How do you deal with cravings?
 

So I've been getting better and better at not bringing crap into the house and I find that if I don't buy it, I can't eat it, which works really well and the weight comes off a lot easier if I'm not trying to justify a large lunch as thought it'll be my only meal as the calories get racked up.

When the cravings kick in, I know it's difficult to just ignore them, but is there something you guys do to help curb the feeling, or keep your mind off of it during the day? I've been finding that smaller portions and more throughout the day have been helping keep me so I don't feel hungry and don't get as many urges, but there are still those times where I feel that I need some sort of giant burger with cheese and bacon... maybe gum... maybe something else?

What do you guys do to deal with it?

Honestly ... I indulge it, in moderation as best I can.

Granted, it probably hurts me in the short term, by way of weight loss, but I hate making things off-limits. For me it sets me up to fail.

I need to get better with the moderation part ;) but I'm getting there.

don't buy it from the store in the 1st place and it's harder to just grab it when the mind says it wants it if it's not there.

As far as Burgers go..... go get that burger w cheese and bacon, ask for extra lettuce too, skip the fries all together and order a tea or something "light" in the soda machine. Learn to compromise in what you pick.

I drink a big glass of water and try to get busy doing something non-food related. I also keep 100 calorie packs of nuts and 70 calorie Babybel cheeses aroound for snacks I find a proactive snack mid afternoon or mid morning does a lot to keep the big cravings from tempting me to eat seriously bad stuff.


BB (300+ ->167 in 2 years. 2 lbs to hit my goal)

I agree with the "if you don't buy it you can't eat it" strategy. If I could control my cravings I wouldn't be fat in the first place. Still, everything is a process. I have kids in the house so there is always going to be some stuff I shouldn't eat - it helps to preportion it... for example put some chips in a bowl rather than sitting there with the bag.

Eating fruit always seems to help. i don't know why but if you eat a little crappy food you'll crave more but a nice apple cleanses the palate of those cravings (for me)

I think about how crappy I looked and felt when I was heavier.

Me too for the most part, though I try to keep heathier things around to curb the cravings - dark chocolate, fruits, nuts, fruit pop-sickles, turkey burgers, portobello mushrooms on the grill etc. But if I want a Coke or Ice Cream, I have it...just in moderation.

Same here ... a lot of times I'll try to opt for something healthier, an apple, a banana, fruit if there's some in the house.

But there are times when I just want something and I do it ... I don't go crazy with it, but I don't deny myself. I turn into a petulant baby if I do :)

My problem isn't cravings as much as when I ride more I feel like I'm ALWAYS hungry.

I almost went for a cookie at work last night. Opted instead for some fresh strawberries and pineapple chunks. The sugars in the fruit help me fight off other things. I also allow myself 1-2 "cheat meals" in a week where IN MODERATION I allow myself foods I normally couldn't have while dieting. For example: I'll go to McDonalds, get a single with cheese, a medium french fry, and a 20 oz. Sprite. You can't go nuts though.

snack on some protein, I used to toast some precooked perdue chicken cutlets in the morning and put them in a tupperware with some baby carrots and nibble on both during the day between meals.

Protein helps a lot ...

Don't buy junk food is good advice. Stick with home-cooked meals instead of eating out. And for heaven sakes, stay away from anything high in sugar / bubbly (soda/pop/coke/pepsi/whatever-you-call-it) that stuff will ruin any diet and/or jeopardize your bike training if you're on one. A 8oz cup of light iced tea or coffee with very little or no sugar should give you more than enough caffeine for the day.

One more tip... Get a hobby, even if it's just riding or fixing a bike. Whenever you feel a craving coming on, do something! You'll be surprised how fast you'll forget all about food when you're busy doing something.

