Hi. I would like to know your opinion about the weird cravings my body is putting on me. This is the thing: over the last two or three days I've had a burning desire of having pizza. I didn't want to, because my cutting is going very well and I'm about 7 pounds from my goal. But the craving was constantly on the back of my mind and it was interfering with the rest of my activities (my job involves mainly thinking, so I need to keep concentration all over my working hours, guess like almost everybody). So today I decided to go for it. I went to Domino's and ordered a medium size pizza. Arrived home with my mouth watering. Had the first slice... And it was disgusting. I threw away the rest of the pizza. The only thought of pizza suddenly made me sick. I'm OK with that, 'cause I know that pizza is not good for you. The problem, now, is this: exactly the same thing happened to me 10 days ago. I got a pizza and only could eat the first slice before I felt disgusted. Before the first bite, nonetheless, it seemed like pizza was the only food in the world. The craving was almost unbearable. The feeling later is quite unpleasant, I feel dizzy and unwell. I don't want this to happen again next week or whenever my body decides that is time to binge and that will not accept a no as an answer. I'm afraid I'm developing an eating disorder.

I keep my diet checked. I've been eating healthy for a year now. I write down religiously every bite that enters my mouth. My macros breakdown is 40/40/20 c/p/f like many people here. I have a multivitamin daily and some cod liver oil. My healthy fats come from nuts and salmon. I'm having around 1800 calories @ 147-150 lbs.

Don't know what to do, the cravings are quite strong and I just don't like that feeling. I don't feel free. I like my healthy meals, I love them. But some part of my body or my brain or whatever it is, is bothering me on a regular basis and I don't have a clue about how to shut it up. If I only could surrender to the craving and have the meal and be satisfied again for two weeks or a month, that would be fine. After all, one pizza a month cannot hurt anybody, can it? But I feel after the first bites that if I keep eating I'm gonna throw up.

Before Christmas I was having a cheat meal a week and didn't experience this effect.

Could anybody, please, share some wisdom and enlighten me to avoid this annoyance?

Thanks to you all.

I don't think this is a sign of an eating disorder or anything so drastic. Domino's pizza is kind of disgusting.

I'll conjecture is that you're not specifically craving pizza, you're craving something like pizza, something that, in the past, you've associated with pizza.

Fats would be something that could do that - pizza has tons of fat. Are you getting enough healthy fats? (I hope you've gotten rid of the trans fats!) How much of the fat in your diet is saturated, and how much is mono/polyunsaturated? If you're not getting any saturated fat at all, try adding some. If the majority of your fat is coming from saturated and/or trans sources, try eating some more fish or flax oil or whatever your sources of good fats are.

For me, the only foodstuffs that really stop cravings (and I get them like gangbusters sometimes) are sardines - one can, and I don't really crave anything for the rest of the day. It might be the pungent aroma, it might be some random psychological association, or maybe it's the good fats.

I've read a little to support this, but not too much - just experience, really. Maybe it'll help.

Good reply. I'd like to add that I went though almost the same thing before giving up cigarettes. I would cut down or stop smoking, then I would have massive cravings, give in, take 2 puffs and feel sick. It's a good sign - I quit soon afterwards. Basically you are trying to break the physcological aspect of eating pizza. Trying to find a good 'new cheat' (but healthier) substitue might be good, or else eventually your brain will get the message that it tases bad and you should crave cottage cheese instead!

I'm glad I had replies from two of the, for me, most respectable members of the forums.

I do crave cottage cheese every now and then, and sometimes I mix it with melon, peanut butter and tomatos with a pinch of splenda and cinnamon. That's a kind of more "mental" craving, I mean, I can control it more or less and even when I give up and go for it, I do not feel bad afterwards at all.

Maybe I should have that if the pizza nightmare comes in some near future. My sensitive memory is not very good, I'm afraid, and perhaps I will not remember the awful feeling I had today.

Thanks again. I feel much better after telling this to somebody. I'm amaze how supportive this comunity can be.

Food not only affects you nutritionally but mentally as well. What do they call it...pshycotrophic? Anyway, it isn't unusual for your body to crave fatty/sugary foods, after eating clean for a year you are kind of like a recovering alcoholic - your mind still craves those foods with which it has pleasurable associations, aka pizza, even though your body may no longer tolerate the grease. Next time you crave it, instead of a whole pizza at Domino's go somewhere where you can buy just 1 slice. If you keep having unpleasant reactions, you will probably end up not craving it anymore.

