Whether it's pizza , fast food, or candy .. I'm sure i'm not the only one who starts strong with a balanced diet only to fall back because of strong cravings for the foods I wasn't ready to give up. For me it's ice cream and fast food. I'm a fast food addict. I'm asking what do you guys do to keep on track? Sometimes baby carrots just aren't enough for me.

Its never any actual food that sets me off these days . . . for me its just a need to eat that many many many different situations set off. Basically any level of anxiety pushes me in that direction.

Theeeeeeeen, when I have any item of food that is not on my magical "plan" whatever that plan is . . . thats when I fall off the ledge and find myself face down in a pizza box (metaphorically ofcourse ).

For me its managing that need for 'perfection' and seeing that my life WILL include "naughty" foods . . . its just how I manage that that is the challenge really. I am trying to be more intuitive and undo many years of damage that restrictive dieting has done to my lil noggin'

My weakness is potato chips. My husband keeps them in the house, and I can't have just one, so I try my hardest to have none. BUT, there are days when I KNOW nothing I am going to eat is going to fill my potato chip void. So I thinly slice potatoes with the skin on. Spray w/Pam, sprinkle w/salt, pepper & Cajun Seasoning and bake in the oven. Totally kills my potato chip craving & it's not nearly as bad for me.

I think the key is trying to figure out what type of food you're craving, and coming up with a healthy substitute. If i'm craving sweets, fruit doesn't always do it for me, but a Chocolate Fiber One bar or a Skinny Cow Ice Cream will. Pizza's a tough craving to beat. I'd have a Low Cal English Muffin Pizza. Split your muffin, top w/sauce & low fat mozzarella, & bake until the cheese is melted. Or one of those Lean Cuisine Pizzas.

Hope this helps!

When I startedc my diet, it was clear for me I wouldnt give up all y fav food such as pizza, ice cream and burgers. what i decided was to hold off for awhile to loose my weight THEN I will go moderately back to them. Like once a month pizza, once a week small dessert of mychoice etc.

So anytime right now I get a cravingfor them, I ask myself, is it worth to ruin all my efforts? Can i not wait a couple month more?

and I always drink lemon water. you would be suprise how a glass of lemon water will remove your cravings. There ws some research made on the lemon which I can find for you if you want, but just adding one slice to a glass of water makes all the difference for me.

To be honest I am a serious binger, I'd go and buy bags of food and eat it all in my room even though I didn't need it and I would feel so sick because I was full but I guess I didn't care . ( lol at me acting like it was so long ago! i binged so badly on the weekend).

If I crave chips/french fries, I can make homemade slimming world chips , which luckily I can eat as much as I want to in my diet and they taste nice!!

If I want something sweet , I'll get a low calorie ice lolly/ice cream or a sweet cereal bar or fat free yoghurt....

I walked into a bakery today and wanted to shoot myself , I was surrounded by cheesecake brownies, plain cheesecake, muffins, cupcakes , pastries.... I bought a brownie for my little cousin and left. I could have spent so much money in there! Thank god I didn't!

For a sweet tooth I make myself a yogurt parfait. It tastes good, is healthy, and it makes me feel like I'm having an ice cream sundae. I slice 6-7 medium sized strawberries in a small bowl, add a 100 calorie yogurt on top, then add a 1/4 cup dry roasted unsalted almonds on top of that. It adds up to 320 calories and it's very yummy!

Hi...I'm new to this forum & would like to enjoy your company!

I love the Sugar-Free Kozy Shack Rice Puddings -- they are very satisfying and seem to take the edge off. I've also just discovered that Sugar-Free Cool Whip with Strawberries & Blueberries are awesome. I sprinkle a little Sweet n' Lo over the fruit first then add some Cool-Whip....It's delicious!

Welcome!
That sounds sooo goood too!

I was a serious fast food and pizza addict myself. I really just had to quit. I'd tried just cutting back and it wasn't working. If I ate Wendy's one day then I had to have it again the next and then ooo Papa Johns and it would just spin out of control.

So I decided I had to break the habit and banned myself from those foods for a month. I knew if I said I was banning myself from them forever it would never work and I would backlash. But banning them for a week just wasn't long enough to break the habit for me. I did allow myself a few exceptions to make it more doable. I was allowed to have homemade pizza and Lean Cuisine or Smartones pizza (just no pizza from resturants or other frozen brands). And for fast food I figured I had to be allowed something in case I found myself in a bind timewise and needed food, well, fast. So my breakfast exception was that I could get a bagel and cream cheese from McDs or Chic-fil-a. My lunch/diner exception was the chargrilled chicken sandwich from Chic-fil-a with a fruit cup for the side. All other fast foods were banned.

The first week was a little rough, the second week was really rough, but by the third week I was starting to get used to not eating there. I was so impressed with myself at the end of the month for not wanting to go out and binge on all the foods I'd cut out. Since then, I've been much more in controll of my fast food and pizza cravings. I hardly ever eat either compared to before.

Oh and a tip for making those lean cuisine or smartones pizzas more interesting: add your own toppings. I buy the plain cheese and put kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, and a little reduced fat feta cheese on top. Makes it way more satisfying!

Oh, and oranges are great when you are craving something sweet!

I don't cut out my favorite foods. Though every time I want icecream I ask myself why?

creamy? ( a mouthful of whipped cream or a glass of almond milk)satisfies this craving) wet? (water satisfies this) nuts in it? (I'm craving protein). And I let myself have it as dessert every night. some nights, I skip it for fruit.

Pizza. The only way I will binge on Pizza is if I order it. NO lie. We don't order pizza much, so if I did, I'd be tempted to eat alot. So I would plan on eating more than usual with my caloires if I did order it.So I buy those little single serve totinos. 400 cs per pizza. Suprisingly also 4 g fiber per pizza. Very filling and knock the pizza craving right out.

I get around cravings by knowing myself. If I want chinese food, I have to plan to have it. And allow my self extra calories for the event.

My biggest binge food was pasta. I would often make an entire box and eat it with various kinds of sauces, generally cream or cheese based. Now, I will have whole grain pasta as a side dish with olive oil and garlic. I measure it all out, and only make one serving at a time. If I would make more to save as leftovers, I'm sure I'd eat it!

chinese food= store bought egg rolls. 120 cs 2 g fat. Compared to eating the whole buffet. That's a good one. I love egg rolls!

thank you so much for all of your ideas.. i feel a better now knowing i'm not the only one struggling .. I think it'll be safe if i can just cut out the fast food for now until i do reach my goals and find an activity i can do daily to burn it off.l have found low fat ice creams but i'm sticking to my vanilla yogurts for now.. you guys are great and i wish you luck on reaching your goals

carrots actually do have sugar in them. Have you tried some chocalate protein shakes that are low in carbs, sugars and some taste pretty darn good. pm me on my faves. I am a protein shake conneiseur