Hmm, it's interesting that you wouldn't call that a craving because your description is pretty much how I define a craving. I've certainly been obssessed by a food and had that horrible feeling of it taking over my brain. That irrational feeling of need and obssession is the essence of what I call a 'craving'. It's a compulsion - a voice shouting in my head that I MUST eat a certain thing.

I absolutely loathe that feeling and that's the reason why I refuse to take the first bite of certain foods. I honestly believe that cravings are food memories and eventually I will forget what something tastes like, and no longer crave it (and it's true, it works for me - I had a major problem with donuts, ate my last one in October 2004, and now can't even remember what they taste like). If we never taste certain foods in the first place, we'd never crave them, right? Imagine if we had never tasted chocolate!

If I kept certain foods at home and tried to eat them in moderation, I'm afraid that I'd awaken the food memories and trigger the whole dreadful craving cycle all over again. Since the foods that give me problems are pretty much all unhealthy and unnecessary, I don't personally see much point in trying to learn to live WITH them, since I can live a happy and healthy life WITHOUT them.

And that's just what I've worked out for ME - other people certainly handle moderation and trigger foods in different and equally valid ways.

Okay... I see what you mean. Maybe I'm lucky that I don't have a lot of "repeat cravings". If I crave ice cream one day and have some, I don't usually crave it the next day. Unless it's in the house. And then I can't stop thinking about it. So, yes, I do crave it, but I never thought about that distinction before. I keep thinking of it as an obsession, but I guess it's a kind of craving too.

I haven't yet really decided what to do with these foods. Whether to give them up forever or keep them as "treats". I think I'm going to have to see what happens and take each on an individual basis.

You know, one thing that really fascinates me about all of this is how we all share similar struggles but they play themselves out in different ways.

Thanks, Mel! My other pic was a couple years old so I thought I'd put up the recent version of my big head.

Hey, if you don't mind, how did you figure out that you were gluten sensitive? If that's too personal, no worries. I'm just curious.

Well, I guess I am in the minority here.

For me, were I to cut certain foods completely out of my diet, especially ones that I am very fond of, I would find myself fighting cravings for those foods all the time. Fighting cravings all the time would be a bad thing and it would make me absolutely miserable. I would eventually succumb to those cravings and overindulge, which would also be a very bad thing.

So, I eat what I want, when I want, being mindful of portion size, and never exceeding my total caloric allotment for the day. This works for me.

Cheers,

~Silvervixen

You're lucky. There are certain foods that ONE BITE makes my mouth fill with saliva, I want to put the food in my mouth as quickly as possible and take another bite while I'm still chewing. Cookies and chips are the worst offenders. It is a literal urge to cram food in my mouth.

When I do eat more than I want, I end up hating myself, loathing myself.

I had to stop that cycle by eliminating (to the best of my ability) these trigger foods.

Don't get me wrong, I would loooove to eat in moderation. I don't get a lot of cravings, but it would be nice to sit down with 2 Thin Mint cookies, eat them and be happy and satisfied. I know that I would eat the Thin Mint cookies and immediately want two more and two more and two more...

I wish I were the moderation type, but I do want to share my experience. I used to think I was a no will power loser. Why couldn't I eat 2 cookies like a normal person? Now, I'm a lot more forgiving of myself. Sugar does weird things to me, I avoid sugar and all of a sudden, I'm a normal person. If anyone else reacts to food like me, I want them to know they aren't bad people (I used to think I was a lousy person for not being able to stop when I wanted).

I'm probably not saying this right, but there was a lot of personal shame wrapped up in my binging. I didn't know what was wrong with me, why some people could eat 2 cookies and I couldn't. Now I love myself more and I don't think I'm a no will power loser. I just can't eat two cookies and stop, I'm still a good person. Luckily, I really don't get any cravings anymore. I like the foods I do eat (thank goodness).

I just don't want anyone else out there to read the moderation posts and wonder why they CAN'T do it. I can't do it either! It's okay.

I can eat most things in moderation but other foods are just best avoided. I have a special love affair with cereal. It doesn't even have to be sugary cereal. A bowl of shredded wheat affects me the same way cocoa puffs do. I can't eat it fast enough and will easily eat 2 or 3 bowls. It's best if I just don't start. Pasta is another food that if I measure and eat what is a portion, I still want more. I eat chocolate or french fries in moderation but not cereal.

