Today I have just been wanting to eat and eat. Salty, crunchy things. (it doesnt help that I am aware of cheese crackers being in my pantry) Ive been avoiding it today. Im eating cauliflower at the moment and I cant help thinking that it wont do the trick and even after I finish this snack I will still be wanting those crackers!
So! Do you think its better just to give in and eat a handful of crackers or just fight it off even if it means over eating on other healthier things? Im still in my calorie range for sure but Im certainly not hungry and I cant stop eating!
The first thing that came to my mind was, "Don't eat the crackers--you won't stop."
If I were in your shoes, I'd get rid of the crackers. I'd pour them out into the trash can and empty coffee grounds onto them. They are not the last freakin' cheese crackers in the entire world...
Once they are out of the way, you can decide how to proceed for the evening.
If I were in your shoes, I'd count out one serving and destroy the rest and go find something to occupy yourself. I'm not kidding. There have been days where I'd rack up on ton of calories of healthy food because I was trying to avoid a craving. Find a healthier salty, crunchy option to keep around. I keep organic tortilla chips and popchips around for that.
I saw popchips for the first time today! I almost got some but thought, nah you dont need anything around. But I am signed up to bring cheese crackers to my son's preschool Wednesday so thats kept me out of them so far. I dont want to break open a box just to have to get another one...
Oh! and Jay, I totally threw out Christmas candy because it was driving me crazy calling to me earlier this week. You are right, its not an endangered species. Get rid of it!
Something I find helps me if I have the urge to eat and really don't want to is to do sit ups and drink a glass of water. It might not effect you the same as me but it's worth a shot. It can make you really hyper though I find... <_<;;
How about a cup of bullion/broth and some crunchy vegetables. Or some reduced sodium V-8. Try to satisfy the craving which you've identified as crunchy/salty with something that fills the bill and is a better choice than the crackers.
Wednesday is too far away to keep something you're craving on hand. I vote for getting rid of them ASAP, and not to buy them until you're on your way to school.
How about going out and taking a short walk if it's warm enough? I have days like that every so often where I'll feel snacky/cravy, have some cauliflour, and it doesn't even slightly make the craving go away. Then I'll have a pickle. Nope, still there! How about a cup of broth. Didn't work, still wanting something. Repeat, repeat. I find I have those days more often after a splurge the day before -- and most definitely when I don't have a lot to do and I'm watching TV or something.
I'm still figuring myself out, but I do find that if I can hold off a day or 2, I'm back to my 'usual' - satisfied with my food. And I'm also figuring out that if I'm busy doing something like cleaning or exercising, I'm not thinking about eating. As for the walk thing, if I go out, even just get bundled up and walk the dog to the end of the street, when I come back in, my mindset has changed a little bit, it has distracted me from those somewhat obsessive thoughts about what I want to get into in the kitchen. Usually if I wait a little while, any cravings will go away. But not always! So I'm exploring some of these distraction techniques when the darn cravings just won't let up!
The first thing that came to my mind was, "Don't eat the crackers--you won't stop."
If I were in your shoes, I'd get rid of the crackers. I'd pour them out into the trash can and empty coffee grounds onto them. They are not the last freakin' cheese crackers in the entire world...
Once they are out of the way, you can decide how to proceed for the evening.
Jay
Good idea. But if the crackers are unopened, maybe consider donating them to a food bank instead of just dumping them in the trash.. Lots of hungry families out there.
If you're going to buy your craving foods (and you have a lot of self-discpline), why notbag individual servings and write on the bag the number of calories each one is. Make them your reward by saying something like if I jumprope for 15 mins I can get them. I just started. I still have ice cream in my freezer (actually my moms because she had an ice cream frenzy. I'm sick of ice cream but i hate wasting food) so I'm slowly getting rid of sweets. I bought those 100 calorie packs. Water like some people said is very good to make you feel full. Add crackers to cottage cheese. Cottage cheese fills you up. May some a little funny but yesterday I started eating graham crackers with cottage cheese. It's very filling as long as your aware of your portion size.
For me, ideally, it really depends on the food. I say ideally, because I make a lot of mistakes. I'll think I can control portions on a food, and learn that I cannot. Some foods (like chocolate) I can usually control very well except around time of month (it's the only time I really "love" chocolate, mostly I don't care for it all that much and can take or leave it).
Most potato chips I can portion control, but kettle chips I cannot (and sweet onion kettle chips - omg they are my kryptonite, I can't stop eating them until they're gone - and if there were a second bag I'd finish those too. We stock up on a lot of pantry items, but never chips).
Substituting a healthier, lower-calorie food that satisfies the flavor/texture profile of the craving helps me quite a bit (with the exception of sweet/salty foods especially during tom. The urge for sweet/salty during tom can actually gets worse if I indulge it).
For me, it's been all trial and error, and I'm still learning, but I have learned that the lower-carb I eat, the fewer cravings I have.
What do you do when you have a craving?
I find I have those days more often after a splurge the day before -- and most definitely when I don't have a lot to do and I'm watching TV or something. 
