Lately...well EVERY NIGHT I get the desire to CHEAT CHEAT CHEAT! I mean, I want to go and fix me something VERY VERY NAUGHTY and EAT EAT EAT!

I need help because even though I HAVE BEEN IN CONTROL and as of yet, I have NOT cheated, I'm afraid if this continues I'll go on a serious EATING RAMPAGE!

So my question is this... What do you do, when you want to cheat? How do you stay IN CONTROL??????

I don't know if this is the right way or a good way but it is my way. I have not yet found anything worth cheating for. Simple huh? Everyday I have to deal with donuts at work but what I tell myself is that the donuts aren't good enough to cheat for. Why blow it for a fifty cent donut? I tell myself that if I am going to cheat it had better be for something fabulous. Fortunately, in day to day life, you don't run across truly fabulous food. I sometimes muse on what fabulous is and I haven't figured it out yet. I do know that common bread, candy bars, and common stuff like that no longer have power over me. They aren't good enough. I went through hellish withdrawls. If I am going to have to go through those again, I want food fit for king. To my knowledge, I have never had that kind of food. Hopefully, I will never run across it. My shrinkage (lost lots of inches but the scale is being stubborn) is worth a kings ransom (or buffet) and nothing short of that will do.

Silly, I know, but it is what works for me.

H

If you are prepared for the next day's food and have lots of protein foods around, go ahead and eat some. If you make yourself eat protein when cravings to eat carbs hit, they GO AWAY. It's partly habit to crave carbs and partly, it's your body trying to give it the EASY FUEL again. So it puts thoughts of carby foods into your brain & makes you want them. Defeat that nasty chemistry and forge on toward your goal - EAT MEAT! I have yet to have a craving that could survive eating protein instead.

Good luck.

I agree with Bansshee. Just try real hard to remind yourself that nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.

When I want to cheat, I try and drink some hot water with a squeeze of lemon. The water is comforting in my stomach, and seems to fill me up.

And I do "Cheat with Meat." In other words, I grab a hunk of whatever's in the fridge and eat until it seems I'm a little satisfied. Sometimes that works to stave it off.

If you do fall off the wagon, start your very next meal back on track. Don't wait 'till the next day, and don't beat yourself up about it.

P.S. If you're hungry, eat! Just make it low carb. You can do it!

I walk around in my WAY TOO tight pants that I REALLY want to fit into! Not kidding. You think that is funny, at least I can button them now!!! If anyone saw me I would just die!

Also I want to cheat when I am hungry! So if my cravings get REALLy bad I eat chicken. It works! I try not to get hungry, so that way I am not craving no no's.

there are also supplements that help with cravings. i have found that chromium gtf (glucose tolerance factor) works for me.

I too haven't found anything worth cheating for. The thing I miss most is being able to eat 2 or 3 banannas at one sitting. It's really hard to eat only a third.

I accomplish this by never eating a bananna alone...I cut off a third and give the rest to someone else to keep the temtation away.

I feel sooooo much better now, that carbs just don't seem worth it.

dee

I know I;m weird but for some reson I will eat hotwings when I am craving something sweet--it really curves that for me. But I love spicy food so just about everything I eat has hot sauce on or in it

Sonja

I crave anything in a shiny bag in the chips aisle in the grocery store. Cheetos (should be spelled CHEATos), chips, pretzels, nachos, tortilla chips (not popcorn for some reason). I could eat bag after bag.....


Lisa

... When I feel like I want to cheat, binge whatever and I can't talk myself out of it, I go to the emergency pickle jar. Pickles are soooo yummy and crunchy and comforting!

I find that after 6 or so pickles I am over it, and the jar goes back... total carb dmg is so neglible I don't stress at all and just keep on going.

I have begun to make my own jerky so this has really helped me when I get cravings. I just grab a handful of jerky and munch!

We are still experimenting with different marinades - hubby likes it hot, I go more for mild.

When all else fails, I usually just go to bed!

This is going to sound weird, but I tell myself to go ahead and cheat. Kind of like this:

"Fine, If want to cheat, then I am going to cheat. I am going to eat chips and guacamole and a big burrito and maybe some mozzerella sticks..." etc.

Then I go to the store and buy myself one of those whole roasted chickens, and a couple avocados and chips (for the kids, of course) and whatever else, and I go home (still with the intent to cheat)and eat like have the chicken, usually while I am standing in the kitchen. All of the sudden, I don't feel like cheating anymore. It is just not worth it.

You see, by allowing yourself the option to cheat takes some of the stress away and if you really think about it (especially with a mouthful of good roast chicken) it is not worth it.


-Shelly

If your cravings are that strong and that frequent maybe you should take a look at what your eating during the day. Even though you are eating LC maybe something in your diet is triggering this response.
I had a problem with peanuts. Even though this is something I can eat in moderation I found that for me after eating peanuts a little later cravings would come back and the desire to eat carb rich foods would be even stronger.
Strangely enough I don't have this problem with sunflower seeds and I find that an ounce or two helps get rid of the occasional craving.Good Luck and keep us posted.

I usually try to figure out what I'm craving and find a low carb substitute. For example, the smell of the mint Girl Scout cookies they kept putting by the coffee pot at work was driving me nuts! I decided it was the mint I really missed, so I bought some peppermint herbal tea and added a packet of Splenda to the cup. It satisfied my mint/sweet cravings. If it's crunch (as in chips and dip) that I miss, I make some pepperoni crisps and avacado dip. Also, a couple of olives go a long ways toward satisfying some cravings.

It just really isn't worth cheating -- you'll only feel guilty and bad about yourself afterward, so you won't even enjoy what you had!

When I feel like I want to eat something that I shouldn't, I'll eat a handful of pork rinds. I let my old tapes in my head run and say "Oh, these things are soooooooooooo bad for me." Knowing full well that they really are ok in a nominal amount. I choose the really spicy ones that also make me thirsty. I usually eat all organic foods, so this is really decadent for me. I would choose nuts, but I wouldn't be able to stop at a handful.