Joy, I do the same thing with cereal, no matter what kind it is. And Glory, I'm glad you posted as well, because I am fighting the sugar demon right now. I keep thinking that I'll be able to have "just one" cookie or (as in this latest case) ice-milk sandwich, but it doesn't happen that way. It gets rough around PMS time, but I'm going to have to just tough it out and not give in to even the first bite, because there's no way for me to keep it at just one.

It's still hard for me not to think of myself as a "no will-power loser", though. *sigh*

Joy, I'm fine with cereal, but I hear you loud and clear on the pasta. I will eat it until it's gone, even though I'm miserable afterwards. WW pasta is better, and it's what I have in my house now. I can stop with one serving of it, thank goodness. Chocolate, ice cream, cookies - eh. They would last forever in my house if I lived alone. DH, however, loves them. My biggest problems come with portion control, and it's another "no will-power" situation. I've pretty much stopped beating myself up about it, but I do sometimes want to. I logically know that I am a good person who has a problem with food, but at times it's hard to separate the person from the problem. I'm getting better at approaching things one meal at a time and not setting myself up to fail by cooking things I know I have a problem controlling.

Karyn- My mother, after years of various health problems some of which are very serious and some just complaints, was diagnosed with full blown celiac's disease which is then end result of gluten sensitivity. There are 3 separate genes that are involved and she carries all of them. She insisted that all her children have genetic testing and those of us who tested positive had blood tests and stool tests for the presence of antibodies which indicate that gluten proteins have "leaked" through the gut. I tested positive for everything. Now I have to have my kids tested.

Mel

I'm like some of the other posters on this thread . . . I am also a calorie counter (nowadays more of a calorie eyeballer though) and I do not cut any foods out entirely. However, I cannot have junk food in the house. If I really want ice cream, I will go out to Baskin Robbins or wherever and have a single scoop in a cup, which I will split with someone else (usually my fiance). That's fine, I am satisfied at the end, and my craving is gone. On the other hand, if I were to buy a half gallon of ice cream instead, you can bet I would eat a super-huge bowl, go back for seconds, and finish it off the next day.

Sometimes it depends on the company as well. For example, whenever we have some kind of homemade goodies (like a batch of cookies), I always intend to eat one or two, save the rest for tomorrow, and eat one or two a day until they are gone (or until I give them away). However, since I don't live alone, this doesn't work. I know that if I only eat one or two, my fiance will eat the entire rest of the batch and I won't get any more, and I am a greedy cookie monster so that is unacceptable! So I end up stuffing my face so that I can have "my half." Or if we order pizza (a very special treat), I would normally eat one or two slices and have leftovers for days, but what has happened a lot is that I will have one slice, and by the time I go back for a second slice there's only one left (my fiance is like a bottomless pit when it comes to junk food, but he magically metabolizes it away). You'd think, good, that way I won't overeat, right? But instead I'm left feeling like I was cheated out of my treat, which makes me resentful and makes me crave it even more. Nowadays to help avoid it, sometimes when we make cookies I will separate them into two containers, one for me and one for him, so I am guaranteed to get my fair share. That works well because I usually end up giving him half of my share anyway, but at least I don't feel resentful about it.

I guess what I am trying to say is that everything always works fine if I get my craving foods at a restaurant or other controlled situation. Problems arise when I have a lot of desserts at home, or when I am in a situation where I feel like I need to eat eat eat or it will all be taken away by someone else and I won't get any. I am a picker . . . meaning if there is food sitting in front of me I will pick at it until it's gone whether I was hungry or not. So it's always better for me not to have a large portion available in the first place. When I know I will be craving sweets (usually TOM...) I will buy pudding cups or some other individually-wrapped serving food, so that I can parcel it out easily.

Hey Mel,

Sorry that you're having to deal with gluten sensitivity - I'd never heard of celiac's disease. Since you know now that you're sensitive, can you avoid the symptoms of celiac disease? Hope so. Cutting out gluten sounds like quite a challenge, but it's a plus that you already have lots of experience reading food labels, huh? Hope the kids test negative.

Oh, and I enjoyed your post about Sugar Busters over on the You on a Diet thread. I was inspired to check out Sugar Busters and Sugar Busters for Kids from the library today. I feel so ignorant when it comes to sugar so I'm eager to learn more about it. I can't help but be intrigued by the success you've found by following the SB approach.

K.Lee