[navel-gazy] Thinking about weight loss and food cravings

[cupcake_goth]

I'm still slowly (oh so slowly!) losing weight after joining Weight Watchers almost 2 years ago. I know why I'm not losing weight any faster: I'm not exercising as much as I could be, and there are weeks when I'm a bit ... neglectful about keeping track of my food choices. But, I AM still losing weight (with the occasional plateau), and am about 13 pounds away from my goal weight. Do I think I'll hit my goal weight by my 2 year WW anniversary? Eh, no. And strangely enough, I'm fine with that. I'll get there eventually.

As for food cravings: for the past month or two, I have had insane cravings for cake-y type things such as muffins or cupcakes. If someone offered me a chocolate chip muffin-type thing right now, I would squeak and wave my hands in glee. (And then probably eat half of it and save the other half for tomorrow, but still.) I have no idea why my body has decided that sweet bread-y things are the Best Food Ever, and trying to ignore these cravings is getting harder. Anyone have any advice?

Comments

[kijjohnson.livejournal.com]

I think it's spring. Wintertime, I crave fat to stay warm. Spring, my body wants quick run-around energy.

[javagoth.livejournal.com]

Not sure if this will be helpful but one of the things I'm working on - with the help of my counselor - is identifying when I'm eating out of boredom or stress eating. Stress "hunger" (read cravings) is the hardest to ignore. When I'm stressed I tend to crave comfort foods. Sometimes just the act of acknowledging that it's a stress reaction rather than an actual nutritional need helps. Otherwise I just try to limit the intake or to do something that will distract me and alleviate the stress.

The other thing I'm doing is that I know that my favorite "reward" type food is ice cream. It was the most withheld and so the most coveted when I was younger. I've been reminding myself that I can eat it whenever I want now and that I, therefore, don't need to eat it whenever it's an option. This is combined with reminding myself that this is the only body I get and I need to take care of it. That seems to get my brain to figure out it's not a denial thing but a take care of myself and eat healthy thing. So far that has been very helpful in my current efforts to improve my eating habits.

[arian1.livejournal.com]

a) the last few pounds always suck the most.

b) Cravings? We all get them you just have to resist. If you have a cakey-type craving, try a spot of cheese, that always worked for me.

YOU CAN DO EEET! :)

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

If you don't mind spicy foods, I've found that increasing the flavor-to-calorie ratio helps. In my case that was veggies with garlic mustard or chipotle. If you simply must have a member of the muffin family, though, why not make your own with as little fat or other nasty stuff as you can get away with?

I will refrain from suggesting spicy muffins here.

[water-of-fire.livejournal.com]

(I like the idea of spicy muffins.)

Thank you for mentioning veggies with garlic mustard or chipotle -- that sounds delicious.

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

Something like a red hot muffin would be nice. A chipotle muffin, not so much. You're welcome.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Yay!!

Your icon still freaks me out.

[thingunderthest.livejournal.com]

Way to go. Slow progress is good as long as it doesn't discourage you.

I think for me it might prove to be a bit of a problem that I work way to close to RedMill Burgers. I have to stay strong and bring my lunch as much as possible.

[theicequeen.livejournal.com]

DOn't recall all the restrictions of WW, and not sure you love the cooking, but Himself took a chocolate cupcake recipe and used white wheat pastry flour (so it's a whole grain wheat flour instead of the evil white flour that tastes soooo nice) and replaced the sugar with date sugar (which is dehydrated, ground dates...available in the bulk foods at Central Market) and some stevia (because date sugar isn't as sweet) and some hacked up pieces of sugar-free chocolate bits (also form the bulk section)....In the end, though I don't know calorie count, the only real "bad" thing was butter. And since I decided to ignore fat issues (because they aren't yet a problem for me if I behave otherwise), that was no big.

Anyhow, point of this rambling: a whole grain chocolate cupcake that I had no guilt about. If you're interested, I will try to get the recipe and appropriate notes on changes.

[icprncs.livejournal.com]

I would definitely look at stress or other mental/emotional issues when addressing the cravings. I know that when I'm feeling very stressed, I tend to crave sweet starchy things; if I'm genuinely hungry, I crave protein or veggies. The old tricks do work for me (substitute something healthier with more flavor, substitute a small amount of high-cacao dark chocolate, brush my teeth), but if it goes on for a long time, sometimes the best thing is just to give in and have something as long as it's done in moderation.

