What Do you All Do when You Have urges?

I usually just give in (lol) but Its 2008 and I'm finally ready to do the hard work.

 Maaaaaaaan, its hard!!

I love sweets and chips. And Even when I resist the BAD food I still pig out on nuts and stuff.

What do you guys do when you have urges, and how did you stay focused when you first started?

Depends on what the urges are, but I usually go for a vegetable or a sweet fruit.

First thing - get rid of the sweets and bad snacks.  If you have urges, I recomend you try Dr Sahelian's Diet-Rx or Byron Richards Leptin Control.   Eat more protein in the morning - it will drastically reduce evening cravings.

http://www.raysahelian.com/  http://www.wellnessresources.com/products/lep tin_control_pack.php 

When I have urges for sweets, I eat a mini pixie stick (about half the size of the ones that are the straws,  they sell them in the bulk candy). Yes, its pure sugar, but it can take you a LONG time to eat one and then your urge is gone. And as long as everything else you eat is low in sugar, it will be fine. however, they are not such a good idea if you think you might just end up binging on them

I have 3 tactics I try... First, try eating a pickle.  I know, it sounds weird, but apparently something with your tastebuds reactions to sweet and sour is supposed to get confused by it.  It's supposed to help subdue the craving.

Second, keep busy if you can.  When you crave a sweet, go to the gym or take a walk or do some crunches.  Just get your body moving and focus on something else.

And if that all fails... try a 100 calorie pack.  They're low on the guilt-factor, but they satisfy that sweet craving.  Don't keep anything junk-foody in the house.  Throw out chips and cookies and replace them with the 100 calorie packs or nuts or rice cakes... whatever!

Suger Free Jello with fresh fruit usualy shuts me up lol also pickles and pork rinds ^^; wow im such a pig lol

Okay, I tried this yesterday.. You may think it's crazy but... try it.. I love Doritos... So what I did yesterday was I would only let myself eat the full triangular ones.  Go figure, with my luck, there were only 5. Yup.. that's all I ate and I took teeenie weenie bites.. h aha ha ha.. killed the crazving without all the calories.

:)

i chew gum . sugar free gum

Original Post by groupiegirlnj:

And if that all fails... try a 100 calorie pack.  They're low on the guilt-factor, but they satisfy that sweet craving.  Don't keep anything junk-foody in the house.  Throw out chips and cookies and replace them with the 100 calorie packs or nuts or rice cakes... whatever!

Nothing like 100 empty cals to boost insulin and increase cravings....... an apple is 72 cals......

I look at myself in the mirror naked

AHHHHH KEEP FOOD AWAY FROM ME


Lol :)



(PS I do not have an eating disorder, just a warped sense of humour)

i havent been good with keeping away from temptation. :{

i used to be able to do the,

look at myself naked i nthe mirror and be like... ojh hell no im not eating that.

but now,

i realized how much funnions are so good,

and blah blah blah

too much food. now im at the most wieght ive been,

it sucks. i think i should jsut lay around naked too

hahahaha

THAT IS NOT AND INVITE!

:P

in the recent past i've been letting the urges win, but that just made me gain back some of the weight it took me forever to lose. so i've gotten back into it.   i have some of the same cravings as you, but i'm totally a slut for ice cream.

what i've found is that the cravings will go away if i eat something with protein in it. my usual go-to is an apple with a 1 oz. low-fat sharp cheddar cheese stick. especially late at night. i also try fat-free pudding cups and  fat-free yogurts. 

i also try to ride out the craving. if i'm really jonesin' for some NY super fudge chunk, which i don't "keep" in the house (ice cream doesn't stay in the fridge long enough to stay cold around me), then i won't go buy it. i'll fight the urge, sometimes for days. but i'm only human; if i can't fight it after three days, and i'm actually trying to fight it, then i go buy it. but, here's the thing. b&j, those dairy demi-gods, have now started selling their ice-crack in single serving cups! so i'll buy one and eat it, at home, with the built-in teeny-tiny spoon they provide. ahhh....

On the first few months I started, before I was on CC, I did not go cold turkey on the things I craved. The only minor change I did was to have a little of it or change it to a better alternative.

