I just returned from another fun road trip, this time to Atlanta – and I’ll tell you more about the trip (and our super fun Low Carb Lunch Meetup while there!) in my next posts. First though, I want to share a bit about how to control food cravings…
I’ve been eating super clean lately and I’ve lost more than 8 pounds in the last few weeks, but the third day of my trip I swear I woke up on my head or something. I was craving EVERYTHING. 😐
It was just one of those crazy days where I felt “off” and just knew I was going to totally BINGE. I *almost* went for it and walked toward the coffee shop to get a blueberry muffin. I turned myself right back around, knowing I would order FIVE lol.
That took serious willpower. But the conversation in my head went like this: “Don’t screw up what you’ve worked so hard to achieve.” But it was the next thought that actually made me spin on my heels and walk the other way: “You haven’t weighed the last 3 days. Do you really want to get home tomorrow and weigh in heavier?!” Um, NO. I was actually excited to get home and weigh myself to see how much weight I’d lost while on my trip (eating out and on the go for three straight days).
No way I wanted to screw that up! 😛
Still, the cravings bugged me all day. And it wasn’t just cravings, but a weird nagging feeling I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I just felt “off” that day is all I can say.
By evening I was sitting in a conference room listening to a favorite speaker, and it was hitting me HARD.
I got up and made a glass of water. I downed that and got another. Then I ate a sugar free Werther’s Original.
That usually does the trick. One little smooth, creamy sweet Werther’s and I’m good to go. Not this time…
What to do?!
I got up and left the room and walked straight to the restaurant. I realized I was hungry, and the hungrier I got… the worse the various junk foods danced through my head.
I had a really nice low carb lunch earlier at the same restaurant, so when I sat down I ordered a water and pushed the menu to the side. I knew if I even LOOKED at that menu I was going to order “Key Lime Pie, Carrot Cake and a Cheeseburger please!” – in that order.
So I refused to the look at the menu, and simply ordered the same thing I’d had for lunch earlier that day. An exact repeat. Here was my lunch, by the way:
I had a grilled chicken sandwich (no bun, please) with steamed asparagus instead of fries. The sandwich came with avocado on it, so they brought that on the side – perfect! 😀 And I ordered a side of mayo to dip my asparagus in. That sounds crazy, yes. I called them “green fries” and ate them with my fingers.
When I ordered the same thing for dinner, it came with a homemade guacamole spread AND avocado slices:
You know what? It was delicious. I was satisfied, full, and the cravings went away.
And I came home happy with myself, not discouraged / disgusted, and… I weighed 2.2 pounds LESS than when I left home a few days before. 😀
Serious willpower? Yes. But I had serious motivation.
I know what I want to achieve, I know what my health and weight loss goals are, and I want it bad enough to stick it out through the random food cravings. Not to say that it was easy, because it wasn’t. I fought it all day. But that WIN was SO worth it!
I beat it, I won, I came home happy.
Of course, the idea of going back through keto flu didn’t hurt either. That’s a nightmare (for me) and definitely something I wanted to avoid. So that was definitely good motivation too. 😉
What about you – what do you to control your food cravings?
Things that work for me include:
– Stop and make a rational decision about what I am going to eat, and why.
– Grab a bottled water and/or ONE sugar free hard candy (they keep the mouth busy longer)
– Order/make a favorite healthy meal. Avoid looking at the menu or thinking too hard about it.
If you give in, you feel like crap – both physically and mentally. You beat yourself up over it, feel bloated and miserable, and you think… well since I screwed up I might as well just totally binge out. Which sometimes lasts for weeks or months, causing to gain back everything you worked so hard to lose.
Learning how to control food cravings is important! So let’s share some more great tips – leave a comment below and share what works for you! 😉
I try to have Trident spearmint gum or cashews or almonds. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Thanks for your insight!
I keep sugar free gum & mints in my bag as well, just in case – and they do help sometimes. I find the Sugar Free Werther’s Originals to be even better for serious sugar cravings though. They are so creamy and rich, and last longer, and they really do the trick! Usually. π With a little dose of serious willpower & motivation along with it, of course. π
Great job Lynn!! I know that was tough, but kudos to you for avoiding temptation, and sharing with all of us how you overcame it.
Thank you Traci! It WAS tough – but wow, the feeling of getting through it and being HAPPY with myself was so worth it. π *cheers*
This is a great post!! I totally needed this – thank you! I have a terrible time with the keto flu and am beating myself up for eating carbs this weekend, because I have to go thru it all over again. But now I can use your tips and avoid this in the future π
It really does stink, Emma – ack. π No fun at all, lol. You can do it. Just ride it out this week, get through it, and you’ll be right back on track in no time! π
I have found something new to stop craving and hunger. You take 1 raw egg and you shake it up in a shaker. Make a strong black coffee about 3/4 cup and add a sweetener. Take 1 teaspoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of coconut oil and add it to the coffee. add some cold water so that the coffee is cool. Add that to the egg in the shaker and about 1/4 cup of cream then shake all together. It is so delicious and it takes away your craving and your hunger for hours. Try it! I also thought I wont be able to stomach it but tried it and it really tastes like a coffee milkshake very nice!!! Since I tried it the day before yesterday I lost an extra kilo- it is a fat bomb coffee.
