Yesterday was my first day and I am having a really hard time. My period is coming and I am craving salt and chocolate. I don't know what to do . Do I give my self what I want to stop the craving or what? I can't belive this it is just day two and I am having such a hard time. Should I have waited until my period was over? I feel like such a baby !! I think I realise now how bad my addiction is to food. I remember a year ago when I lost some weight that is all I could think about was food and I would have to play mind games to get myself not to keep eating. When that time was going on I lost 15lbs and was feeling good about myself. Then I noticed that after my brother died that the weight slowly came back on. Now I am back to where I was before I lost the weight. What do you do when you want to eat but aren't hungry or are craving something? Thanks Jen

I chew sugarless gum (remember that it counts against your 75 calorie "sweet treat" allowance).

I drink lots of water (sometimes filling up your stomach makes eating seem less appealing).

I think about what I want more--the food or the body that I envision for myself.

I distract myself with the wonderful foods that I can eat and stay on plan instead of dwelling on the things that I can't eat and stay on plan.

Usually if I'm craving a certain type of food, I can semi-satisfy the craving with one of these items:
Sugarfree fudge pops
Ricotta creams
Laughing Cow light cheese
Sugarfree Lifesavers or Jell-O.
Roasted chickpeas
Almonds
Peanut butter with celery (or apple on P2)
. . . but, if I'm not really hungry, I try to distract myself with something non-food related. After all, eating when I'm not hungry in order to satisfy other feelings is what gave me extra pounds in the first place. I might:
Go for a walk
Paint my nails/toenails (bonus: it's very hard to eat with wet nails!)
Check the forums here
Flip through a SB or other healthy cookbook and plan meals for the upcoming week (that's food related, but I find it motivating)
Take a walk or even go to the gym

What really works for me was believing, once and for all, that I control what goes into my mouth. I spent a lot of last year feeling angry and bitter about "having" to make certain choices to have the type of body that I wanted and it only led to a cycle of secret binge eating, giving into cravings and feeling as if I hated myself. Then it was like I had a mental breakthrough. That doesn't mean that I don't ever slip up, but it keeps me from feeling deprived and angry. Choosing to be on SB (or any sort of mindful eating) is my choice and I can quit any time that I want. But I've also decided that the payoff is worth it.

I hope maybe one or two of these will be helpful. Good luck!

are you going to give in next month when you have PMS? I HOPE NOT.... just keep going... suck it up. I'm hard core babe. you are being a baby that's why you feel like one.

the thing about SBD is that the first 3 months FOOD is all you think about... after that it becomes secondary... the only times i think about it now are when i'm shopping, preparing meals or talking about it on the boards (oh wait that's pretty much all I do LOL)....

when i am not hungry physically or i'm craving a specific food and i'm not going to have it... i

a. drink water
b. drink coffee w/milk (Hot or cold)
c. chew gum (sugarless)
d. have mints (sugarless but they cause gas for me)
e. have a legal SBD protein snack like string cheese or hard boiled egg. (i ate way more of that stuff in phase 1 and early phase 2 than recommended but my concern was getting past the cravings NOT the amount of food to me that comes later)

feel free to whine any time you like.....

Yup, go ahead and whine but hang in there. See! I'm nearly as tough as Nessa! Lots of good suggestions instead of giving up and giving in.

Yep, if you give in to the cravings, it will only create MORE cravings...just think of it as "this is the time to get all the nasty poison out of your system"...with any kind of "detox", it is not easy...but you CAN do it.

If you don't give in, then the cravings will go away...I promise. Paint your nails, give yourself a facial...go window shopping...drink water...go sit in a park...wash your car...clean out your junk drawer...

It will PASS!!!

Day 2 and especially day 3 were the hardest for me. After that I felt awesome and couldn't wait to wake up the next morning so I could face everything head on!

Keep your hands out of the cookie jar and busy those fingers with some typing!

Kara

Don't let the TOM be an excuse! You need to not give in to the cravings, just be prepared for the day. Take your allowed snacks, such as nuts and cheese where ever you go. Most definately drink a lot of water to keep your tummy full. When the TOM comes, I usually crave sweets so I have the Jello and SF fudgesicles which are great.

You can do it Jet, and you have come to the right place for support.

Good luck with your day and your weekend, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

Checking on you, Jet. How's it going today?

Kara

Hey Jen,

I hope you're okay out there. I found in the early days that cheddar or coJack cheese would help with my carb cravings. Some people like nuts for cravings too. Ironically, I found the last few days of Phase 1 to be hardest for me (and actually had a small granola binge my last night of Phase 1). It just takes getting through the "detox" phase to make it easier.

How are you today?

L