Okay I've been doing very well lately until this past week. Then wham! I've been experiencing the worst food cravings I've probably ever had and what's worse I have given into every single one of them. I dare not look on the scale to see the damage that I have inflicted plus it wouldn't give me an accurate reading either probably since I am bloated right now as well. But how do you deal with cravings that are so bad that you actually wake up in the middle of the night and you've been dreaming about certain fave foods and etc? Any tips on how to deal with this?

thanks!
BBB

do you take any supplements? cravings are often a sign that your body is lacking something... think about what you are craving.. whats the common denominator in all of the foods/drinks?

i find if i take my vitamins and other supplements i dont get cravings at all even during that time!

I agree with Paula, it could be a sign of deficiency.

Another thing to think about, is how much caffeine, sugar, and salt you consume. All three of these can make PMS worse and I imagine they probably have an effect on cravings as well.

I rarely get cravings, but this is what I do when it happens... when I crave something sweet I drink Good Earth tea (the original kind.) It is naturally sweet without having sugar in it. For salt cravings I go for pickles (but be careful there's lots of salt.) Other then that I try to get out of the house and do something to keep my mind off of food.

I agree with others--sometimes taking vitamin supplements can be helpful when restricting calories.

Also, just how far are you restricting? If I have too big a deficit, then I tend to want to eat because I'm just hungry a lot more. Also, if I skip snacks I sometimes find it harder to stay on plan.

Some folks find it helpful to allow themselves a little bit of a food they are craving--such as chocolate. But that doesn't work so well for me. It just triggers me into overeating it. So, you could try it and see...

Good luck! Hang in there! Don't give up!

Jay

I haven't been taking vitamins lately but I think I am going to get back on doing that and see if that helps. I have been restricting myself from not having anything that I reallly like until the past 10 days so it may be time for me to adopt the "moderation is key" plan now instead of "all or nothing" since at first I was worried if I had something that I liked like chocolate for example then it would trigger a binge but I know I can't continue like this either to where I'm dreaming about food!

Pretty Paula-I also thought about the common denominators in everything I've been craving and Half of what I've been craving is sugary and chocolately, the other half is meaty and cheesy like cheese sticks, cheese echiladas with chili sauce, and etc. I had forgotten how much I like cheese! So I may incorporate that from now on in like a snack or something like string cheese. Then have a dessert like once a week or something. I haven't figured it all out yet. But it's clear I need to change my eating plan a bit now.

thanks all!

Whey protein shakes!