Dealing with cravings

[Moochiecat]

Lots of talk about cravings in here these last few days so I thought I'd address them a bit.
Some folks take Chromium or L-Carnitine to combat cravings. I started Chromium on day 1 of Atkins so I haven't anything to compare to know whether it cut them down for me or not. I think I felt stronger emotionally taking them, so I guess it worked in a roundabout way.

Having said that there are a few things to think about when you find yourself climbing the walls with a craving.

It's a good idea to keep journal of your foods and your moods (either handwritten or at www.fitday.com) and see if there is a pattern between a particular food and the craving. Do you get them after you eat bacon? Tomatos? deli meats? Celery? If you find something that seems to be a 'trigger', cut that food out for a few days, then reintroduce it and see how you feel. It could be that something is messing with your blood sugars and causing you to get cravings.

You want to think about whether it happens at a certain time of day. In the past, did you usually have a treat at that time of day? Personally, I found evenings were my rough time because that's when I'd haul out the chocolate or the popcorn. It was a craving brought on by a habit I had formed.

Sometimes a craving can be brought on for both reasons. Maybe you used to always enjoy a pastry with a cup of tea...and now when you have tea you feel like something is missing.

Whatever the reason, it's no fun to be obsessed with thoughts of foods you shouldn't have. I had many a tense evening at my house in the early days...I was angry (both at what the foods had done to me and at the fact that I couldn't have them anymore) and I was resentful that other people could eat these things without having the problems I did.

We are so used to being mindless with food. Ever been sitting there with a bag of cookies/chips/whathaveyou and you look down and see it's empty...but not really remember eating all of it? I've been there done that. We have to learn how to stay with ourselves when it comes to eating...to not let our mind shut off in the middle of it. We have to learn to talk to ourselves as if we were talking to a friend.
"Do you really need a second helping or can you stop now and eat later if you are still hungry?" "Will having 'just one bite' of that cookie help or hurt?" "Wow, I'd really like a big bite of that illegal food, but instead, I'll have a big glass of water and wash that icky thought right out of my head."
"I usually have a treat at this time of day, but instead I'll eat an egg(or something legal) and I'll start on that hobby to keep my hands busy."

Physically move your body when you find that cravings are bothering you. Get up, walk around the house or go around the block. Do some stretches and deep breathing.

Stay in the moment, stay conscious of what you are doing. Redirect your thoughts from the craving, to the vision of what you are going to look like in a few months or next year.
Think about all the really cool things losing weight will give you...like being able to walk into a regular store and buy something right off the rack. Like being able to leave a restaurant without people parting like the Red Sea to let you through.
Think about what that illegal food will do for you. It'll make you fat. It'll make you sad that you ate it. It'll ruin the wonderful progress you've made.


Another thing I found worked for me was to eat if I was craving something...after all, Atkins is not a diet of denial when it comes to the Acceptable Foods list. Instead of eating what my craving was calling out for, I ate on MY terms...I'd have a boiled egg, or some kind of snack that was a protein/fat combo. I wanted to teach my body that if it was truly hungry, it would get fed, but it had to learn that I wasn't going to cave in to any of it's stupid whims anymore.
I also tell myself that I know what chocolate tastes like, what cake tastes like..and pie, and pastry and so on....I've eaten some version of everything out there, so I'm not missing out on anything at all. I'm missing out on all the side effects those foods cause me, and that's no loss whatsoever.

I hope some of this is helpful! Sometimes it is comforting to know that someone else suffered with stuff like this...and oh man...I'm the poster child for this kind of suffering! lol

[Kate113]

Great advice! Thanks!

[ladyinred]

Thanks Mooch! Your pictures don't lie. You live this woe and it shows. Thanks for being such an inspiration to us all.

[Elizellen]

Thank you for giving those struggling with a sweet tooth or cravings some strategies to help them defeat their sugar monster.

[Rockhoppa]

oh i really needed this tonite! thank you!

i've just finished my first 2 weeks of an induction and for some reason tonite out of no where i'm DYING for something sweet. i might be going into PMS mode which is when i typically crave sweets and salts. anyway, i fought it off and am now ready for bed. thx

[Tiggerdagibit]

oh i really needed this tonite! thank you!

i've just finished my first 2 weeks of an induction and for some reason tonite out of no where i'm DYING for something sweet. i might be going into PMS mode which is when i typically crave sweets and salts. anyway, i fought it off and am now ready for bed. thx

omg.. I could've written that! I just finished my first 2 weeks and last night I was craving sweets too, for the first time.. out of nowhere! Well guess what.. TOM came today.. lol That explains a lot. That's so funny, I fought it and went to bed too.

Moochie.. I also thank you for this post. It helped me a lot last night. I copied and pasted it to Word so I'll have it whenever I need it.

[Moochiecat]

Oh good, I'm glad this is helping!
Believe me, this is something I've had my battles with.

I remember my mind dwelling on thoughts of illegal food and I would quite literally say, outloud very firmly "NO. STOP IT. You don't need that, so just stop it!!"
(don't do that in the grocery store, they look at you funny if you do..lol)
But seriously, the more real I made it, the stronger I felt.

I also would (and still do!) positive reinforce myself for every little thing that was a victory.
If I took the stairs I would tell myself that each step knocked some fat off my body. When I would go for a walk I'd say to myself "I'm doing this!! I'm really out here doing this!!" and each time I'd pass through the bakery section at the grocery store I'd look at it as if it were racks and racks of sugary poison, and I'd think about all the pain and anguish eating all of that has given me over the years. And when I'm past that section, I do my little Rocky Balboa dance inside and know that I'm a winner!

All these things sound so corny, but they work for me. After all, if I'm not my own cheering section, who will be? It all boils down to me.

[Tiggerdagibit]

That's great! I also think to myself.. I've done this before, quit, and gained back what I had lost PLUS more. If I give in or quit I'll be back in the same boat. Just imagine what I'd look and feel like if I hadn't quit 2 1/2 years ago! Then I get mad.. lol.

All these things sound so corny, but they work for me. After all, if I'm not my own cheering section, who will be? It all boils down to me.

That's so true. No matter how much support you have, it's up to you to make it work and stick to it.

Congrats on your successes and thanks for the inspiration!

[FLLOWCARBER]

I also tell myself that I know what chocolate tastes like, what cake tastes like..and pie, and pastry and so on....I've eaten some version of everything out there, so I'm not missing out on anything at all. I'm missing out on all the side effects those foods cause me, and that's no loss whatsoever.



That is so true..I'm sure there are foods out there that we haven't tasted that taste really good, but are bad for us..but we are living without it ...

Its so much easier though when its out of site, out of mind, a little harder when its sitting at the table next to you...but we need to make choices and live in our body with those choices.

Thanks for your inspiring post

[Rockhoppa]

Originally Posted by Tiggerdagibit

omg.. I could've written that! I just finished my first 2 weeks and last night I was craving sweets too, for the first time.. out of nowhere! Well guess what.. TOM came today.. lol That explains a lot. That's so funny, I fought it and went to bed too.

glad you were able to fight it off too! my rational is, if i can get thru PMS and TOM, i'm good to go