Cravings :(

Bzzt · Post by **Bzzt** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:33 pm

Hello everyone! This is my first post. Just wanted to say 'hi' really.

I'm 2 weeks into No S today. I actually started it before I discovered this site, then I found a link to here and discovered it was pretty much exactly what I was already trying to do. But I'm really struggling to avoid snacking at the moment.

Right now, it's mid-afternoon where I am. I'm at work, feeling hungry, and I have a multipack bag of Doritos in my desk drawer (which are there from before I started dieting). I'm not sure if I have the willpower to resist!

Yesterday was bad too - there were some gorgeous cakes in our work staff room all afternoon, but I managed to avoid them. Today, I had muesli for lunch and breakfast and I'm getting bored of it. I really want to eat something nice, but I don't want to have to put a red mark on my calendar

So, what do you seasoned NoSers do when the cravings strike?

mimi · Post by **mimi** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:56 pm

Welcome BZZT! I'm in my second week of No S too! Maybe I can help you out a little...
First of all, get the Doritos out of your desk drawer! You can't "dump any plump" with them in your drawer constantly calling your name! So, dump the Doritos! If not, sooner or later you're going to cave. Why not pack them as part of your lunch? - maybe not necessarily the healthiest, but you can eat them then.
Here are some other ideas to try: 1) Change your scenery - get up and walk to another part of your office or building 2) pop a piece of sugarless gum into your mouth 3) drink a glass or two of water 4) think about what you're going to eat at your next meal - make it something good! 5) quit eating foods that are becoming boring - plan something that you can look forward to. That's the great part of No S - you can eat real food and not have to feel guilty about it - but just keep it to one plate! 6) get out your recipe books and look for some new recipes 7) post on the messageboards! Good luck!
mimi

mimi · Post by **mimi** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:57 pm

Welcome BZZT! I'm in my second week of No S too! Maybe I can help you out a little...
First of all, get the Doritos out of your desk drawer! You can't "dump any plump" with them in your drawer constantly calling your name! So, dump the Doritos! If not, sooner or later you're going to cave. Why not pack them as part of your lunch? - maybe not necessarily the healthiest, but you can eat them then.
Here are some other ideas to try: 1) Change your scenery - get up and walk to another part of your office or building 2) pop a piece of sugarless gum into your mouth 3) drink a glass or two of water 4) think about what you're going to eat at your next meal - make it something good! 5) quit eating foods that are becoming boring - plan something that you can look forward to. That's the great part of No S - you can eat real food and not have to feel guilty about it - but just keep it to one plate! 6) get out your recipe books and look for some new recipes 7) post on the messageboards! Good luck!
mimi

mimi · Post by **mimi** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 3:05 pm

BZZT - I forgot to tell you to check out TigerCrane's post "OMG It Works!"
mimi

Bzzt · Post by **Bzzt** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 3:26 pm

Hey Mimi, thanks for replying, and thanks for the tips! I'm certainly not going to buy any more doritos but I can't do much about the bags in my drawer until I've used them up - as part of lunches I suppose. Taking them home wouldn't help, I'm trying to keep my kitchen snack-free too. I guess I'll try and limit myself to 1 bag a week.

Saw the post you mentioned - that's pretty amazing. I don't think I could manage to not look at the scales for 21 days! Hope you are pleasantly surprised when that day comes. I'm currently down 4 pounds compared to the day I started, two weeks ago, which is great - but I'm really trying not to focus on the weight too much, just change my eating/exercise habits. (Put the Scale in Perspective is well worth a listen).

The Preacher · Post by **The Preacher** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 4:18 pm

Hey Bzzt. I'm also new. What do you mean you have to use the Doritos? Forget what your mother said about "those starving children in China" or where ever. You're not being wasteful throwing them away. You are taking action for a healthier you. Of course, you can have Doritos with lunch or dinner, but why create temptation. "Lead me not into temptation" trumps "Don't waste food". If you're really concerned about waste, give them away so others can eat them.

At least those are my 2 cents. Again, nothing wrong with Doritos with a meal, but no need to add stumbling blocks to your success.

florafloraflora · Post by **florafloraflora** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:17 pm

I agree with mimi and The Preacher: I would dump the Doritos. Snack chips are cheap, cheap, cheap. After you've been No-S'ing for a while they probably won't even taste that great to you anymore. As The Preacher says, you can always give them away: I know that anything left on the kitchen table at my office is always snarfed up before half a day is over.