And as A. notes above, whole-grain, minimally-processed sweet starchy things are at least a bit healthier than ones made with heavily refined flower and sugar and hydrogenated fats. That's part of the reason I've been trying to do more of my own baking; that way I at least know what's gone into that cookie or muffin I'm indulging in.

As for the success, go you with cheers and banners waving. :) And I understand the "I'll get there" viewpoint. I'm concentrating on exercise rather than food this time (other than "don't overeat" and "don't eat junk" as general guidelines), so it's happening slowly, but it's definitely happening, and I know that I'll get where I want to be as long as I keep going.

[coulrophobe.livejournal.com]

I tend to crave sweet things in general (and also meaty-cheesy things in winter), so I can definitely relate. I've taken to snacking on a bit of dried fruit or handful of nuts whenever I want sweets, and that's helped a lot (my favorite - dried lychee from Trader Joes). While fruit does have a lot of sugars, at least it's not processed/refined sugar.

I'm also trying to come up with dessert recipes that, while not technically *good* for me, are better than what I'd buy on impulse if I gave in to a craving. The spicy fruit compote over low fat frozen yogurt thing I posted about recently is pretty damn good.

I'm also going to experiment with making spiced bread, for something cake-like. My whole wheat buttermilk bread turned out pretty well, and uses only whole wheat flour (I use white whole wheat, it's milder), honey, olive oil, lowfat buttermilk, baking soda, and yeast - I think adding spices and maybe a bit of Splenda for extra sweetness would be a good cake substitute. Whole grain reasonably healthy cake would be a nice thing.

[mskat.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on the weight loss. I can't tell you how much I admire the will to lose sensibly and slowly.

In terms of cravings, everyone else's ideas are so good. I am a slave to the cupcake, so I know that desire for cakey things. What I've tried to do is to snack on something every 2-3 hours and have my snack include protein. It stops me from feeling like I'm hungry because I know I'm not and helps me identify a craving as simply a mouth-feel-taste thing and not something I can justify with a "But I'm hungry!" whine.

Eat chocolate instead

[mistressginor.livejournal.com]

Honey Bear bakery makes vegan chocolate raspberry gluten free muffins that are better than non vegivore muffins. They make it with a rice flour and eqq substitute and fresh non sugared raspberries.I have been meaning to learn to make these if I figure out Ill tell. RCC

[vorona.livejournal.com]

I go ahead and give in to those cravings, with guidelines. Firm guidelines. I get ONE sweet bready thing when I need it, and it has to be in the morning, or at tea-time at the very latest. This is not dessert after meals: meals are enough, and the only thing after meals is fruit and tea. But at 11 or 4:30, if I really can't stand not having SOMETHING, I get something. But it can't be poison. It has to be relatively healthy, made with butter or cold-pressed oil, nothing hydrogenated. No corn syrup under any circumstances. It has to be real. And it can't be huge. One madeleine, for example.

And then there are varying levels of fooling myself with food... Inka, a hot Polish grain/beet beverage, with a few drops of lemon, almond, and vanilla extract, and some almond milk, and maybe a little Xylitol, is a good way to fill up on something vaguely treat-like, and it's mostly water. When I'm full of this non-caffeinated, low-calorie hot drink, I feel less inclined to eat large quantities of anything. It goes well with that one cookie.

If I really "need" something more substantial, here's my Fake Cake: spread one slice of excellent whole grain bread with a thin layer of almond, cashew, or hazelnut butter. Pile on good, unsweetened apple sauce, and sprinkle this with cinnamon. Eat it with a fork. Nothing here is bad.

And then there is the Metamucil fiber wafer. It tastes incredibly like a windmill cookie, but it is made out of psyllium instead of flour. It has 110 calories, and can be extremely satisfying with 16 ounces of tea, coffee, or Inka. These come in packets and can be stashed for emergencies.

I think the main things are to limit the sweet bready things to ONE item at a time, up to two a day, and to consume it earlier in the day and never after a meal, so it burns off more easily.