If it's not in the house works great for me. My BIG problem's are three thing's: Frist, my wife know's my weaknesses and buys them and bring's them home and puts them where I can see them (I tell her not to but she defies me), Second and third, when I am on my bike or in my car, I can't help but go in a store and buy Junk. I am desperate, the only solution I can think of is get rid of my wife (of 47 years) my bike and my car and I don't know if I can part with the bike. Any solutions???

eating A cookie a day isn't bad, eating half the bag on the otherhand can have some problems. Self control is a must!! BTW I'd sell my cars before I sell my bikes:thumb:

For me I ate what I wanted and controlled portions and intake. If I ate a 700 cal burger then I only had 1150 cals left to eat minus what I had already eaten that day. There were days when I knew we were going out that I ate a lot of Fruits and vegies that other meals and kept meals small. I also did a ride or a walk to be able to eat at the Chinese place for supper. Some days I ate knowing I was going to pay for it later by a short term weight gain. The thing is to not do the craving thing daily!

getting rid of the wife is going to be expensive ...

But it'd be her before the bike for sure ;)

Ha! How true this seemed to be. The only reason I'm losing weight is because my wife decided enough is enough and quit buying the junk food for the kids because she was eating it. I've been telling her seems like forever to quit buying it because if it's there, we'll eat it. Heck, the kids don't need to eat it either. She finally started riding her exercise bike in the basement and started first, eating breakfast which she never did, and eating lunch which she often skipped, and quit buying the junk food. She started seeing results and that is what you need to happen to make it stick, see results.

We've never ate garbage for actual meals. We grow our own beef, chicken, and eggs. She has always bought organic fresh vegetables or we ate from our attempt at a garden (always ends up a horrible harvest.) Even with junk food, we mostly ate things that she baked. My daughter was 4 years old when Mom said while grocery shopping, "Maybe we'll just pick up a box cake (box of cake mix)" and my daughter at 4 years old didn't know what that was. She had never had cake or cookies from the store before.

School got us into a real bad rut. My wife thought she needed to be stocked up on stuff like snack cakes and cookies and stuff for packing school lunches. I think that is finally done with. She doesn't buy as much any more (still have it now and then, like the Chips Ahoys we ate last weekend....)

I moved to five smaller meals a day which cut down on cravings because you are eating on a regular basis so you don't get as hungry.

What's been working for me (5# so far this month!) has been using the WebMD food/fitness tracker, though I'm pretty sure that any of them will work. I happen to have a really good memory, so I can't cheat and forget, and I have been scrupulous about entering what I eat.

I pay SOME attention to the total calories input/output, but mostly it's the thought of having to enter 'Wendy's Bacon Cheeseburger, 800 calories; Fries, 450 calories' that stops me and gets me to pack a sandwich and a couple pieces of fruit for lunch. It's really gotten me to thinking about what I want to "spend my calories" on - one little dish of peanuts is worth the 200 calories, but do I really need a second one? Before this, I would have just gone for it.

The other thing is that I'm the one who does the food shopping, and I just don't buy snack foods anymore, and I buy lots of fruit when it's in season. If it's not in the house, I can't eat it.

Drink a 16oz glass of cold water or Crystal Light. Eat a single piece of fruit---like an apple, peach, banana or pear--NOT a pineapple, cantaloupe or honeydew melon. If it's grapes, one moderate handful only--not a catcher's mitt piled high with them. The personal bottom line I discovered years ago was that I had to accustom myself to a drastically diminished amount of food (and calories and carbs) per day. After I made that painful transition, the cravings went 99.5% away.

To this day, though -- the one hunger that's the hardest of all--ever--for me to deal with is that intense, raging hunger that overpowers me after 30 to 60 minutes of lap swimming. That one hits me like an out-of-control wildfire in a drought zone and it's all I can do to not cram a 1,500 calorie meal into my face.

Depends, if I am craving an item I eat it. If I am craving just food, I try to refocus on something else. The more you deny a specific craving the worse its will be, and the more likely you will overdue it when you have it. I love Weight watchers, figure my points out and move on.

For me, cravings mean I've gone too far low fat. Usually 1/2 avocado does the trick. But I've been a very slow loser compared to many here. 60# over 3 years.

Do a search on intermittent fasting. I am not sure if I am sold on it or not but after a couple weeks I have fewer cravings and weigh less

I will indulge myself, like today I woke up tasting hot dogs, so I bought some when shopping and had them for dinner. Also some Oreos because, dammit, I wanted some. But I will make sure I get up to ride in the morning and beat it out of my on the trials.

I'll usually grab a few almonds and a big glass of water.. Losing weight and keeping it off is so hard and a lot of mental toughness is required. For me it's a lifetime affair.