Help :((((

Sorry you're struggling- how frustrating!

How many calories are you eating a day? I tend to crave sweets when I let my carbs start to get too high- so maybe something else to look at. Are you craving sugar right after a meal? If so- try knocking the carbs down a bit and see if that helps. Another consideration is possible pregnancy.

In my very very humble opinion- I'm just another random person on the internet after all- perhaps it's time to revaluate your plan. Take a look at your numbers and see what's working and what's not. Have you been eating back exercise cals? If not- then perhaps now you've lost enough weight where it'd be a good idea to try it. Are you getting enough sleep?

Lots of questions and tons of possibilities for a very simple answer- don't give up!! It could be something as simple as eating two avocados a week!

I know when I eat low carbs, my body craves sugar. Im not one to want sweets to often, except when I am low on carbs. I have learned that when I crave sweets, I just have to let myself have some, in moderation of course. Starving myself of that occasional sweet tooth only makes things worse. Eventually I just give in and over do it. Take a look at your carb count when you are feeling this urge for sweets. I bet its low.

I agree. I dont keep sweets in the house. A good satisfying treat I have when I crave sugar is fat free sugar free pudding and fat free cool whip. I do two small layers of each in a coffee cup. Low on calories and satisfies the sweet tooth.

Eat something really sickly sweet (meringues are good as very dry as well) believe me you can't eat many of them and they will cure you of that sweet craving!! Don't keep the nice stuff in the house (or keep low fat/cal substitutes - and let yourself have a small amount occasionally so you don't feel denied. You have done so well - only 12lb to go?? you can do this - just look at what/how you are eating. Good Luck!

Sorry you're struggling- how frustrating!

How many calories are you eating a day? I tend to crave sweets when I let my carbs start to get too high- so maybe something else to look at. Are you craving sugar right after a meal? If so- try knocking the carbs down a bit and see if that helps. Another consideration is possible pregnancy.

In my very very humble opinion- I'm just another random person on the internet after all- perhaps it's time to revaluate your plan. Take a look at your numbers and see what's working and what's not. Have you been eating back exercise cals? If not- then perhaps now you've lost enough weight where it'd be a good idea to try it. Are you getting enough sleep?

Lots of questions and tons of possibilities for a very simple answer- don't give up!! It could be something as simple as eating two avocados a week!

This 100%

I have been reading a book by Tom Venuto called "The Body Fat Solution." In it he discusses 'emotional eating' and how we can control it. In it he says that emotional hunger can never be satisfied with food and he discusses things like reconditioning your mind to overcome emotional eating. Check it out on Amazon. I'm only half way through it but it has been answering some of my questions about why I do what I do.

Cravings are our body's way of punishing us for upturning the apple cart.
It gets better over time, but you have to just find the strength to punch through.

Seriously, it gets easier, and suddenly, they diminish to almost nothing.

Just make sure you're not on some absurd crash diet and are following the MFP recommendations for 1 pound of weight loss per week. Good Luck!:flowerforyou:

Lots of good posts about making sure you are eating enough, so I won't repeat. Here's the question I had to answer for myself: If I "can't" control it, who can? To pig out on sweets and junk, I had to sort of turn off my brain and get into kind of a fog. I learned to stop and ask myself questions instead of going at it like a zombie--the most important quesiton is "Is that ____ really going to help me reach my goal? Or will it make my mouth happy for a few seconds and then I'll regret it?" If you must have a binge, try eating only stuff that's good for you. Have an entire bag of baby carrots, for example. Or really go wild and eat two or even three apples! Assuming you are logging everything you eat, you will also see how many calories you need to work off, and you can decide if the treat is worth the "cardio price tag." I got a doz gourmet chocolate-dipped strawberries for Val Day, and I decided each one is for sure worth 10 minutes of cardio; they are only available this one time a year here.

Some thoughts that may help:
It's not a treat if you do it all the time--a treat is a once in a while thing.
I am my only obstacle, the rest is just excuses
A year from now, what will I wish I had done differently today?
If I'm gonna obsess over food and feel miserable, I might as well obsess in a positive way and feel successful.

