New help with Cravings

[ThePoet87]

hello all,

Im new here,

I've been overweight since high school and have tried diets before. Everytime I would quit because I would let someone get to me or I'd lose movtivation. another reason I would quit is because of the Cravings I would get. Like I can feel them in my stomach. Its not because im not eating. I am. Its just because Im so addicted to junk. I've never really ate healthy my whole life and I have a bipolar disoder so im an emotional eater. I am really serious about losing the weight this time, because I feel that its holding me back from doing great things. I also have been told i'm a good looking guy. I'm just fat. So anyways how do I get the Cravings to stop? does anyone have any advice? sorry for the rant.

 

[amy1985]

I'd suggest a few things.

First of all, start to wean yourself off the junk. If you have several "junk" foods a day, cut it to one a day. If you have one piece of junk food a day, cut it to every second day. Take small steps down until you're not having it as often. Even if you still end up having it every second day, that's half as bad as having it every day. It's still an improvement. (Also, try alternating or using diet versions to help wean you off- they're not brilliant either, but they're better than the real thing)

Second, remember that you can have bad food sometimes. But only sometimes- personally I'm trying to aim for once every couple of weeks. Keep the portion small, keep it to something you really enjoy, and savour it. (I don't really buy into "cheat days", but you may want to read about them- there's a stickied post which is mentioned on the side bar on the left) I "save" for my junk through calorie counting, but a lot of people don't like doing that (I've written about the basics of how to do it on my diary and all over the place). Some people "budget" their junk into their calorie allowance more often than I plan to, but I'm trying to stay away from it where I can.

Third, replace the junk with healthy food that you enjoy. I personally love berries, and I often have them in my porridge, or with some low fat Greek yoghurt. It's a wonderful dessert. Try some different fruits, experiment with cooking. Personally I'm finding myself eating better and enjoying my food more, even though I'm on a diet.

Fourth, if you're craving something or hungry, have a drink of water and wait for ten minutes, to see if the cravings go away. If they don't, try something healthy that's a similar flavour (e.g. sweet, savoury, salty) to the thing you're craving, and then wait another ten or twenty minutes and see if the craving goes away. If it doesn't go away, have a very small amount of the thing you're craving (one small square of chocolate for example), and no more. Minimise the damage.

Finally, think about tracking your food. I use a calorie counting program and also have a diary here (I recommend reading diaries and possibly setting up your own for ideas, advice and support). I do so fairly religiously now, and it helps me to think "do I really want to have to write that down?" I feel shame in writing down that I've had something bad that I didn't plan for.

Also, the more exercise you do, the less damage (in terms of weight gain, nutrition is another matter) you do to your final goals. You can afford to eat more if you exercise more.

I'm no expert, but this is the approach that's working for me.