow myself to have them every so often, just to keep my mind happy and balanced. Can't go entirely without. If I start feeling that craving, and it doesn't go away within a week, I know it's time to have that treat again soon, or I will lose control and binge. We're all so different. Learning our own patterns and ways of handling things is crucial to success. What may work for others may not work for you. What works for you may not work for anyone else.
  • candylilacs
    candylilacs Posts: 614 Member
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    I brought in a cat for a Halloween (it's a black cat and it's an unsafe holiday) and I cared for it. And shopping! (But there are limits!)
  • Lobsterboxtops
    Lobsterboxtops Posts: 92 Member
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    I just fit them in to my plan. Or I buy it and that does the trick without eating it...I’ve had a pint of Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer at work still sealed for two months. Sometimes taking away the forbiddenness is the thing that gets it off my mind.

    I do have weird cravings and not very often (sauerkraut/Rueben sandwich, enchiladas, faux crab are some of my usual ones that happen maybe once a year) so that’s why I just eat it and move on.

    I rarely have the chips at night types of cravings.

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