I've read about cravings only lasting a short while, but I've been sitting here pulling my hair out fighting the urge to ransack my kitchen for the past hour and a half.
Find something to occupy your mind so you won't be thinking about the craving. When I get a craving I start cleaning or go outside just anything to help take your mind off of food. If it's your mind wanting it you don't really need it if your stomach is growling grab a healthy snack to pull you through. You can do this!
I have some gum and a big glass of water. Or just a few nuts. Appearantly the proteine in nuts/peanutbutter gives you a satiated feeling. It's basically been the secret to my succes so far I think. One cracker with lots of peanutbutter everyday at 11am. Hihi.
What is it you crave? Maybe that's a clue to the need if it is rooted in emotional eating.
I agree, what is it that you're craving? I find that usually 'craving' means something specific that you really want. Last night I was craving a cinnamon bun, but I have nothing even close to that in my kitchen so I just went to bed. It sounds like you're just wanting to eat anything? In which case, I'd bet either your body is telling you you're actually hungry or you're projecting some other emotion and just wanting to eat to eat. Take a moment or two to sit down, really think about what it is you really need right now. If you're actually hungry, have a small, nutritious snack (or even just a tall glass of water, many times we mistake thirst for hunger!). If you're not actually hungry and your want to eat is a reaction to something else (stress, boredom, etc), that's different. Get busy, read a book, pull out some paper and color! Find out what the root of the 'hunger' is and treat that, not the symptom. Good luck, and stay strong!!
Location: The land of Spare Room in the City of Wardrobe..-C.S. Lewis
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I actually just read online today in the news that studys suggest that people who crave at night..are often in need of more sleep..and same with people in the day..if your craving in the day..your body might be telling you that you need sleep..
Also, cravings might suggest a possible deficincy in a particular grouping..for instance..you might need more protein..or more salt..more vitamin c...etc..
Or: you could be craving something that your body is intolerant to..for instance.. my number one craving is for bread products...and yet im allergic to gluten..everytime i eat it..i bloat really bad and i feel sick..so i cant eat it..yet i crave it alll the time..
Or: you may try just stopping and trying to listen to your body..is it food that it wants? or is it water? is it boredom eating? or emotional?
Food is fuel..its used to fuel are body..and when we start craving it..and we sit down and eat junk..thats not our body craving the junk...our body will tell us what we need..
Occasionally, eating a small snack that's high in fiber/protein will help. However, you can drive yourself crazy searching for something to satisfy cravings. If the snack doesn't help, and it hasn't been that long since your last meal, then you might want to consider the option that it's in your head, or habitual, rather than actual hunger. If that's the case, spending time trying not to think about the craving, or trying to fix it with this trick or that trick, is just feeding into it.
A male friend of mine described the male sex drive to me by telling me that it's like a nicotine craving. As long as you know you're going to get them, and you just turn your attention away from it when it's happening, then you can be assured that it will pass soon enough!
Big'ol piece of duct tape... right over my mouth! ha-ha, I'm j/k, but now that I think about it... what a novel idea!
I have several go-to methods - when it happens at work, I have a piece of gum - Big Red - gotta be cinnamon gum. Somehow it does seem to curve a craving, and it usually happens to me right around 3:00ish most every day.
I also try drinking water, and getting up outta the chair (read: offa my arse!) and taking a quick, brisk walk.
At home, I'll try painting my nails (can't eat with wet nails!) or playing with the pets (who wants dog/cat hair in their food, eh?)
If I can ride out whatever craving I'm having for 20 minutes, I find it usually goes away. If I'm still craving after 30 minutes, oftimes I will give in & have something SMALL & low in calories, so I can conquer the craving & still remain in my caloric limit. But there are MANY times when I just accept that I'm having a craving & tell myself "NO! - Dinner (or lunch, whatever) is in a couple hours, get over it girl!!! Remember what made you fat in the 1st place!!!"
