Food cravings

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pinkgsxr600
pinkgsxr600 Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all! Been kn MFP for a while, but this is my first post. I am having a really difficult time with giving into cravings lately. Any one have any suggestions on how to combat this?

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  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,568 Member
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    Depends. What is the reason your cravings are too strong? Is your calorie deficit too big and you don't allow for small snacks? Are you bored? Mental health issue? Any other reasons?
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,021 Member
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    Or maybe it's the food your binging on. I have a feeling it's not broccoli and skinless chicken breast. :)
  • frhaberl
    frhaberl Posts: 145 Member
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    It would help to know what type of cravings you’re having and how you’re “giving in to them”.

    Sometimes there are less calorific ways to satisfy cravings, and knowing what you’re craving could inspire some substitution recommendations.

    Usually (for me) cravings are best satisfied by fitting a controlled portion of the thing I’m craving into my food plan until I don’t want it anymore. I also focus on savoring that portion so I get the full benefit of it. When I do this one of two things will happen- I am satisfied and craving fades or I have found a new “regular” food I plan into my day OR I am not satisfied and I figure out that it’s not the food that I’m actually craving.

    When a craving is not really a good craving it’s usually a stressor that I USED TO deal with by overeating. Now I have new techniques for dealing with those, but sometimes it takes me a bit to recognize them and engage the new techniques.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
    edited December 2023
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    Here's what I work on to prevent 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.
    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. Hit my fiber goal
    9. Eat at maintenance when my appetite goes up premenstrually.
    10. Have a calorie deficit that is appropriate for the amount of weight I need to lose. So many times we see people undereating, which can lead to overeating. Often they undereat during the day and overeat at night. Is your weekly calorie goal in line with this?

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  • aeforred
    aeforred Posts: 3 Member
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    Cravings can be tricky. Try logging what you eat and when, as well as what you crave and when. Sometimes you can find patterns that help you address cravings.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,883 Member
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    aeforred wrote: »
    Cravings can be tricky. Try logging what you eat and when, as well as what you crave and when. Sometimes you can find patterns that help you address cravings.

    This is a great point. And the trigger can be so many things: Too-low calories; timing of meals/snacks; timing of macros, specific foods, fiber or volume eating during the day; sleep issues; stress; boredom; particular types of exercise; overly intense exercise or inadequate recovery between exercise sessions; emotions; habitual eating times/triggers; social cues; FOMO; and more. It can even be something in the day previous to the cravings, sometimes, IME.

    The food log and some careful thought/analysis to catch patterns - that can be really insight-provoking.

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