I think QuilterinVA has identified the harsh reality of the situation. But alas, a life without ice cream is no life for me.

haha, i agree with that, ilovetoot!

Ok. so i find the thing i have the biggest craving for.. all the time... is if any of you have ever eaten at buffalo wild wings, well i crave everything there, because i work there and i serve it for 8 hours everyday. so i look at it and i want it. THOSE cravings are pretty easy to ignore though because thats what PUT me at this weight. however, buffalo wild wings officially had the best ranch dressing on the face of this earth, and sometimes i just cant focus or function unless i eat some. its just soooooo good. im drooling. lo;7l

I pretty much do like Mandalinn. I don't see myself living a life of passing on everything that is not remotely close to "perfect food", so at times, I "give in". But the essential difference with before is that 1) I ask myself if I want it for itself or just because other people are eating it/because it's in front of me (in that case, I don't eat it), and 2) I want the real thing. If I want a pain au chocolat, there's no way I'll eat the industrial-baked, dry, tasteless thing bought by 6 in a plastic box at the local supermarket; I go to a real baker's and have the real, tasty pastry, and then I'm alright for weeks on end. (Sometimes I don't even finish it.)

A few months ago (like... October?), I really wanted homemade apple pie, but didn't want to bake one (I seriously have no room to bake a pie, unless I learn how to do that on a handkerchief). I asked my mother to bring me some the next time she'd bake one. She brought me half a pie; I ate one slice, gave the rest to friends, and haven't craved apple pie since. The thing was so good that I had what I wanted, didn't want more, and didn't spend time nibbling on subsitutes only to give in all the same in the end.

That said, it took me four years and a borderline eating disorder to come to this point of self-control, if I might call it this way, so I understand that it's really not as easy as it sounds. :|

The rest of the time, I eat a fairly balanced diet, not in excess; I suppose it just evens out.

For me, cravings are what caused my weight gain to begin with. I've worked in coffee houses since I was 16, and five years later I've gained almost 75 pounds. If I wanted a bagel with cream cheese for dinner, I'd eat it. If I wanted to bring home a cookie and a brownie, I'd do it. Now that I'm working in a new coffee shop, where we have to pay for the food we eat, it's becoming easier to resist. I still experience cravings, but a coworker told me that sometimes you crave what is worst for your body, ex lactose intolerant people crave ice cream. Thinking about Chinese food (my weakness) from that perspective, makes me less inclined to want it!

If its proper food, i will have it, as healthy a version as i can manage, but with chocolate i wont. Ive found that eating chocolate doesnt satisfy my craving for chocolate, it often makes it worse (think wolf with the scent of blood ) so ive been trying not to eat it at all. I'm glad its lent, gives me a perfect excuse to turn it down

That's kind of sad if you really think about it. I mean that some of us think that life isn't worth living without a certian food.

I wouldn't say life wouldn't be worth living without a certain food but it sure would be less enjoyable. The reason why Im overweight is I like to eat, I like food. I don't see that changing as I lose weight, it would suck if I had to cut out completely the foods I enjoy. I chose calorie counting for this reason, I can have what I want in moderation, and that is the key for me, moderation.

Not having the "bad" foods in the house works, if I want something I have to want it bad enough to go get it, that involves finding someplace I can get individual servings.

Life, for me, isn't less enjoyable without certain foods - life is pure, exhilarating fun! It feels INCREDIBLE to be in awesome shape and lean, so incredible that chocolate does not compare. Seriously, the exhilaration of being as fit as possible does not compare to my occasional cravings - it makes passing them up very easy.

My solution, if I'm having a major crave (which is usually something sweet), is one bite. 1 - and then into the trash or to my husband. I've found that all I want in the end is a taste and that suffices.

I don't stisfy my cravings because I know what foods I can not handle. Foods like ice cream, a cookie or pizza, I know that I would eat it and it would remind me how good these foods I used to eat are, and I chances are would get off track. It would be like well I ate it yesterday and it did nothing to the scale, I can have it again in a week. And I know it just doesnt work that way, I dont think I'm quite to the point where I can eat it once a month and stay on track the rest of the month. Thats just me personally. And I dont want food to become a reward like, I did great this week so I can have a slice of cake. That just makes no sense to me.

At first i never did .. but then it would just lead me to binging // so now i eat a bit of what im craving always.

But doesn't that mean I will never eat chocolate again? That just sounds wrong. I want to be able to control my cravings. I think some people here have some good ideas - Single serve being one of them. Ithink one of the reason I am in a binge right now is that I am surrounded by uncontrollable amounts. Not good.

You are so right - Adn even though I know this - I still do it! I have a read a zillion things about rewarding myself other ways, and I never do it. WHY NOT. I think I am going to sit down and make a list of rewards that I can refer to.

It's hard, because there are times when the body is lacking some part of nutrition. The other day after I exercised I craved salty foods. I ended up eating some olives and a pickle. After that I was golden! I think my body just needed a little sodium.
When I crave other things, I hold out as long as possible and try to find healthier alternatives. If I wait long enough, they go away.
But everyday I allow myself a treat of some sort that I want. I make room for it in my daily allowances. I think that helps keep me down on cravings.
I'm also am going to grab some good yummy dark chocolate (no dairy) and start having that instead of other chocolate. And I have to make sure I don't have it with milk though LOL

Everyone's bodies are different. Some of us can give in to cravings, others can't... This journey is about learning what we need and what our limits are and then sticking to them!