We all have them. No one is immune. We may not share a craving for the same food, at the same time, or for the same reasons . . . but everyone craves something. For the longest time I wondered what was wrong with me. I craved the goodies in the kitchen at work and honestly thought I was the only one that could not resist. Others can pass by that piece of cheesecake without a second glance. Not me! I glance. I stare. I drool a little. I might even take a picture with my cell phone to enjoy it later. Well, okay, maybe I don't go that far . . . but dealing with cravings has been the hardest aspect of my diet. (Sorry, new lifestyle.)

Here are some tips I found at Reader's Digest for dealing with cravings:

Avoid your triggers! "You crave what you eat, so if you switch what you're eating, you can weaken your old cravings and strengthen new ones," says Marcia Pelchat, PhD, of the Monell Center. This can happen pretty fast. For five days, her study volunteers drank bland dietary-supplement beverages. During that time, they craved fewer of their trigger foods. By the end of the study, the volunteers actually wanted the supplements instead. The first few days are always the hardest, and you probably can't completely eliminate your old cravings. But the longer you avoid your trigger foods, the less likely you may be to want them. In fact, you'll probably begin to crave the foods you eat, a real bonus if you've switched to fresh fruit.

(I believe in this one . . . for the longest time I actually craved asparagus. How strange is THAT?)

Destroy temptation! If you've succumbed to a craving and bought a box of cookies or some other trigger food and start to feel bad while eating it, destroy it. "Don't just throw it away; run water over it, ruin it. You'll feel a sense of accomplishment that you've licked your binge," says Caroline Apovian, MD, director, Nutrition and Weight Management Center at Boston Medical Center. Don't think about the money you're wasting. If the cookies don't go into the garbage, they're going straight to your hips.

(The garbage disposal works wonders!)

Go nuts! Drink two glasses of water and eat an ounce of nuts (6 walnuts, 12 almonds or 20 peanuts). Within 20 minutes, this can extinguish your craving and dampen your appetite by changing your body chemistry, says RD's "Health IQ" columnist Michael F. Roizen, MD.

(I've not tried this one. Let me know if it helps, willya?)

Jolt yourself with java! Try sipping a skim latte instead of reaching for a candy bar. The caffeine it contains won't necessarily satisfy your cravings, but it can save you the calories by quenching your appetite, says Dr. Roizen. And the warm richness and ritual can distract you.

(I try to avoid processed and unnatural sugars these days - yep a trigger for me! One little trick I have adopted when I am absolutely craving chocolate is to pour myself a cup of coffee and put in half of a pouch of hot chocolate mix (I go with sugar-free but fat-free would work, too.) No milk, no cream, no sugar. Just the mix. It has enough flavor and I can trick myself into pretending I am drinking a mocha cappucino.)

Let it go! Since stress is a huge trigger for cravings, learning to deal with it could potentially save you hundreds of calories a day. This will take some practice. You can try deep breathing or visualizing a serene scene on your own.

(And you won't pull out quite so much of your hair! A double bonus!)

Take a power nap! Cravings sneak up when we're tired. Focus on the fatigue: Shut the door, close your eyes, re-energize.

(OK, in the real world for those of us with jobs, kids, school, etc., this is not realistic. There have been times I will take off my glasses, put my hands over my eyes to block out the light, and just stop thinking for 5 minutes. Only 5 minutes. It really, truly helps. If you can't do it at your desk, go to the restroom. But it does help.)

Get minty fresh! Brush your teeth; gargle with mouthwash. "When you have a fresh, clean mouth, you don't want to mess it up," says Molly Gee, RD, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
(Another one I agree with! Really, who likes bbq potato chips mixed with the minty flavor of Crest? Not I!)

Distract yourself! If only ice cream will do, it's a craving, not hunger. "Cravings typically last ten minutes," says John Foreyt, PhD, of Baylor College of Medicine. Recognize that and divert your mind: Call someone, listen to music, run an errand, meditate or exercise.

(OR, run to the Weight Loss Forum and hang out like I am doing right now! )

Indulge yourself -- within limits! Once in a while, it's OK to go ahead and have that ice cream. But buy a small cone, not a pint. Try 100-calorie CocoaVia chocolate bars and 100-calorie snack packs of cookies, peanuts or pretzel sticks. The trick is to buy only one pack at a time so you won't be tempted to reach for more. And since even 100 extra calories can sabotage weight loss if you indulge daily, strike a bargain with yourself to work off the excess calories. A brisk 15-minute walk will burn 100 calories or so.

(I am a HUGE ice cream fan (freak!). I buy those little single cups so that I do not put waaaay too much in my bowl. It took me a while to realize that just one extra scoop DOES have calories and it really IS cheating. The single portions help keep me honest.)

Plan or avoid! Vary your usual routine to avoid passing the bakery or pizzeria. If you know you'll be face-to-face with irresistible birthday cake, allocate enough calories to fit it into your diet.

(If there is something you know you can not avoid - like the candy drawer at work - learn to become immune. Tell yourself it will always be there so it's no big deal and one day when you are stronger you will PLAN a small indulgence.)

I really hope this helped someone. It helped me while I was sitting here writing it because now my horrible craving has faded. I won! Go me!!

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Open your eyes & look within - are you satisfied with the life you are living? ~Bob Marley

Ill have to try those next time iam craving something! Good tip about the nuts and water ive never heard of that before but its worth a try!

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19yr, 5ft 1in, HW 20st CW 19st 1lbs GW2 19st GW3 18st 7lb GW4 18st GW5 17st 7lb U.G.W 8st U.G to fit into a size 8 (uk) lost so far 13lbs my diary!

