Everyday Systems

I'm brand new here & can't even seem to get through one day without the night sugar cravings getting the best of me! Can't seem to get my willpower in gear.

Has anyone struggled with this and overcome it? Any suggestions would be wonderful!

Thank you!
Moxie

I went through this out of the blue a month or so ago. I thought that making sure I ate fruits might help, but that made it worse. What solved the problem was eating enough grains/starches with my meals. It was purely an accidental discovery.

But one thing: while I was craving sweets, I didn't give in to the cravings. Just because we crave something doesn't mean we have to fill the cravings. We're in charge -- not the cravings.

I have more trouble with afternoon snack cravings than post-dinner cravings, but I have a couple of suggestions:

• The best strategy is not to keep snacks around. If it's not in the cupboard, I won't eat it. Just throw the sweets out. It's a really liberating feeling to let the junk food know who's boss. Sugar is cheap and you can always buy more if you still have that craving next weekend. If it's something homemade that you can't stand to waste, freeze it until the weekend.
  
  If you can't shake the cravings, you could try going out for a walk and staying out until it's nearly bedtime and you're too tired to snack. It has worked for me before.

Good luck! No-S is a great way to eat. I hope you'll find that it works for you too.

When I want something sweet after dinner, I make myself a cup of decaf or herb tea with a little honey. It feels a tiny bit indulgent without being a sugary treat. It is also very relaxing and it helps me tell my brain that eating is over for the day.

I've also gotten into the habit of totally cleaning up the kitchen immediately after dinner and sort of telling myself that "OK, now that the kitchen is totally cleaned up, no need to go back in there until breakfast tomorrow!". I usually put the tea kettle on to boil while I'm cleaning up.

I struggled with this the first weeks as well. One of the things that really helped was getting several servings of veggies at supper time. A "serving" is usually like 1/2 a cup of veggies, but I have about 4 servings at supper time. The fiber fills me up really well.

If things get really crazy then I have a soy milk before bed.

Over time, your pancreas will adjust the amount of insulin it's accustomed to spilling out. It's still programmed in the snack mode and will adjust. (at least this is my experience).

Now, when I'm hungry between meals, I'm hungry but not physically/emotionally ravenously hungry, if that makes sense?

Or maybe it's just that I've decided to ignore it and eat only when it's meal time. <shrugs>

My experience so far has been that my appetite is like a child; if I indulge it whenever it shouts loud enough, it learns that it can get what it want by shouting more.

For me, being very strict through the first few weeks has put my appetite in it's place; I think I'm not feeling hungry between meals because my appetite knows that it won't be indulged. Like a child that's learned the rules, it doesn't try to push the boundaries if those boundaries are very firm.

With that in mind, then, I can only suggest that you absolutely do not allow yourself to give in. I think the act of giving in, after a prolonged battle with yourself, teaches the appetite to scream in protest all the more often and loudly.

Thank you so much everyone for your responses! These are all great ideas. I will definitely try the suggestions.

Moxie

Are you busy after dinner? I've always found that if I have something active to do, I think a whole lot less about food. Not, for instance, reading, but puttering in my basement shop.

Moxie,

If it gets too bad, have a glass of milk. Yes, milk has calories, but it's not solid food, it's not sweet, and if your hunger is real, it will satiate it. You'll technically keep the habit of not eating between meals.

Milk is soporific too, so you kill two birds with one stone.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes,

Reinhard

What has helped me is a glass of milk with some protein powder added. Protein is very filling. Just one glass leaves me like I've eaten a good-sized snack, with just around 100 calories.