This was one of those "none of the above" answers for me. I have cravings all of the time, so indulging in all of them would put me in a pretty bad position.

If the craving is for something that is low carb, something I have on hand and/or easily accessible - I fit it into my food plan as soon as reasonably feasible. Carb content is the first question, because high carb foods tend to trigger more hunger and cravings, so I have to be much more careful about how and when I indulge in carb cravings.

My food plan is a flexible exchange plan, so like straight calorie counters, I can technically fit almost anything into my plan if I have enough calories/exchanges remaining in the "budget," but if the craving is for a high carb food I have to be more cautious (and it's risky). If I can ignore the craving and it goes away - that's the best situation. For a while, I was having success eating the occasionaly high carb food (especially if they contained sugar) very late at night when I'd be asleep before the insulin spike would trigger more cravings and hunger.

I'm learning though that for me, some high glycemic carbohydrate-rich foods (especially refined flour and sugar) are better left untouched. Indulging those cravings ends up a game of russian roulette (though my odds of escaping unscathed are much slimmer).

Today is a perfect example. I've been pretty good at avoiding large quantities of carbohydrate - and then yesterday we went to MIL's for a combined birthday celebration (for myself, hubby, and SIL as our birthdays are fairly close). The meal was loaded with carbohydrates. Only the ham was low enough for me to normally include in my diet (and my least favorite protein. I'm not a salt fan, and the ham was very salty).

I tried to be reasonable with portions, and was fairly successful. However, I did have a small piece of birthday cake. It was very good, and despite it triggering lots of carb cravings, I did resist MIL's attempts to send us home with cake. Today, though I feel miserable. I'm up several pounds (I know it's water weight because my rings are tight, my feet and hands are obviously puffy and my calorie count was far too low to warrant this much of a gain), I have a headache, and feel like I've been hit by a truck (carbohydrates are a common trigger for fibromyalgia flares, and it's definitely true for me, especially if those carbs come from wheat and/or sugar).

So my very long answer to the question is that it certainly depends. I think if a person can indulge in a craving without having it bite them in the butt in some way - no harm, no foul. However, if satisfying the craving (or I should say indulging the craving, as some cravings are likely to only inspire more craving) causes more havoc than it is worth, it pays to find a way to overcome the urge.

I just try to get busy with something, anything, to get my mind off of it. Go for a walk, start cleaning, anything to distract myself.