When I finally joined CC, I actually made the things I crave fit into my calorie intake. So in the end, it's all about portion control and trying to eat as healthy as possible. Doing this helped me to not binge because I heard depriving yourself completely only serves to fuel the desire to do so.

That, and I tell myself that my eating habits need to change to not only lose the weight but keep it off.

I keep a rubber band around my wrist, and whenever I get munchies I snap it, not hard enough to do any damamge, but hard enough to sting a little-it takes my mind off the food. Sometimes I brush my teeth and then put on some tooth whitening stuff. You can't eat or drink for 30 minutes with that stuff on, it also works pretty well for me. If all else fails, I do a few chores around the house. gather up a load of laundry, scrub the toilet, etc. Takes my mind right off it!

I usually take that as my hint to grab a piece of fruit. I quells the urge.

Another tactic that is just a flat out cheat is that I keep a small container of "reception sticks." The kind I like are thin peppermint sticks dipped in chocolate. Only 15 calories, b/c they are so tiny, but hits the chocolate spot!

My biggest urge is beef. I know that's odd but at least twice a week I just really want a big drippy steak or a quadrupple-handburger-hold-whatever-isn't-mea t-or-ketchup (and bring me a bib?)

Mostly it helps to not have it around, but I have 3 roommates... one who eats out religiously.  Sometimes I have a cig and sometimes I pick up the nearest book (easy in my place) and start reading. Or I watch TV (D:) recently I've been watching TV in the apartment complex' workout room while riding the stationary bike or trying not to fall off the treadmill. Sometimes I just work out extra to make up for some of the calories of my not-as-large-normal-hamburger.

Sugar free gum helped me a lot in the beginning. Worked like a charm.

However, I've gotten to the point where I don't need the gum anymore. After doing this for 5 months, I've learned to control food - and not let it control me.

It's very hard at first, but after awhile, it gets easier to resist bad foods. Especially when you see how far you've come in weight loss.

Loosing weight is a journey of self control more than anything else.  It's a mental battle.  When I started  I forced myself to keep track of EVERY little thing I ate and when I hit my count for the day, I was done... No more till tomorrow.  You eventually find that you feel better for the day when you eat the healthy foods than when you eat junk and go hungry.  It becomes much easier once you get to that point.  The hard part for me was letting go of the obsessive tendencies once I got there, but I believe that is also part of a healthy lifestyle.

I didn't like tricking myself into not eating it, or distracting myself from it.   It's a battle of wills against yourself.  There are a lot of things in life that you can't control, but you CAN control what you eat and what you don't - the only person keeping you from your goal is yourself.

Good luck in 2008!  

Cravings!  They make me crazy!!  I've only just got back on this wagon to help get off my extra 10 pounds I gained while eating my way through the holidays.  Now that I'm weaning myself off chocolates, cookies and chips, it's all I can do not to give in.  The evenings are the worse for me so here's my little trick.  

If it's chocolate i'm craving, i give in to one little, teeny weeny Lindor Dark Chocolate Square (70%).  they are 30 calories each but so rich that it's usually all I need.  I've also found that a cup of hot cocoa (homemade with actual cocoa and hot water and 1 splenda package) is great.  For a treat I like to top with fat free coolwhip - whipped topping on anything feels like dessert! 

 If it's salt that I'm craving - for me, it's EDAMAME!!  It's a quick steam, top with a little coarse salt and i'm good to go!  It's slow to eat so its satisfying but low in calories and high in protein so it's really good for you!  I'm down 2 pounds this week...only 8 more to go!

delay delay delay.  most urges/cravings are temporary.  rather than denying myself, i tell myself that i can have it, if i still want it later.  i have a glass of skim milk or a few almonds, a meal if it's time, or go for a walk.  chances are i forget what i was craving.

Original Post by strikez:

Original Post by groupiegirlnj:

And if that all fails... try a 100 calorie pack.  They're low on the guilt-factor, but they satisfy that sweet craving.  Don't keep anything junk-foody in the house.  Throw out chips and cookies and replace them with the 100 calorie packs or nuts or rice cakes... whatever!

Nothing like 100 empty cals to boost insulin and increase cravings....... an apple is 72 cals......

If you read my whole post, it was a last resort.  And I recommended keeping other things that were healthier around as well.  Oh well.