When you feel one coming on, take a cold shower, in effect.

Get your mind off it by starting an activity completely away from food. Sex, workout, sleep, you name it. :)

seriously i know waht u mean. Choclate is my killer (and the really cheap ones, ie snickers. etc etc) I now AVOID it totally !!!! For the past 6 weeks, i have had a total of 3 snicker mini squares. Do u know why??? I saw them behind a couch, and decided to eat them. (They were still wrapped:))

Hi. Sorry to bump this up again, but today is a week since I had that disgusting cheat meal and my diet and exercise has been spotless. I've even raised my calories slightly during the week in order to avoid further cravings. I lost just over a pound this week. I feel good, but...

The damn craving has come again. Here I am, physically satisfied, conciously feeling the nutrients inside my body, and mentally craving the same crappy pizza again and some chocolate, too. I do not understand this obsession. I know I wouldn't like it, and I know it for sure. But I just cannot stop thinking about it.

I'm not gonna have it.

I'm gonna go for a jog as soon as I arrive home, then do some abs.

Then having my scheduled dinner, which is cottage cheese with PB.

It shouldn't be a problem, I'm not feeling weak in the willpower department, but I'm just extremely angry and bothered. Sometimes I just want some relaxed state of mind and this issue is preventing me from reaching it.

Anybody knows wherther this would last long? Similar experiences?

Thanks.

Try moderation....the occasional pizza won't kill, and is much healthier psychologically and physically than the obsession over counting every single macronutrient and nearly fainting at the thought of an "unclean" food choice....seriously....something doesnt quite sound right once dinner starts being defined by cottage cheese and peanut butter, as tasty a snack that may be on occasion....

Dude I know EXACTALY what your going through. A year ago I was eating pizza twice a week, McDonalds twice a week, pop and anything else. I woke up and one day realized I was fat. In July I got with a trainer, and he told me no cheating, EVER. Of course I didn't listen, and cheated early on and my results suffered from that. I was about 20% body fat, and now am less. Good news is, I havent had a fast food burger since July. Taco Bell I had a few times, and one night I got a fried chicken sand from Burger King and was sick for a day. I no longer crave McDonalds like I did before. I still crave pizza though, HORRIBLY. I cant control it, but I think how much I hate being overwieght and how much better my clothes will fit and how much better I will feel when I'm leaner. I can eaisly eat a deep dish large pizza from Little Ceasers. I did last week. I told myself this month that I am not cheating at all and am hopefully going to see good results. I get the worst cravings ever for pizza dude, just pizza. The food we eat doesn't taste that good, but I want to be skinny. Pizza is ok once and a while. Maybe once a week. I cant have any cheats, so for the next month i'm gonna try not to think about it.

Dude I know EXACTALY what your going through. A year ago I was eating pizza twice a week, McDonalds twice a week, pop and anything else. I woke up and one day realized I was fat. In July I got with a trainer, and he told me no cheating, EVER. Of course I didn't listen, and cheated early on and my results suffered from that. I was about 20% body fat, and now am less. Good news is, I havent had a fast food burger since July. Taco Bell I had a few times, and one night I got a fried chicken sand from Burger King and was sick for a day. I no longer crave McDonalds like I did before. I still crave pizza though, HORRIBLY. I cant control it, but I think how much I hate being overwieght and how much better my clothes will fit and how much better I will feel when I'm leaner. I can eaisly eat a deep dish large pizza from Little Ceasers. I did last week. I told myself this month that I am not cheating at all and am hopefully going to see good results. I get the worst cravings ever for pizza dude, just pizza. The food we eat doesn't taste that good, but I want to be skinny. Pizza is ok once and a while. Maybe once a week. I cant have any cheats, so for the next month i'm gonna try not to think about it.

cheat meals are actually a good thing guys... it confuses your body, if you eat exactly the same way for too long your body becomes acustomed to it and adjusts.. hense, you reach a plateau.. sooo, to avoid hitting a plateau, you SHOULD have a cheat meal once a week.. just don't go overboard, do what was suggested earlier in this thread and go somewhere where you can order just one slice of pizza and get the craving out of your system ;-)

I disagree. Mentally - yes physically - no. If you want to avaid a plateau by increasing your metabolism a cheat will do nothing. Any idea what foods will increase your metabolism? - protein and veggies (and others of course).

