Ok, I am here because TOM is visiting...and that "crack brownie" downstairs in the cafeteria is calling my name. This thing is HUGE and I swear they DO put crack in it because oh my god is it addictive!

But no. I've been going for 4 straight days now - and I'm feeling very good (asides from tom popping up...lol) - but I have to remind myself - even thought it WILL taste good and MENTALLY help the cramps...it really physically won't do anything for me asides from throw me off track and then make me feel guilty for eating it later on. It's NOT worth that much trouble.

I will NOT eat the brownie...

I have to remind myself, "I can NOT give up what I want most for what I want in the moment."

Ok, I feel better now. :-P

Don't eat the brownie.

what does tom stand for?

Time of the month.

When I'm trying to avoid something I know I shouldn't have, I usually think ahead about how I'll feel about myself once I've eaten it. I'll feel icky and kick myself in the butt for caving. And I'll be mad at myself the rest of the day.

Those feelings aren't worth it to me, so that usually keeps me from scarfing the food I'm avoiding.

LLV...that's just it - i've really been trying to do that myself lately.

but the question is - WHY did we used to cave in even THOUGH we knew we'd hate ourselves for doing so?

I mean, I've really gotten better - and that's the reason I posted...because I knew that by posting this sorta silly post that I WILL NOT go down and get that brownie...

but have any of you ever told yourself, "no - i will NOT eat (insert food here) - because I KNOW i'll be mad at myself for it...it's NOT worth it..." and yet you still do? shoot - i used to tell myself that WHILE eating it! lol.

but really - I HAVE gotten better at it. :-P which again is why i'm still at my desk and have NOT gone down to that cafeteria...and i don't even think it's a physical craving for it - it's more mental. so that is why i'm staying put - it's really NOT worth it!

Maybe this will help.....

Caffeine causes cramps, and if you already have them it can intensify their strength. The chocolate in that brownie has caffeine in it.....so.....every time we think something chocolate will help, it really doesn't! In fact, it will get you into a cycle of thinking it will help, but it only makes it worse and then we want more of it to help! Stay tough!

Wow! I didn't know that. I CRAVE chocolate something awful during girlie time and I give in sometimes, usually a piece of dark chocolate, but that's good to know. Thanks for posting that.

Step away from the brownie... I know what you mean. TOM has knocked on my door today as well and I tell you... If I could be at home in my pjs on my couch with a bowl of chocolate and a salt lick.....that might kill my cravings...but I know that in the end I would just feel miserable, bloated and overall worse. I keep some mini dark chocolates hidden in various places....in desperate times I find that just one of those sometimes does the trick.

Oh my gosh, yes! I used to do that too. I can't count how many times I'd sit plowing a half of a pizza saying, "Why am I eating this? I shouldn't be eating this (mmpf) this isn't good for me (mmpf mmpf) and I'm going to just get fatter (mmpf munch)."

And then I'd say, "Okay, tomorrow I'll do better."

And I never did.

But finally one day something inside of me woke up and I just got plain old tired of being fat. That and my doctor told me my blood pressure and cholesterol were both high. So that was my kick in the butt. It was time to take the weight off.

Now my blood pressure is normal and my cholesterol levels are excellent. I got lucky. Not everyone can do it with just diet and exercise alone, some people need statins to lower their cholesterol. But if I had kept on the way I was going, I no doubt would have gotten myself to that point.

And yes, the brownie is probably a mental craving.

However, I don't completely deny myself those things. I'm a calorie-counter. If I want chocolate or something sweet and I can't stand it anymore, I go ahead and have it. I just make sure it's counted in with my calories.

I've said it before, I'm in this for life. This isn't a diet for me, it's a lifestyle change. And it's unrealistic to assume I have to go the rest of my life without ever eating pizza or brownies again. Deprivation doesn't work. Because when you deprive yourself, you eventually cave and eat the refrigerator.

I'm not trying to talk you into the brownie, hon. Only you can make that decision. I'm just saying that if it's driving you that crazy, break off a small piece and put the rest back. However, that too is a disciplinary action. You have to trust yourself not to eat the whole thing, only a little of it. I 'trained' myself to just get a nice good mouthful, savor every single second of it, and put the rest away. And that usually satisfies the craving

Oh I know I'm not giving them up for LIFE...but at the same time - honestly - I know that right now, while I AM craving it - I DON'T "need" it either...and to me - I'm trying to convince myself that cravings = choice. I can CHOOSE to go and cave into my (merely mental) craving ... TELLING myself that that chocolate will make me feel better - when in the end I know it really won't and in fact, while - yes, it WILL TASTE good it really won't do anything FOR me other than make me feel guilty and mad at myself later on. And really it's not worth it. :-D

Another thing I'm really concentrating on lately is "stopping and thinking before I eat"...as in - ASK myself...WHY am I eating what I'm eating. WHAT will it do for me? For example - yesterday - I needed some substance after I got home from work and before I hit the gym. I didn't want anything HEAVY because I'd be eating dinner AFTER the gym - but I also needed something more substantial than just a little fruit & nut bar (which is what i WAS going to eat...120 cals, 3.5 g fat - not bad points wise - but not substantial enough to hold me either) - so instead of grabbing and going - I made a bowl of oatmeal (1/2 cup. not a lot) and that was the best choice for me! :-P

But it really IS hard to stop and think before eating - ya know? It's like, "oooooh i'm STARVING...i NEED something to eat" so we grab the fastest and easiest thing around and it's 9/10 times NEVER the right choice - and that's what i'm concentrating on is making the RIGHT choice for the RIGHT reasons.

That's the funniest way I've ever heard it put b/4 and is absolutely, positively the truest, most accurate statement I've ever heard. Thanks for giving my day a humorous boost!!!!!!!

Jo

I'm totally confused about this, because I thought caffeine helped eliminate them. I read the ingredients on a bottle of Midol once, and the only ingredients were caffeine and ibuprofen... why would they put caffeine in it if it didn't help, and only made things worse?

caffeine can make some cramps worse, its in there because it helps with bloat, headaches and minor PMS.


we used to have the killer brownies at work too, they were HUGE. When I really really wanted one I would find a coworker and ask if they wanted to split it with me...sometimes I'd find 2. Also, I always made sure to keep the saran wrap so I could just eat a tiny bit and put the rest away.

but I know about needing to learn to just say no too. I posted a few weeks ago about rush saving me, I still sing the song when I need to..it helps!

You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice (my craving)
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice

You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path thats clear
I will choose free will

OK THEN.

I will NOT eat that birthday cake! I will NOT eat that birthday cake... I WILL NOT EAT that burfdaycake...

See? I don't need TOM to be tempted by anything sweet. It can just happen to me because it's somebody's birthday at work! And we have "birthday cake" at work ONCE per month! And WHO do you think is responsible for getting that cake???? Waaaahhhhh....

I WANNA PIECE OF B'DAY CAKE! ....However, I am uncomfortably overweight right now. By that I mean my "fat" is HURTING ME. Physically hurting me! My GERD (acid reflux) has been acting up BAD, and my IBS is driving me crazy. My clothes don't fit me no more... and I can't afford a whole new wardrobe. Plus, my cholesterol is up and just about everything else - EXCEPT my blood pressure. I have good BP. Yay me. So the doc suggested South Beach Diet. I started yesterday.

But you can see - I HAVE GOT TO BE DILIGENT and lose this weight! So....

I WILL NOT EAT THAT BIRTHDAY CAKE...