Wow – I’m familiar with Bullet Proof Coffee, but I’ve never heard of adding a raw egg. Interesting! I have all of those ingredients and I LOVE coffee, so I’ll have to give that a try. Thanks Irma. π
Hi Lyn, yesterday I had the Bullet Proof Coffee for Lunch and Dinner and last night we had chicken with cauliflower for dinner. I dropped 2 kilos I was on 107 kilos yesterday and this morning when I got on the scale I was down to 105 cant believe it I am so happy!!!!!!! So guess what I had for breakfast another one of those bullet proof coffee’s with an egg in it and I brought left over chicken for lunch today. I will see what the scale says tomorrow
Great to hear, Irma – Congrats!!
Thanks for this post Lynn, I actually printed it out so I can read it when cravings hit. I am having a tough time with sugar lately and wanting to ‘treat’ myself to something the minute I am alone in the house. Know this is not good and have to keep reminding myself why I want to do this. To keep healthy, improve a pinched nerve in my back and help my arthritis in my knee.
Thanks again this was motivational for me.
That’s a great motivation, Sue. I also have chronic pain issues from an old accident (inflammatory arthritis in my lower back that affects my sciatic nerve – ack!) so I know exactly what you mean. Strong motivation indeed! π
For me, it helps to get to the root of that “association”. For me on the day I was talking about (last Sunday) I tend to be an emotional eater and turn to food when I feel “off” (or upset or bothered or sad – or you name it lol). It helps to know that and deal with it from that point – as a habit you know is not rational and want to BEAT.
Consider why you want to “treat” yourself, and why it’s sugar you turn to for that, when it happens and what the root of that habit is really. That will help. Just being conscious of that helps you to make a conscious choice NOT to allow it. Which becomes your new habit in short time. π *cheers*
Hi Lynn,
great job!
what do you use for mayo?
Thanks π I just use regular Hellmann’s mayo.
Thanks for this post, Lynn! I’m currently struggling to get back on track…I was doing so well up until vacation last month where I splurged the whole time (and ever since.) Today is my first day back at it and i’m having really strong cravings tonight. I’m an emotional eater as well and life has thrown me some curb balls lately so all I want is ice cream, cookies, cake, chips…all that “good” stuff. This post helped me feel so much better!
I have been doing keto for 2.5 months and sometimes have cravings. I then pig out; well almost. I really fill up on lunch meat and cheese and anything keto approved. The cravings have always gone away and I was satisfied for hours. I guess my body was needing food. I was always surprised when my next weigh in showed I had lost. I cheated and had sushi with rice the day before yesterday and felt OK afterwards, but I increased 2 pounds, so back to keto only. I have lost 20 lbs in 2.5 months and have stalled once when I thought I was eating keto only. The cheating times I knew why I stalled. Your story of filling up on another keto meal reminded me of my experience. If you are hungry, fill up on keto foods, be satisfied and lose weight.
If you like dark chocolate, Here is a delicious candy recipe;
Really helps me not eat “sweets”, very satisfing,
All you chocolate lovers–here is a quick delicious recipe I came up with– 1 cup virgin coconut oil, 1 1/2 squares unsweetened Bakers brand 100%chocolate, 3 to 5 scoops of stevia powder extract (I use NOW brand), 2 teaspoons vanilla. Melt over low heat or in a double boiler.Stir quite a lot–the chocolate will take longer to melt and it settles to the bottom of the pan. Divide into 20 muffin papers or I butter the muffin tins and divide into 20 portions. You can add 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, or 15 drops of pure peppermint oil, or 1 tsp. carmel extract or any other extracts, and my husbands favorite is 1/2 cup natural unsweetened peanut butter! Very low carb and excellent way to get the coconut oil eaten. Without nuts or peanut butter, each one is less than 1/2 a carb
PS–put in the refrigerator or freezer until cold, then store in a ziplock bag in refrigerator, very yummy dark chocolates, must keep cold, low melt point.
Just made a batch of these–added 1/2 tsp butterscotch extract, 1/2 cup chopped, shredded, unsweetened coconut & 1/2 cup chopped pecans. They are delicious!! Raises the carb count to 1 carb each (20 pieces to a batch) They are 1/3 of a carb each without the extras.
I make sure I have pickles and cut up cheese on hand in the fridge.
I usually have dill pickles, pork rinds, Colby-Jack cheese, salami and American Cheese “roll-ups” ~~ these are my constant “go-2’s” for in between meals.