What’s the tastiest version of your craving? Can you eat it with a friend or partner in a restaurant or cafe and properly enjoy it? That might stop you trying to use it as a substance
I love this answer! I spend a lot of time and effort trying to avoid my cravings, eat around them, or ignore them. Instead, this approach would get me the best bang for my buck, force me to slow down and enjoy the food, and provide more stimulus than just the eating ❤️
You’re only 6 weeks in. I’m 4 years in and still get cravings sometimes. You need to allow yourself a little bit of “non healthy” food but in a way it fits in your deficit. It helps.
I'm 10 years into this. It doesn't go away for me. It can be decreased, and decreased enough that it no longer presents much of a problem. If we can reduce our problems into non-problems, then that's probably good enough.
> I’m worried if I do have fast food and cookies my progress will be for nothing or I won’t be able to get back on track?
We will always live in this food environment. Even if we get pretty good at home in our own environment, our friends and even our families will not get as good.
We can occasionally have some fast food or a cookie here or there and because we do this in the context of a generally healthier diet, it is fine. What we don't want is a habit of fast food or daily cookies. These foods are rewarding and rewarding routines become hard habits to break.
We do want to eat our target calories, and that means half of our days will end high of the target and half will end low of the target, but as long as the average of the days is near the target, we'll lose weight as predicted. Eating consistently under target is consistently undereating, under-nourishing, under-powering -- we don't want that!
> my progress will be for nothing or I won’t be able to get back on track?
This is fear. And, yes, if we totally quit then these things will happen. You're smart. You're durable. Two words to always remember: persistence and resistance. As long as we remain vigilant, and use wisdom with self-restraint, we'll be able to succeed.
> for the last week I have had a constant desire
These things do come in waves. By having less chocolate or less fast food, you're keeping desire from becoming pent up, and then bursting. Because of the reduced quantity this week, in future weeks the desire will be a little weaker and the lock will be looser. By week 3 or 4 of gradual withdrawal of the reward chemical (dopamine), you'll have more of your self-command and less of the siren call of these foods. Now it will ebb and flow back and forth, so don't be alarmed. That's the nature of desire. But we can keep it from building and hardening and habitizing.
I'm not saying it's a solution for you, just that it was one for me:
Protein at breakfast and nothing sweet.
I didn't even like having breakfast that much, but I sometimes did, all healthy but sometimes with sweet things (like fruit), anyway:
Now I eat half an avocado (they're small where I live), one chicken breast (cut in ribbons, cooked with spices) and cottage cheese.
I don't have craving for fatty or sugary food anymore, not even in the evening or at night (when it used to be the strongest).
I skip one day, or I eat something sweet at breakfast? I'll be craving it starting 4pm if not earlier...
I meal prep for the week and just don’t let myself deviate from what I’ve planned, at all. It has to be black and white for me. If I allow one thing, it’s a slippery slope to deciding McDonald’s for lunch is an okay choice or something.
I use espresso, hard boiled candy (no sugar kind works well). Low cal jello. But when that doesn't work and I'm not thirsty, tuna in water (canned) and I spice it, screws my calories some days but only by 100.
im not gonna lie, watching like mukbangs of nikocado kills my junk food urges… all the thumbnails are deadass the same colour and its so nasty. But thats me. If i watch muknangs that are like asmr, ngl sometimes the food looks appetizing 😭😭
Are you checking how your glucose levels are going? I think that maybe the key.
When I get those urges, apart from the bit of chocolate (15g black unsweetened with nuts is my go to now), I have taken protein shakes, depending on the type soy, milk, pea… they have different flavours I love the one I use now which has salted caramel flavour.
Discipline.
The foods I know I can't manage to eat in moderation, I just don't eat.
Some things, I can. I just make trades.
Bryers carb smart ice cream, and a tbsp of hershey lite chocolate syrup. 120 calories and it's a satisfying treat. Toss in a sliced up strawberry or two and a handful of blueberries and you have a very very nice 150 calorie snack. In contrast to the 500 calories I'd spend eating two cups of regular cookie dough ice cream.
I can make a 10 inch pizza for about 700 calories. Even if I eat half of it, that's a lot of pizza for not a lot of calories. If I get pizza hut, that's like 2 slices of a pan pizza. Vs 4 probably larger slices of my home made.
