[justagirlinthecity]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and have been on my diet for 2 weeks. My biggest problem though is cravings. Everything cheesy or carb-y or oily. I finally gave in yesterday and ate a Wendy's burger combo meal, thinking that would take care of the cravings, but its made them worse! Also, I've found since stopping the takeaways and other junk (which was at least 80% of my diet), sleep has gone out the window and my emotions have been crazy. I finished my period last week so I thought things would get better but they really haven't. Could these be withdrawal symptoms? I know addicts cope with crazy withdrawal symptoms, and I often refer to myself as being addicted to food, but I never expected to feel this bad!

[Smiffmama]

I'm in in the exact same boat as you. I gave in this morning and ate a nutty nutty. Ugh. I'm freaking addicted to carbs. It's worse at night and in the mornings when I first wake up! All we can do is not dwell and not give up I guess.. I miss my fatty cakes, and my chips and dip, and my chocolate bars!!!
But I don't want to be fat anymore. So I have to stop acting fat. It's the mentality that is going to make or break us! I read this amazing post that said our bodies consistently crave food! If you are or have been obese your body releases hormones to make you hungry, and make you retain fat. And this sucks. But it just means its a lifestyle change. And we've GOT to beat this! I know we can do this! If you ever want to talk shoot me a message.

[AwShucks]

All I can share is my own experience, and in my case, I just had to white knuckle it until whatever I was giving up was out of my system. The biggest challenge I had was sugar. I've been sugar free for up to a year at a time several times in my life. When I don't eat sugar, I don't crave it. If I give in and have just a little treat, it leads to more, and more, and pretty soon, I want it all the time. Giving it up is really hard - all I do is think about how I can't have it. Then, suddenly, after about 3 or 4 days, it's just a non-issue. Someone can eat a cupcake right in front of me and I don't want it. Since I've experienced this phenomenon several times, now, I see it as a pattern with my body and mind. My suggestion is to just bite the bullet and give up whatever it is that you're trying to resist. Think about it, rant about it (you can do it here!) but don't give in to the urge. You just might find that with a little time, you can get past those cravings. Best of luck to you both!

[blazergirl24]

I know EXACTLY how you guys feel! I feel like cheese & carbs are my downfall lol. I'm lucky I've never really been big on sweets but with cheese, OMG! I saw on Dr Oz or the Doctors the other day that cheese is said to be one of the most addictive things for us. I read somewhere last night that if you can give something up for 3 days, that gives your body a chance to sort of detox from it & then you really have a chance to start giving it up. Fast food is my big problem. One thing I think about when I'm tempted to eat out, is that we are at war with fast food companies. They want to keep me addicted to the crap they're selling & I don't want them to have that power over me so it helps me to resist it.

I also started using this app called "my diet coach." it has this panic button you can press when you're having a craving. after you press it, it starts a 20-minute timer. The idea is to wait the 20 minutes & then after that decide if you really want that food. It's helped for the most part, a few times I've still wound up cheating.

It is hard but we can do it & it will be so worth it!!!

[BigChiefHoho]

I struggle with that every time I try to cut certain foods out. The way I solved it is by not cutting them out. Instead, I count calories, which allows me to eat whatever I want as long as I eat it in moderation and incorporate it into my daily calories. If I want a burger and fries, I get a small burger and kiddie fries for a total of about 600 calories, which is totally doable in my calorie budget. I like to bake, so today I made chocolate chip cookies with my son and ate five of them (140 calories each, so I had to cut down on dinner to make room in my calorie allotment). I eat plenty of protein and produce, too, but I know for a fact that if I cut out the treats completely I'll give up and binge.

[IanG]

You need protein and good fats. That will take care of it.

Eat eggs. And fish. Especially, oily fish like salmon.

And if you want carbs...oats for breakfast.

[justagirlinthecity]

Thanks everyone for the support and advice!! It's so nice to have a space to rant and not feel judged. Looking forward to moving on from the cravings stage and into feeling the rewards of healthy choices.

[Palestrina]

What is your diet like? If it's too restrictive it's bound to cause cheating and binges. Your have to make sure it's a balanced diet. You can survive without sugar however you do have to have some protein and keep your blood sugar levels even in order to feel sane. Without knowing what your diet is its impossible to know if it's even appropriate to say "you can do it!" Because some diets can be ridiculous.

[StephanieAZ]

I enjoy what I love, but I do it in moderation now. Instead of eating a whole pizza and an entire order of crazy bread, I eat a reasonable portion (based on WW points). And I don't do it every day, but maybe once a week. Something that may help is to tell yourself that if you still want *whatever-yummy-thing-you're-craving" tomorrow, then you can have it tomorrow (in moderation). This helps me. If I still want it the next day, then I go ahead and have it, but a lot of times the craving has passed.

Good luck! We are here for you.

[kelijpa]

I read an article recently about sodium and cheese was one of the higher sodium items.

I'll have to see if I can find the article that talks about if you're craving certain things there are other foods you can eat that will get rid of the cravings.

As usual, I agree with Ian, healthy proteins, like an egg will make you feel fuller, satisfied, which kills the craving. I've been known to eat a tin of smoked oysters, sometimes that does it for me. I will admit though, to sometimes eating an oz. of cheese because that satisfies some cravings for me, I'm partial to pepperjack cheese, I just eat the cheese, no cracker or whatever, sometimes eating low carb for awhile will lessen the pull of carbs for me.

Sometimes an avocado will satisfy, healthy fat, definitely Wendy's or other fast food won't do it. They're engineered to make you want to come back and eat more, that's the business they're in. I limit those kinds of things to the weekend like Wannabeskinny mentioned, restricting foods can actually make them more appealing, don't let them have power over you.

I absolutely do what StephanieAZ suggests, saying I can have it tomorrow or on the weekend really, really helps me, I'm not saying no, just not right now, it gives me a chance to think about WHY I want something.

Best of luck to you, keep working at it, you'll figure it out

[MauiKai]

I agree with Ian. When I get a carb obsession I turn to oatmeal for breakfast. Usually I eat steelcut but old fashioned is ok too.