Thanks for the post!

Okay heres my opinion on these, ive tried a few things and others ive stumbled over.

Absolutly, since i started this meat and veg diet only with the odd fruit for snack, ive had no cravings for anything at all, in fact ive cut breads and cakes and stuff and anything flour based and suddenly its so friggen easy its nuts!

Probably the dieters hardest lesson to learn, but once learnt a very very empowering tool. you feel horrible about doing it both before and during, but once its done its like a ray of sunshine hitting you and you feel suddenly very fantastic. Ive been known to grab a piece of cake, take a couple bites, realize that i did wrong, and then literally ran to the bin, spat it out and thrown it away.

Ooo now that explains a lot, I found a particular nutty muesli bar would cure most of my cravings, it used to have lots of nuts so i wonder if that was why?

hah i use hot drinks a lot, great way to kill hunger cravings without loading up on calories. Trim milk and no sugar.

Yah, being tired or having a full bowel tends to make me eat. Stress does a bit, but i just learn to go to bed or something else instead of eating now
ive been known to do a 20 min powernap during my lunch break at work, or on my desk.

Yep that one works too. I think its more just about 'feeling good'. Sometimes a shower or being clean and looking nice helps.

I dont do cravings so much any more, but i often try to substitute it with something that tastes the same or has similar texture without the calories. For ice cream you can get a McDonalds soft serve which has only 100 calories. Not to sure about other countries but here i can get lite/diet yoguert that is the flavour of things like cheesecake and lemon merangue etc which covers that kinda thing.

YES! thats a good one, i go out to curry every second thursday, so on that day i cut the calories in breaky and lunch so i can eat more at dinner without the guilt. Either that or i pre-emptively burn them off cycling that day and the next.

Heres one more that ive learnt. If you dont buy it you cant eat it. If you know you have a problem with ice cream, then remove it from the freezer, dont have it around. This way if you get a craving its a pain in the butt to go get it.
Find ways to make it hard to get those foods should you have a craving.

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SW: 330 | CW: 163 | GW: 150
How im doing it | Progress Pics | Homepage

I'm glad you said this. I think it will help a lot. on the weekends and days when I don't do anything I tend to wear baggy old clothes, and not do my hair or put on makeup. Sometimes I don't even shower. And I always eat so much more on those days.

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Those are all really good! I disagree with #2 though about throwing away or 'destroying' sweet/unhealthy foods. It's a waste of food and money. I gave mine away to my little brother, or people that I knew would enjoy them and didn't have to worry about it going to waste.

-N-

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i do agree with that! i tend to give any unhealthy foods to my little cousin!

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19yr, 5ft 1in, HW 20st CW 19st 1lbs GW2 19st GW3 18st 7lb GW4 18st GW5 17st 7lb U.G.W 8st U.G to fit into a size 8 (uk) lost so far 13lbs my diary!

Okay so if you bought a cake for $4, and everyone in the household had 1 piece, and it was just sitting there begging you to eat it.

Would you eat it? or throw it away?

Weigh up the cost of weight loss, is $2 worth of cake really gonna kill you? do you really want to encourage other people to have a food problem by telling them its ok to eat second and third helpings?

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SW: 330 | CW: 163 | GW: 150
How im doing it | Progress Pics | Homepage

thats a good point wishes, i think if it was me depending on willpower i would ask if anyone else wanted the bit if not then throw the lil sucker away Lol but if i was having a bad day i probably would eat it!

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19yr, 5ft 1in, HW 20st CW 19st 1lbs GW2 19st GW3 18st 7lb GW4 18st GW5 17st 7lb U.G.W 8st U.G to fit into a size 8 (uk) lost so far 13lbs my diary!

Very good advice. I would follow this rule but then I had to teach Mike that just because I am craving something - going out to get it for me is not a good thing to do. Just let me crave it and eventually the craving will go away. I was proud of him one night last week. I was dying for something sweet. Nothing in particular, just something sweet. (I lean towards ice cream - and there was some in the freezer.) He brought me a bowl of ice cold watermelon, which saved me calories, saved my conscience, and ended my craving.

Thank you for giving your opinon on all of these points. You've obviously experienced very good results so your advice is worth taking into account.

__________________
Open your eyes & look within - are you satisfied with the life you are living? ~Bob Marley

It always seem like cravings strike about an hour or two before mealtime. And it's always sugar and salty snacks...never carrot sticks!! I find that chewing on ice really helps to curb the munchies when they strike and it helps tide me over until it's time to eat.

I know that Wishes is right lol. I just get this guilty feeling throwing away food because of what my grandparents told my parents and told me "There are kids starving in China/Ethiopia" ... But I guess the thing is, whether you eat it or throw it away they're still not gonna get it!

I still give food to my bro though because he's so skinny it won't affect him ever!

-N-

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That's very true! I find that if my mouth stays busy I don't eat nearly so much. lol, I used to chomp ice so much (I mean, seriously, cupfuls a day) that I began getting headaches. I'm more into moderation now.

And, Night, I totally understand what you mean. With the cost of food going up it is so hard to just toss it away. I've made a rule for myself: If it's freezable or someone else can eat it, I won't toss it. BUT, if the first two don't apply, down the disposal it goes. (Sometimes I have to repeat this mantra before I can actually throw it out though: Better in the trash than on my hips. . . . )

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Open your eyes & look within - are you satisfied with the life you are living? ~Bob Marley