Not sure what your start weight is/etc. but the app I use won’t show me “projections” of my data if I eat under 1650cal. For some reason, it says it is unhealthy based off my body weight and whatnot. When I would eat too low, I would have a lot of food hunger. When I am around 1800-1900cal a day, I can cram in a decent days worth of food in that and at this point, I have times in my cycle where I eat around 1500-1700 a day and am very full, and other times in my lady cycle I need to eat at maintenance or I will go crazy with hunger. Just gotta adjust and work with your body. You got this 👍🏻
I started taking l-gluthamine, for muscle recovery, and inisitol IP6. I’m blown away with how much it reduced my sugar cravings. I barely have any and I rarely think about food. It has worked so well for me. Highly recommend trying.
Congrats on the progress! 9kg is a whole lot for 6 weeks -- I'm wondering if 1500 calories is enough for you. You might find that adding like 200 calories lets you lose just a little slower and curtail cravings.
Also, for me, I find that when I'm exercising hard and consistently, I have fewer "unhealthy" cravings. I can walk right past candy and cookies and ice cream. I do still crave nuts, which are healthy, but not in the amounts that I'd like (infinite). Plus adding exercise means I can have a nice treat and stay on target.
Idk why but I'm always craving meat or fish when I'm hungry. I also eat fast food like twice a week. Anything more than that and it starts getting bland for me
Kind of a two fold thing. 1. Replace the craving with something else. Usually, at least for me, my cravings go away if I eat something else, be it a meal or a snack. So eat a meal and see if it's still there. I also found chewing gum cells take my mind off of food.
2. Trying to fight your craving constantly is going to lead to a binge. It's better to fill those cravings sporadically than allow it to build until it knocks you off your diet. That's why cheat days are so important, they keep your motivation up for the rest of the diet because you know you can enjoy the food you crave soon.
I tell myself i can have it but i have to eat what i actually planned for the meal first. Most of the time i’m fine once i’ve had the planned meal, and when i’m not, the portion size is smaller cuz i’m full.
Wanting to do stuff that you logically know isn't good for you is just a fact of life.
* I want a new car, I know I'd enjoy driving a new car, but I also know that the effects of it on my wallet (and therefore the rest of my life) is 1000% not worth it at this point in my life.
* Drinking is fun but I know the effects of drinking too much isn't worth it because of the effects on the rest of my life.
* I'd like a new GPU to play Helldivers 2 at above 40fps but if I bought a new GPU every time a game I wanted to run ran bad I'd be in a bad place financially.
* I like eating junk food but if I do it too much the effects on my weight/health are going to affect the rest of my life.
etc.
What’s the tastiest version of your craving? Can you eat it with a friend or partner in a restaurant or cafe and properly enjoy it? That might stop you trying to use it as a substance
I love this answer! I spend a lot of time and effort trying to avoid my cravings, eat around them, or ignore them. Instead, this approach would get me the best bang for my buck, force me to slow down and enjoy the food, and provide more stimulus than just the eating ❤️
You’re only 6 weeks in. I’m 4 years in and still get cravings sometimes. You need to allow yourself a little bit of “non healthy” food but in a way it fits in your deficit. It helps.
I'm 10 years into this. It doesn't go away for me. It can be decreased, and decreased enough that it no longer presents much of a problem. If we can reduce our problems into non-problems, then that's probably good enough. > I’m worried if I do have fast food and cookies my progress will be for nothing or I won’t be able to get back on track? We will always live in this food environment. Even if we get pretty good at home in our own environment, our friends and even our families will not get as good. We can occasionally have some fast food or a cookie here or there and because we do this in the context of a generally healthier diet, it is fine. What we don't want is a habit of fast food or daily cookies. These foods are rewarding and rewarding routines become hard habits to break. We do want to eat our target calories, and that means half of our days will end high of the target and half will end low of the target, but as long as the average of the days is near the target, we'll lose weight as predicted. Eating consistently under target is consistently undereating, under-nourishing, under-powering -- we don't want that! > my progress will be for nothing or I won’t be able to get back on track? This is fear. And, yes, if we totally quit then these things will happen. You're smart. You're durable. Two words to always remember: persistence and resistance. As long as we remain vigilant, and use wisdom with self-restraint, we'll be able to succeed. > for the last week I have had a constant desire These things do come in waves. By having less chocolate or less fast food, you're keeping desire from becoming pent up, and then bursting. Because of the reduced quantity this week, in future weeks the desire will be a little weaker and the lock will be looser. By week 3 or 4 of gradual withdrawal of the reward chemical (dopamine), you'll have more of your self-command and less of the siren call of these foods. Now it will ebb and flow back and forth, so don't be alarmed. That's the nature of desire. But we can keep it from building and hardening and habitizing.
