You are craving something, what do you do?
 

Here's the question:

You are craving something, what do you do?

When i crave something i go and eat something healty insetad. And if its not time to eat then i go to do something else to keep my mind off of it.

If I'm genuinely hungry, then I will find the healthiest version of what I am craving and go ahead and have it.

I have cravings for beef, so I'll have a 3 oz. grilled, lean steak.

I have cravings for chocolate, so I'll have an ounce of dark chocolate.

I have cravings for bread, so I'll ignore that one because I can't ever just have one piece of bread. I don't keep bread in the house. But I do have Wasa Light Rye crackers. Mostly when I crave bread, I'm actually craving what I want to put on the bread, which is usually fatty. So I'll have half an avocado on the crackers and I'm good.

I crave cheese, I'll have whole grain pasta, just 2 oz., tossed with a little olive oil, several cloves of garlic, crushed, and a tablespoon of freshly grated Romano cheese. But sometimes I just want a spoonful of ricotta, or a little fresh mozzarella. I don't go low fat with cheese, because I won't feel satisfied.

I try to ignore fast food and junk food cravings, and I take alternate routes.

Georgia

I try to eat a normal size portion of a healthy version of it. If it's just a vague craving for salt (my personal disaster), I recently discovered I can nip it in the bud with something really, really spicy.

I don't think of cravings in a "give up/don't give up" way any more - it's more of an "adapt, innovate, overcome".

I'll plan when I'm going to eat what I crave so it fits into my diet...usually :p

I find a place for it. No that day, maybe not the next day, but I'll get what I want without "giving in." A few days ago I wanted one of the WW frozen eclairs (140 cals) that are in my freezer. Couldn't have on then, but later this afternoon I plan on having one. Healthy lunch before my workout, eclair after. I am looking forward to it.

I have also been wanting beer lately. I'm thinking I'll have one late this work week, with one of my lower-cal dinners.

The way hubby and I have our plan worked out- we stay on track for like 2 months- then have a weekend off and we eat those things we've been craving. For me- I haven't been able to get a certain burger from a certain fast food place outta my head for weeks so that'll probably be the thing I go for.
Otherwise for day to day cravings- I try to just make sure I have something handy to shove in my mouth instead. I've been relying a lot on Special K Protien bars- the peanut butter ones are good. It's sort of like- I dunno I feel like I get a treat because it's chocolaty but also because of the protein I'm not hungry anymore. it works for me.

I Crave chocolate when it's my time of month so I got sugarfree pudding and that hits the spot and takes the craving away now~I don't even look at a resses cup or any other kind of candy bar ect anymore! I use to eat a Candy bar daily~And cookies ect~And I don't even miss them now.
If I crave something else ~I fit it in with my calories~Even Mcdonalds~I just get a quarter pounder sandwich or a cheese burger and Count it into my calories.I forget the fries & soda ect~i never order the fries anymore ~And I take my own drink or get a water.There is times I can not fit something into my calories ~But eventually the craving goes away.(My hubby says I have good will power~But I am just determined I guess)

It depends.
If I can substitute a healthy alternative, I will.
If not, I eat a small - controlled - portion. I eat it slowly, and savor each bite.

I have found that trying to ignore the craving usually leads to binge behavior later on.

And - best of all - the longer I stayed on plan, the fewer cravings for unhealthy foods I had. Now, it is very, very rare for me to crave anything except healthy and OP things. I'm far more likely to crave yogurt with Fiber One, than ice cream :woohoo:

I know if I'm craving something then it's going to haunt me until I have it. So if I don't have the calories for it that day then I fit it in to my calories the next day.

If I crave something, I first wait to see if the craving passes. It often does. If the craving continues for a few days, I find a way to work it into my plan.

If I'm craving something for the most part I find a way to make it work into my calories, if not that day then another day. I don't see that as giving up or giving in to the craving, I see it as planning out an indulgence. Now, sometimes I do just give in to a craving for whatever reason or another, but those times are farther between than they used to be.

I don't crave things very often, and when I do they're generally reasonable things, like strawberries or soup. I've always listened to cravings (real cravings, not wanting nachos because I saw nachos on TV) as signals telling me I'm missing out on a particular nutrient, so if I wake up one day and want some weird food more than anything, you bet I go and eat it. :) I always work it out with my calories in/calories out for the day, though, even if that means walking 2 miles to the store or restaurant to buy it. :)

It depends.....If it is something that I can work into my plan then I'll go ahead and give in. I figure my body isn't totally crazy and has a pretty good idea of what it wants. If it is beyond my normal plan then I'll usually not give in, unless I have planned the indulgence out in advance (24 hours is usually my limit) and have a chance to work in some damage control (extra exercise). Of course there are times when I just gobble stuff up, but that is not the norm.

don't give up never, or always give up? That's kind of how I read the poll options. If I'm seriously craving something, I eat it, and either figure it into my calories, or excersize more to burn them off.

It's not about limiting yourselves from things you love to eat, it's about not over eating and binging on the things all the time.

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.