Does anyone have a suggestion as to why I am craving peanut butter/almond butter and what I can do to stop myself from going crazy if I dont have it? Does it actually mean I need more protein or is it something else?

Do you eat a lot of protein? If not, maybe that's it. Or are you craving something salty? Simply Jif tastes just like regular Jif, in my opinion... and a lot of organic/natural peanut butters aren't terrible for you. It's a good kind of fat, you just need it in moderation.

I crave nuts and peanut butter too and I think it is because I eat such a low fat diet. I never craved them before I was restricting my calories; in fact, I didn't even like nuts much. I get plenty of protein, so it's not that.

But it also could be that your tastes are changing. There are a number of foods that have become staples in my diet that I really didn't like much before I was restricting my calories. Lean meats are a good example. I was practically a vegetarian for years and now I rarely have a meal without meat (other than breakfast). I don't think it's a sign that my diet is deficient, just that my diet has changed and I like different foods now.

I eat TONS of peanut butter, and my cravings for it get especially intense after exercise (ie. when I need more protein). I use Kraft all natural, which is more liquidy and tastes slightly different from normal peanut butter, but I got used to it pretty fast, and now I can't live without it! Not too bad for you, either.

I thought I was the only one! I crave peanut butter or peanuts a few days out of the week.

It's funny that you brought this up. I have been craving peanut butter alot lately also, in fact I just ate a peanut butter sandwich.I eat it almost everynight. It is very good for you actually it's just high in calories but your body needs those healthy fats that are found in peanuts. I always start craving it when I cut back on calories. When I was a member of WW they mentioned a couple lowfat peanut butters that they raved about. One is available at Trader Joes but I can't remember the name of it and the other was PB2 which you can only buy at www.bellplantation.com:. Maybe if you go over tho the WW board they can help you out. I really want to try the PB2 but my husband has cut off my online spending since I had an overdose of Ebay.

^^ The one at Trader Joes is Better n' Peanut Butter http://www.betternpeanutbutter.com/
Only 100 calories and 2.5 grams of fat per serving!
It tastes a little different from regular PB but I have gotten used to it (and really like it!)