[thirti4thirty]

I've been thinking of asking other forum members for this information for a long time now.
It's such a good thing to feel in control of binge episodes and all that. So what happens when you decide to ignore a craving, a serious horrendous craving for a certain food for a period of time? What happens and how does it end?

[Rechyl]

it goes two ways for me,

1. i obsess over it and make myself miserable for the whole day until i go to sleep
2. i tell myself i can have it later and "forget" about it

[rosestara]

Usually I distract myself by doing something time consuming or mind consuming like reading blogs or cleaning. Or I eat something that is allowed on whatever plan I am doing. Currently I am doing wonderslim and so when I have a craving I also think about how good the food that I am allowed to eat tastes and how lucky I am that I found something that works and how much I don't want to ruin it. I remind myself of the scale and how I don't want to be disappointed. Eventually the craving goes away.

[Locke]

Cravings come and go. Thoughts come and go. Feelings come and go. I just acknowledge them and then continue on with what I'm doing.

[Jesslan Rose]

Everybody elses experiences are way better than mine. LOL

If I get a serious craving for a food I fit it into my calories for the day and eat it. I found if I keep trying to ignore it and hope it goes away, in the end it usually doesn't and the craving completely overwhelms me and then I wind up eating a TON of totally unrelated food and in the end that craving is still there. If I just fit it in and eat it (and savor every single bite) the craving is then gone and crisis averted.

If it's just a little craving and I know I can get over it I talk to myself and give myself confidence talks. Like I can wait until a certain day for an even better food that's already fit into my calories or I ask myself what is more important... a fleeting craving or conquering my goal weight.

Everybody is different. We just have to find what works for us as an individual and understand that we will stumble and fall at times. As long as we keep getting up and moving forward we have not failed.

[wemakesparksfly]

I'm the same as Jesslan Rose, I find that if I try to ignore it I'll end up eating a whole lot of equally unhealthy food! I find that it's better to have a small amount of the food I'm craving and work around it

[Squeaky]

Same as Jesslan Rose and wemakesparksfly. I find if I have a small piece of what I want I'm OK, if I'm starting to obsess over it - or I find something similar that gets me out of it (if I want a burrito, I have peppers and onions).

[Palestrina]

If I'm truly hungry I eat some and get on with my life. If I try to use "willpower" to ignore it then it definitely ends in all all night bingefest for me. I cannot will away cravings.

Using techniques from "Brain Over Binge" I am learning to distance myself from cravings when I am not physically hungry. It's been working really well and cravings don't really bother me.

[Wannabehealthy]

I don't get a lot of cravings, as people know them. For years I have heard that if you are craving something, do something else for 20 minutes. If you still want that food 20 minutes later then eat it. In most cases, the craving will go away. Unfortunately, most of us just grab the food and eat it. If you don't keep it in the house, just the thought of having to leave and drive somewhere to get whatever it is you're craving, can kill the craving.

[Tee4Tee]

I think subconsciously I searched for this thread! I had very strong cravings yesterday. I am on the third week of the IP protocol. Yesterday I could have eating everything in sight. I resisted finding the strength to close the fridge, holding my breath so that I did not smell the wonderful smell of cheese from the cheese tray! I was soooo hard!! But I closed the fridge (this happened several times!) and moved on. What happened this morning was great. The feeling of accomplishment for not having given in to the craving was awesome! I am starting to "talk to my brain" because I know that in a subtle way I am attempting to sabotage the plan. So far I am doing well and have not cheated once since starting the program. By the way, I wish there were a different word for "Cheating", as it really sounds awful and degrading. But then again, it is awful when we abuse our bodies with food... so maybe...
Best,
Tee

[Swenea]

Actually, I don't withhold any of my cravings. Cravings are just signs that my body (or mind) is lacking something. It's just like the oil light flashing on my car. It's just telling me to pull over and fix something.

So depending on the craving I decide if it's physical/emotional need or just habitual. That lets me know what to do next. I might need some dopamine, or I'm low on serotonin. Am I near my period? Am I stressed out? Then I go give myself the thing to satisfy the craving. Sometime it's food and sometimes it's just a walk outside or even a good old-fashioned cry.

It all levels out in the end.

[Swinella]

The only thing that works for me is to take a nap. If I can do that, when I wake up 20 minutes later, the urge has passed. If I choose to not do that, I fight it for hours and ultimately cave-in.

[Bostoncreamprincess]

Usually I end up compromising with a dessert (sort of) that actually fits into my calories. For example if I want a donut I would eat a protein pancake or something but 95% of the time the craving stays and then I end up eating that thing I originally had the craving for plus the previous makeshift dessert plus a ton of other random stuff because I end up buying other junk with it 'just because'...