So lately I've been having these awful cravings...but I don't know what for. I'm not hungry, but it's like I'm craving some sort of nutrient. So invariably I end up eating more than I should. It's not causing me to gain weight but it is stalling me on losing weight. I'm baffled, because my diet is fairly good. I eat veggies, I eat fruit, I eat fish, chicken, red meat, seafood. I supplement each day with a ********** plus extra protein powder, a multivitamin, vitamin D, Selenium, and Lysine. Several days of the week I also supplement with fish oil and calcium/magnesium because I'm allergic to dairy so cannot get my calcium that way. As part of my current diet/exercise program I am not drinking alcohol, eating sweets, drinking soda or juice, or coffee. My major vice, I guess, is a dried fruit & nut mix and my go-to snack during the day is a little handful of nuts at 10am and 2pm. I drink either green, black or herbal tea all day long so I know I'm hydrated. I exercise intensely each evening doing the "Insanity" videos, and the cravings always hit me in the evenings but after dinner. My caloric intake is always under control until then, and then I just go crazy.

Any ideas? I really need to get a handle on this, and willpower isn't working. I mean, I know it should be easy to just say - "No, I won't eat that" but it's like my body is screaming that it's missing some key nutrient and I find myself just eating various foods hoping that this will be the one thing, and then I can work it into my normal diet so the cravings go away.

Any help/feedback appreciated.

Thanks!

Dena

I am the same way.....not sure if it is the sugar I am missing or the salt. But neither are satisfied if I munch. So I am thinking it is my "just need to eat because I am bored" crave. My weak time for food is evenings, I can really eat all night long and never be satisfied. I try to drink lots of water at night to keep from grazing.

Maybe your sodium/potassium ratio is off?

I find that when I am not hungry but craving something to eat...I am not losing weight during that time but it seems that all of a sudden I've lost some inches.

Are you sure its a nutrient and not just a salt/sugar craving? I quit eating nuts because they make me want more and more and a salt/sugar combo is just way too much for me to handle, no matter how nutritious the food is. Once I stop eating sugar/nuts for awhile, and ride it out, I no longer feel a nagging craving.

The nuts I choose are dry roasted, unsalted...but I could try cutting them out for a few days and see if it helps. I don't eat much in the way of salt- I never add it to food that I'm cooking, I rarely eat processed foods, and I am very sparing when I add it to anything on my plate. A tiny pinch is more than enough.

It could be sugar cravings, though. I was just thinking this morning that I need to cut all starchy foods 100% for a while because if I eat even a little I seem to have trouble losing weight. So maybe that's it- sugar cravings.

If you're exercising intensely--and Insanity is certainly intense--I still think it could be an electrolyte imbalance.

I'm kinda wondering if it's a salt/electrolyte thing as well. Could you try a gatorade (the 0 cal one) after working out and see if that helps with the cravings?

I will try that- thank you for the suggestions.

I second the electrolyte comments! I've been drinking coconut water, after workouts, and when I feel like this and it totally takes the munchy feeling away.

I don't know if they sell Smart Water in Alaska, but if if you'd like to avoid artificial sweeteners in low-cal gatorade/powerade, it's an electrolyte-infused water.