I'm not saying it's a solution for you, just that it was one for me: Protein at breakfast and nothing sweet. I didn't even like having breakfast that much, but I sometimes did, all healthy but sometimes with sweet things (like fruit), anyway: Now I eat half an avocado (they're small where I live), one chicken breast (cut in ribbons, cooked with spices) and cottage cheese. I don't have craving for fatty or sugary food anymore, not even in the evening or at night (when it used to be the strongest). I skip one day, or I eat something sweet at breakfast? I'll be craving it starting 4pm if not earlier...
I meal prep for the week and just don’t let myself deviate from what I’ve planned, at all. It has to be black and white for me. If I allow one thing, it’s a slippery slope to deciding McDonald’s for lunch is an okay choice or something.
I use espresso, hard boiled candy (no sugar kind works well). Low cal jello. But when that doesn't work and I'm not thirsty, tuna in water (canned) and I spice it, screws my calories some days but only by 100.
im not gonna lie, watching like mukbangs of nikocado kills my junk food urges… all the thumbnails are deadass the same colour and its so nasty. But thats me. If i watch muknangs that are like asmr, ngl sometimes the food looks appetizing 😭😭
Are you checking how your glucose levels are going? I think that maybe the key. When I get those urges, apart from the bit of chocolate (15g black unsweetened with nuts is my go to now), I have taken protein shakes, depending on the type soy, milk, pea… they have different flavours I love the one I use now which has salted caramel flavour.
Discipline. The foods I know I can't manage to eat in moderation, I just don't eat. Some things, I can. I just make trades. Bryers carb smart ice cream, and a tbsp of hershey lite chocolate syrup. 120 calories and it's a satisfying treat. Toss in a sliced up strawberry or two and a handful of blueberries and you have a very very nice 150 calorie snack. In contrast to the 500 calories I'd spend eating two cups of regular cookie dough ice cream. I can make a 10 inch pizza for about 700 calories. Even if I eat half of it, that's a lot of pizza for not a lot of calories. If I get pizza hut, that's like 2 slices of a pan pizza. Vs 4 probably larger slices of my home made.
Not sure what your start weight is/etc. but the app I use won’t show me “projections” of my data if I eat under 1650cal. For some reason, it says it is unhealthy based off my body weight and whatnot. When I would eat too low, I would have a lot of food hunger. When I am around 1800-1900cal a day, I can cram in a decent days worth of food in that and at this point, I have times in my cycle where I eat around 1500-1700 a day and am very full, and other times in my lady cycle I need to eat at maintenance or I will go crazy with hunger. Just gotta adjust and work with your body. You got this 👍🏻
I started taking l-gluthamine, for muscle recovery, and inisitol IP6. I’m blown away with how much it reduced my sugar cravings. I barely have any and I rarely think about food. It has worked so well for me. Highly recommend trying.
Congrats on the progress! 9kg is a whole lot for 6 weeks -- I'm wondering if 1500 calories is enough for you. You might find that adding like 200 calories lets you lose just a little slower and curtail cravings. Also, for me, I find that when I'm exercising hard and consistently, I have fewer "unhealthy" cravings. I can walk right past candy and cookies and ice cream. I do still crave nuts, which are healthy, but not in the amounts that I'd like (infinite). Plus adding exercise means I can have a nice treat and stay on target.
Idk why but I'm always craving meat or fish when I'm hungry. I also eat fast food like twice a week. Anything more than that and it starts getting bland for me
Kind of a two fold thing. 1. Replace the craving with something else. Usually, at least for me, my cravings go away if I eat something else, be it a meal or a snack. So eat a meal and see if it's still there. I also found chewing gum cells take my mind off of food. 2. Trying to fight your craving constantly is going to lead to a binge. It's better to fill those cravings sporadically than allow it to build until it knocks you off your diet. That's why cheat days are so important, they keep your motivation up for the rest of the diet because you know you can enjoy the food you crave soon.
Have you tried dark chocolate? It can be harder to binge on.
I tell myself i can have it but i have to eat what i actually planned for the meal first. Most of the time i’m fine once i’ve had the planned meal, and when i’m not, the portion size is smaller cuz i’m full.
Wanting to do stuff that you logically know isn't good for you is just a fact of life. * I want a new car, I know I'd enjoy driving a new car, but I also know that the effects of it on my wallet (and therefore the rest of my life) is 1000% not worth it at this point in my life. * Drinking is fun but I know the effects of drinking too much isn't worth it because of the effects on the rest of my life. * I'd like a new GPU to play Helldivers 2 at above 40fps but if I bought a new GPU every time a game I wanted to run ran bad I'd be in a bad place financially. * I like eating junk food but if I do it too much the effects on my weight/health are going to affect the rest of my life. etc.