If you can't stand to throw the Doritos away, you could try keeping them in an inconvenient place like the trunk of your car, that you'd never go to just for a snack craving, and save them for the weekend.

Bee · Post by **Bee** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 2:36 am

Bzzt,
I agree and would add that if you are like a lot of people here, you will find the snack cravings go way down after a little while. No snacks was the hardest thing for me, but the decline in between-meal hunger was really noticable after a few weeks. I think Reinhard said it first, but it is worth repeating: on NoS you are retraining your body to only expect 3 meals per day, and it will get the message soon enough. So just hang in there and keep with it! You're doing great things for yourself! Good job!
B

Bzzt · Post by **Bzzt** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:16 am

Thanks all for the replies and encouragement. I had a cup of tea, got immersed in some work and managed to get through the afternoon without snacking

Anyway, I've pushed the doritos to the back of the drawer, (it's a big drawer and that makes them pretty inaccessible). I'm not too worried about them. But while they're obviously a bit of a temptation, the real issue is the snack craving itself.

For example: about 50% of the time there are cakes or biscuits sitting in the staff room at work that someone has brought in to share. And once a week our building is used for a meeting and there is a buffet, and the leftovers are usually left sitting in the staff room all afternoon. (The staff room is not somewhere I can avoid going).

A case in point - literally as I write this, someone has just walked in to my office and offered me a cream cake!

So temptation is everywhere anyway, no matter what I do. It seems like getting rid of the cravings is the real issue. Hopefully that gets easier with time.

pangelsue · Post by **pangelsue** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:33 am

There will be temptations everywhere the rest of our lives. Whether they are in our desk drawers, snack table, the next party we go to or sitting on the table at a Mexican restaurant as free chips. There aren't enough deep drawers in the world to hide them all. Decisions. Do we want to cave or be healthy and lose weight? There is no escaping the decisions. And by the way, food doesn't call our name. It doesn't have that power. We spent all of our lives saying "I don't want to waste them." "When they are gone, I'll start again." "How can I possible resist all this stuff the rest of my life." "Nobody could possibly resist this much stuff." "I'll just give in this once because I am tired, depressed, stressed, lonely, celebrating." Etc. etc. etc. (You fill in the blank). One at a time, this thinking has to be replaced with healthy thoughts like "this time I am going to resist." "I want to be healthy more than I want to crunch a few chips." "I can do this because this time I am determined." "If I just give it some time, this temptation will pass." etc. etc. etc.
If we date the wrong person, we have to summon the courage to break it off. If we use drugs, smoke, drink too much or whatever, it is necessary to tell ourselves that these things are bad and that they are killing us. But food is supposed to be good for us and non-toxic. Right? Snacking is toxic. That is what got us to this point. Maybe you can leave those Doritos right where the are but in a strong moment, write a positive note to yourself about them. Something like: Go ahead and eat these but remeber they have been making me fat for a long time now. They are not my friend. They are ruining my health and making me miserable. Before I open this bag, I have to write at least 25 words about why I just MUST eat these." In other words, be your own cheering section.

Temptations will always, always, always be there. We have to fight them one snack at a time until we win. Choices.

Jaxhil · Post by **Jaxhil** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:34 am

It *will definitely* get easier with time!! Hang in there! Be strong now, it will pay off later, when it will (really, trust me!) get MUCH easier to say no thanks-and actually *mean* it!

I felt like my snack cravings would NEVER go away; but overall, they have. I still get them now and then but its not an uncontrollable urge like it used to be. If they get really bad, I will have a tall glass of ice water, and believe it or not, 99% of the time that is enough to distract me. Then the craving passes and I once again feel in control. My DH loves to eat snacks in the evenings-always eating ice cream, chips, or whatever, right in front of me, and it was really annoying at first. It doesn't bother me anymore-AMAZING

So you can do this too-believe me, if I can, YOU CAN TOO.

Sounds like you're doing well, so just keep it up!

arc · Post by **arc** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 4:33 pm

Awesome post, pangelsue.