We've all done it. We've all stood in the kitchen and cleaned out the cabinets or emptied the fridge. We've all eaten a whole carton of ice cream, a whole bag of chips or my personal posions: peanut butter crackers and trail mix. Some of us feel like we're finally full, some feel guilty, some feel sick and some take this small slip as defeat and just give up on their diet entirely. Don't let one day of slipping up defeat you. Its a minor set back. We are human we are all going to have good days and bad days. Especially as women there are going to be days when we eat everything and days when we don't want to eat anything. The joys of riding the hormone roller coaster. If dieting and dealing with our cravings was easy then the whole world would be thin. Obviously the whole world isn't thin so we have to learn to cope. The hardest part is picking yourself up and hopping back on the wagon. Too many of us just give up and quit when the going gets tough. We all know that the things we have to work hard for are the things worth having. My little tricks of the trade in dealing with cravings vary depending on the craving. First you have to determine if you're really hungry or if you're just bored, emotional or something else. Some experts say to imagine eating a steak, if that sounds appealing to you then you're actually hungry so you can eat. Well, i hate steak so that doesn't work for me. My trick is drinking a large glass of water quickly. I do this for two reasons: 1) our bodies constantly confuse hunger and hydration. Hydrating can curb hunger and cravings 2) if you drink water quickly you get full quickly. Then you don't over eat or give into cravings as much. The best thing to do is to find healthy alternatives to your favorite things. The Hungry Girl cookbooks are my personal favorite. So many snacks and mini meals with 200 calories or less. I have so many healthy alternatives I could have another blog just dedicated to those recipes. If you want some options just email me at annieweir09@gmail.com and i will send you some. Basically what I want you to take away from this is there are healthy ways to cope with cravings and that just because you slip up doesn't mean you should give up on your goals of losing weight. Believe me I slip up all the time. Just ask my friends, they will give you one word... Nutella! That says it all right there. Love, A.
Oh girl. I hear ya. My problem with "dieting" is that I start to obsess about food. I think about it constantly and in between meals I count the time till the next one. Even when I make a point not to deprive myself, I still become obsessed. I do well for a while, then I give in and lterally binge...once I have "ruined everything" with a binge I use that as an excuse to eat like a barbarian for several days/weeks/months until I start over again. It sucks! I am so proud of you for all your hard work! I still want to know, was it MOSTLY cardio? Or equal parts cardio and weight training?
ReplyDeleteOh, I meant to tell you....I love this food blog called SkinnyTaste.com This girl basically takes all your favorite recipes and lightens them up. Every recipe has a photo and WW points. I have made some awesome stuff off there!
ReplyDeleteIts all about figuring out what works for you. For me, I cut out everything bad at once. So when I fall off the wagon its rough. The thing I'm dealing with right now is that I'm actually so active that I need to increase my calories and Im having a very hard time doing it. Once I get set on a certain number I cant shake it. So now I have to eat more and I feel like its a chore.
ReplyDeleteMy exercise is pretty intense. I started with mostly cardio and then added some strength training in. Weights are still my least favorite thing so I do them 3 times a week. Cardio and core work are 5 to 6 days a week. I love cardio. Especially my morning runs!