How to control cravings?
 

How do you guys control your cravings.

I dnt have sweet cravings i have cravings for carbs and salty snacks.

I had a bowl of porridge for breakfast at 11.30 and in my stomach i feel full

But i have cravings for some rice and chicken curry my mum made last night and dont know why i want it so badly.

And i dont want a small bit...i want to eat alot! :(

I just started this journal but here are some of the things that have been working for me so far...

Water, water, water

I have to remind myself "its now or never." I am a big procrastinator so I will usually tell myself " I'll just have a few doritos today and do better tomorrow but I never do better tomorrow so "its now or never" seems to help me when I want something bad.

Sometimes you just have to indulge on what you really want otherwise you wast calories substituting and eventually eat what you wanted in the first place. If you are worried about controlling your portions when you really want to binge you can share the leftovers with a friend or family member.

i had the oddest craving last night. On my plan there is a cut off time for eating calorie foods.

I'm allowed lemons and water and anything neglible calories during the day when not eating. I don't know if I was craving a tequila or what??? I had 4 boys for 3 days. 3 of them very active. I only have one very active son. I was stressed to the max last night and finally the 2 other active ones left!

I suddenly had the urge to suck on a lemon and lick salt. so I did. good compromise and so tasty!

I have heard of using atomic fireballs too. I remember when I was younger--I would crave sour things...so I ended up eating sour heads. The lemon and salt is a much more diet wise substitute.

I believe in substitution and moderation. Not ignoring the craving.

i have just noticed another craving.

I just ate a really nice spicy chickpea salad and noticed straight after...i wanted somethint sweet!

is my body trying to tell me something? its really annoying!

i had an orange but on another day this would have been a chocolate bar!

sweet compliments spicy taste wise, but maybe the body is signaling you NEED something sweet.

here's a good answer from yahoo answers:

We crave for the endorphin rush. After eating something spicy, our nerves feel pain. These pain signals are immediately transmitted to the brain. The brain interprets this signal and automatically releases endorphins (the body's natural pain killer). Once the endorphins kick in, it creates a temporary feeling of euphoria. We then begin to crave for this feeling.



The endorphins control our inclination toward certain kinds of foods. One of our strongest cravings is for sweets. Sweets like chocolate causes an endorphin rush. Chocolate is the most popular endorphin-producing food on Earth. Chocolate is derived from cacao beans that were revered by the Aztecs, who believe that eating chocolate would confer wisdom and vitality. In addition to sugar, caffeine and fat, chocolate contains more than 300 different constituent compounds, including anandamide, a chemical that mimics marijuana's soothing effects on the brain.

I'm a craver too. If it's bad for me or I'm trying to avoid it I want it, and I mean I want it bad so you know what I do.

I GIVE IN! I allow myself to have a bite and count every calorie! I also substitute. There are these 60 calorie puddings by the yogurt and they fix my chocolate craving and make me feel naughty because their so good! I find that denying myself results in me not wanting to stick with the diet.

Some people brush their teeth. I chew gum. When I finish a meal, if there's not a piece of SF gum in my mouth... watch out!! Cravings don't go away entirely per se, but the mouth-cravings (like sweets after a meal) aren't as bad.

If you have a salt craving, try cup-o-soup. cream of chicken has 60 cals & it's very filling. hope this helps ;)