And a little trick I picked up from a book called "Taming the Feast Beast"--think of the craving and urge to stuff yourself as "IT" instead of "me." Your Beast exists only to get as big as it can, and it lives on high-calorie sweets and junk food. It will use any trick it can to get you to lift those things to your mouth, and it never, NEVER gets enough. Next time you start thinking "I want to eat a candy bar," change it to "IT wants me to eat a candy bar." Your goal is to starve it into submission, and eventually you can beat it down. It helps to get a picture in you mind of your Beast--mine is a nasty thing from those Mucinex commercials, the little Mucus guy, totally disgusting! It lives in my belly, as if I was wearing one of those bags strapped around my middle. This can be a very effective bit of mental trickery when deciding if I really want to feed that Beast and make it grow bigger.

Good luck! add me if a friend if you want to, I'll be glad to help if I can.

I find that willpower is the key ingredient to avoiding this issue. I have to have a low GI diet as well as keeping my calories in line but it means I have to give up some of the foods I never thought I could live without - pizza, white bread, sweets, sugar - all those things are banned for me now. But I either don't let myself think about them, or when faced with them I repeatedly tell myself "you don't want that and even if you did, it's no good for you".

Then I drink another pint of water and it goes away.

Keeping yourself occupied is also a good thing to do, gives you less chance to start thinking about the foods you want but shouldn't have. Take up a hobby or something that you can turn to when you start to feel peckish.

Sometimes people simply cannot diet by counting calories. It is often more physiological then physical as I am sure if you are getting the correct amount of calories then you are really not hungry. I see client’s everyday from all over the world who struggle with this but you do have options.

First of all even if you do not continue to count calories it is still a good idea to stay to on MFP for support and tools.

Here are few things you can do...

Increase your exercise both in intensity and time, this way you can consume a few more calories. There are formulas to figure out how many calories a day you need and taking into consideration how many claries you burn with exercise. It is not an exact science but it is pretty close.

The more muscle you have the faster rate you burn calories, even at rest so be sure to strength train.

Also there are food dishes you can buy that divide up your portions of each food group so you do not overeat but you still need to make sure you are putting the correct types of foods in the plate.

There are several other ways but these are the top two.

I always recommend that you be sure what your goals are with you health plan. Do a SMART goal plan to that your values work for you.

I would write more but I am on my way out the door to work. Call on me anytime and seek support from all your sources!

Cravings are our body's way of punishing us for upturning the apple cart.
It gets better over time, but you have to just find the strength to punch through.

Seriously, it gets easier, and suddenly, they diminish to almost nothing.

Just make sure you're not on some absurd crash diet and are following the MFP recommendations for 1 pound of weight loss per week. Good Luck!:flowerforyou:

What he said!

I really believe that if you stop eating the sugar your body with stop craving it. I can attest to it because it's worked for me. I absolutely LOVE ice cream and it's part of the reason I gained 12 pounds over the winter. I have started really watching what I eat and have basically stopped eating sweets, except for a piece of chocolate here and there. It's amazing but I'm not craving it anymore. Just try to be strong and remember the end result. It's so worth it!!

I can't seem to give up sweets either. But I've found I can have a skinny cow ice cream sandwich a couple times a week and a couple Dove chocolates here and there and not go over my calories.
When I know I can have some ice cream or candy I'm less likely to just freak out and eat everything in sight!

I think we all go through highs and lows during this process. Sometimes I amaze myself with my ability to stay on track, and other times I'm embarrassed by how poorly i do!

I read a book called, "But I deserve this chocolate!" and I found it really helpful. It's written by a psychologist, and there's lots of techniques in it to help with cravings.

I personally am a very strong believer in moderation-everyone is different, but I think ultimately "banning" yourself from foods often leads to binging on them. I find it hard where there's lots of junk food or options around, but easier when i pre-plan the amount that i'm going to eat.