And this is exactly why I have standard go-to snackage planned, so I don't face the crazy cravings every day. I have found the 100-calorie snack packs are an awesome way to get what I want & keep within the caloric limit I've set for myself.
Jillian Michaels has something she calls a 'rescue me' list for those days where you just want to stuff your face. Basically the idea is to do make you feel better using something that's not food related.
-Painting your nails
-Massage
-Listening to music
-Seeing a film
-Playing with kids/dogs.
Last edited by IsabellaOlivia; 07-27-2011 at 07:42 AM.
I"m always having to change what I do to fight my urges to eat/binge. If I've had all my calories for the day, I'll try to just chew gum or do some crunches. Going for a walk is good, but not always possible since I have kids and I don't feel comfortable walking alone at night. I like to eat sugar free popsicles.....at 15 calories each, I can have 10 and still be ok and it's certainly better than binge eating. I used to draw in a sketch book with colored pencils and that relaxed me....I should get back into that. Coming here is a great idea too. The point is that you have to find what works for you and if something stops working, find something different to switch it up so that you can manage your cravings.
I think of "cravings and urges" as different from hunger. I think of them as wanting something for the taste.
I try to manage them wih sugarless gum (I keep both spearmint and fruity gum around). I also try a large glass of ice water or tea.
If I can do something like practice my violin or get online, so my hands are busy doing something other than feeding my face, that can help.
And I try to tell myself to wait 20 minutes to see if the craving subsides. I tell myself if I want it even more in 20 minutes, I'll "consider" it. Lots of times that works, but not always!
Sometimes I tell myself that I can have the craved food, but is it worth 40 minutes on the exercise machine? Usually I decide it is not. LOL
For real hunger pangs, I find a slice of whole wheat bread with a thin spread of peanut butter is very satistying.
Gum seems to be a popular tip, i hadnt thought of that before! Like the others are saying though, getting out the house, just keeping myself busy usually helps me.
I wish I could be one of those people who are so into their hobby or work that they sometimes forget to eat!
I have twin girls, and the first year of their life I gained alot of weight...I was not getting near enough sleep, and I craved sweets like crazy.
I have a neighbor who I told this too and he started making an effort to getting more sleep a night and he lost 10 lbs in 6 months just from sleeping more...which reduced his cravings! He also found that he had an increase in mental clarity...he remembered things better.
Sleep could be it. I'm only 19, and I tend to stay up too late thinking it's fine. Thinking I can "handle it". I know it's bull pucky, but it's what I'm used to. The last time I tried to lose weight, and was successful for a short amount of time, I just took a nap or went to bed early. School starts in less than a month and work starts in a little over a month for me, I should try to get my sleep pattern back on track.
If that doesn't help I'll try giving myself little challenges (Just wait for this show to be over. Just wait for the movie to be over. Just get to 'blank' chapter in the book.) Like some of you were saying, I just need to get through it.
I'd try to chew gum but I have terrible TMD that I don't want to exacerbate any more than it is.
Thanks for all the advice, everyone. I'll use your tips in the future .
Sleep...and lots of distractions! I now take Melatonin at night, make myself lay down, and let it do it's thing getting me to sleep (I am honestly a chronic insomniac, so this has been HUGE). Also, I wouldn't totally recommend setting a clock to mark the craving, cause then you are focussed on it WHILE watching the clock... just totally distract yourself. Usually I do the balancing act first, ok, this item is this many calories and that means this long doing cardio... if the hankering is there, have a nibble (or replace with something similar but healthier) and get outside. Removing myself from the "trigger" (for me it's tv, or sitting watching my kiddos eat something that makes me drool), helps tremendously! I have been known to just go in the bedroom and sing, draw, start doing crunches... or actually get on elliptical and watch the calories drop - once I get the amount off I would need to in order to make up for it, my mind instantly goes to "but that could be EXTRA calorie burn for EXTRA weight loss... so not worth the snack"... then not only did I do more healthy, but also distracted myself right off it, LOL!
How do you fight through cravings and urges?
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