Saturday, January 9, 2010

FAKE IT. . .Till Ya Make It: Cravings!

Good Lawd, it's colder than a witches tit in a brass bra here in Houston!! How did your week unfold? Me, I returned to work after a 2 week Winter Break. So, I spent the whole week readjusting to my pre-winter break schedule of attempting to retire to bed at a decent time and waking up early (BOOOO!).

How about a weigh in update? The scale revealed a loss of 2.2...BAM! Truth be told, I struggled a bit this week with cravings, not urges but cravings. What's the difference between an urge and a craving you ask?

Urges:
  • When going to the movies I FEEL the need to eat popcorn and drink a sprite...urge.
  • On occasion...when driving by McDonald's, sinister forces grab hold of my steering wheel and guide my vehicle to the drive thru to order fries (small) with no salt...urge.
Cravings:
  • Overly restricting myself causes me to crave certain foods. For a while I restricted myself from peanut butter for fear of finding myself crouched down in a corner some where digging PB from the jar with my fingers.

  • Certain emotions drive cravings: frustration, happiness, deprivation, etc. Back in the day a successful weigh-in warranted a culinary reward. So, I rewarded myself with food I craved or restricted myself from for the entire week before my weigh in. My favorite past food reward, Luby's Baked Haddock Almondine. I thought baked meant good, but in this case baked meant 51 g of fat and 929 calories. YOWZER! But now, I know better than to reward myself with food.
So how do I deal with cravings?
  • DISTRACT IT: I find something else to do like...uhh blogging. A WW member suggested that when a craving hits set a timer for 15 or 20 minutes. If you still want what you crave after the timer sounds, than eat it.

  • FEED IT: Plan for the craving, but just remember to control the portion size. For fellow WW members use some of your 35 weekly points to control cravings. That's what they're there for!!

  • DIG DEEPER: Your craving may be emotional. Dig deep to find the source of the emotion and ask what the craving implies.
AND MY #1 STRATEGY for dealing with cravings: FAKE IT TIL I MAKE IT!

Definition:

1. Fake it til ya make it: To fake excitement about a task or project. Usually used in the military.

Used in a sentence
:
"Dang! I really want to eat a real BBQ Chicken pizza from Mr. Gatti's instead of this healthy version I cooked myself. Guess I gotta fake it til I make it."

This week my cravings included fried rice and of course my KRYPTONITE...PIZZA! My solution, FAKE IT!
"Chinese Take-In Fried Rice"
1 cup of brown rice
1/2 cup of frozen green peas
1/2 cup of carrots
2 egg whites
chopped scallions
2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
ground red pepper (I like my rice like my men...SPICY!)
recycled turkey broth

Overstuffed Avocado BLT Pizza
1 Joseph's Pita (1pt.)
1 TB Miracle Whip Light (1pt.)
Spring Mix Lettuce (0 pts.)
2 oz Avocado (2 pts.)
1 Tomato (0pts.)
2 Slices Low Sodium Butterball Turkey Bacon (1 pt.)

Directions:
Toast the pita to your satisfaction. Next spread the mayo and then layer the remaining ingredients.





How do you deal with your cravings?

24 comments:

  1. Your fried rice looks good! I deal with my cravings by finding alternatives. I try and wait it out to see if it will actually go away and if it doesn't, I make alternatives. It works 98% of the time. LOL!!

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  2. I love fried rice and yours looks great!

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  3. Your food looks yummo!

    I usually eat pretty well, though recently my hormones have gone haywire and I've wanted to eat EVERYTHING.

    But there's always a healthier option if you make it yourself. And by then, you're probably over it.

    If all else fails, drink water. Lots of water. And brush your teeth.

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  4. That pizza looks AWESOME. Might have to try that.

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  5. Girl, you know how to do it up right! :)

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  6. This looks great! I have a bunch of great healthy snacks today, if you'd like to check them out.

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  7. I want that rice!!

    I try just about everything when I get a craving. Water, lower cal alternate versions, ignore it, wait it out, reward myself with "it" after having a good week or meeting a goal. But I'm a weakling so, I usually give in if nothing else works.

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  8. Congrats on the big loss this week. Your recipes look amazing (love fried rice) and I have been trying to get my family to try avocado. Ive bookmarked the page so I can write out the recipes lol. Ive already made some teryaki chicken breasts for supper, so Ill just add the rice...yum!
    I deal with my cravings by getting busy: cleaning, reading, working on a project...etc (unfortunately, sometimes I just give in to them lol)

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  9. That rice looks yummo. I usually just give in. I've got to add the will to the willpower.

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  10. Thanks so much for checking in on me. I have not been in the best of moods, but check out my blog and I will fill you in on all the drama.

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  11. Drool city! Wow, everything looks delicious!

    Congrats on your loss, too! AWESOME!

    Cravings??? Ugh, still workin on that one :)

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  12. I love making my own chinese food. Yours look so yummy!

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  13. I like your urge list and your humor. The food looks yummy as well. It's all about being in touch with yourself.

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  14. Your first sentence had me rolling! Just had to let you know. The food looks and is absolutely mouth watering!!!
    no wonder you are doing soo good! keep it up!

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  15. Love your perspective. So encouraging and refreshing!

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  16. When I have a craving I usually drink a lot of water but at the movies I only get a children's popcorn for my daughter and I allow myself a few handfuls. Unless she fights me....LOL...

    I ordered my Redi-set- this week!

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  17. That looks so yummy.

    I've identified that my cravings are mental (all puns). I can ignore it once my stomach is full, so i try to eat and snack often. Once I've eaten, it's easier for me not to think about it.

    If it's driving me crazy and I really feel like i must have it, I indulge a bit or make a just as good substitution.

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  18. Well said. Yes there is a difference between urges and cravings!

    Your pictures make me hungry...urge...lol

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  19. Your overstuffed Avocado BLT Pizza is making me so hungry!!!!! I will have to try that one weekend.

    I usally either give into my cravings with a substituion around the house or I try to fight it off by going on the computer. 1/2 the time I have to give in or I will lose my mind.

    Karen

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  20. Fantastic blog. Love your attitude and love how inspirational you are. Thank you!!

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  21. WOWSERS! the food looks so yummy and I already had breakfast... but it's almost lunchtime so... might try the fried rice recipe since chinese is my fave but it doesn't really like me:(
    You're doing a great job!

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  22. Once again, those both look delicious. Congrats on the 2.2 loss!

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  23. PS, the tips on handling cravings were great.

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First off all, THANKS for stopping by and for those of you following...THANKS for following AND indulging my MADNESS. Please feel free to holla back or provide your 2¢. I WILL TRY to respond to ALL comments via email. AGAIN THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT!

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