If you seriously want to increase your metabolism eat a shit-load of meat and veg for 5 days. Sweet-fatty stuff gets packed away without doing anything for your metabolism.

The damn craving has come again. Here I am, physically satisfied, conciously feeling the nutrients inside my body, and mentally craving the same crappy pizza again and some chocolate, too. I do not understand this obsession. I know I wouldn't like it, and I know it for sure. But I just cannot stop thinking about it.


OK, last night I was full, just had my last meal and craved 'something'. My cravings are much less specific these days. I was planning a bit of a cheat which didn't materialize (freind trying to cut), but my wife had apple pie.

I had 1 small spoon of the pie and waited. Literally 10 seconds later I was 100% satisfied.

Perhaps if you fill up on good food and can eat 1 small square of chocolate or a very thin slice of pizza, and feel completely satisfied it will be worth it.

Obviously if it just leads to eating the whole think anyway you should resist.

Also, sometime my craving have been becasue my body laked something. While these craving are ussually for clean food now, they used to be for crap, but then eating soemthing clean would satify me.

See how you can draw someone in for another comment if you masage their ego! But really - I'm full of shit and in any case you will ultimately have to figure this one out for yourself.

See how you can draw someone in for another comment if you masage their ego! But really - I'm full of shit and in any case you will ultimately have to figure this one out for yourself.

Absolutely. That's what this whole stuff is about, isn't it? For me is not about getting leaner, healthier, better looking... Those are amazing side effects. But the whole thing is about getting to know yourself, physically, mentally and espiritually.

I'm aware nobody is gonna throw the magic words or the ultimate solution.
I know that's inside me and would only work for me.

But, man, I just needed to throw this pain in the ass somewhere out of me. And feel much better now that I told somebody.

Thanks you all.

The purpose of the cheat meal as I've used it in the past was not to prevent plateau, but to top off muscle glycogen stores. After six days of eating 1,800 to 1,900 calories per day, doing cardio in the morning and weights at night - I would be exhausted as that week closed out.

The cheat meal, which is more a reward than a cheat (I still can't stand that term... "cheat meal"... *blech*) ... while it's always an "eat until full, not eat until stuffed approach", provided me with a full tank of gas for another week of cutting. I don't belive that is a psychological side effect; I believe it was a necessity. Sure, it absolutely does help mentally and I can't dispute that, but I can say without a doubt that the next day (usually Sunday morning) was always my favorite workout of the week. I always put so much energy into that post-cheat workout - I was able to lift more and my concentration was always heightened. Friday/Saturday pre-cheat workouts were always lackluster. So it seems to serve a physiological purpose for a relatively restrictive diet while cutting.

That's just my opinion... I could be wrong.

-R

I disagree. Mentally - yes physically - no. If you want to avaid a plateau by increasing your metabolism a cheat will do nothing. Any idea what foods will increase your metabolism? - protein and veggies (and others of course).

If you seriously want to increase your metabolism eat a shit-load of meat and veg for 5 days. Sweet-fatty stuff gets packed away without doing anything for your metabolism.


I realize now, after I re-read my post, that I forgot to make my point... it's that the cheat meal confuses your body.. it makes it wonder 'what the hell is going on' and it makes your body think about what you are puting into it again... it's good to confuse your body now and then.. don't let it get into a rut... AND.. and this is an important AND, it help keep you from cheating the rest of the week, because you know that you'll get your cheat meal on the weekend.

The reason my cravings are bothering me is not because I just don't want to give up or I'm a kind of all-or-nothing dude. It's because I don't think they should be there in the first place.

I'd like to have a 6-pack (I' ~6 lbs. away), run a sub 3 h. marathon, and look awesome "sans camisa". But the thing I more want is to not to be tied to junk food for the rest of my life.

I don't think junk food can help you in ANY way. Those stories about metabolism boost etc are just BS in my opinion. Junk food, fast food cannot be beneficial for you in any way. I don't buy it. Physically, we were not designed to have processed foods. Our taste buds maybe are happy with that because they have been educated that way but our bodies are gonna suffer. Psycologically, you might feel good for a few minutes savouring the junk. That will only trigger future desires for something that is not gonna do any good to you.

That's what I'm trying to get rid of: the pleasure of eating junk like a heavy smoker would like to get rid of the pleasure of swallowing smoke.

I still enjoy unhealthy meals.

I don't want to anymore. Not in moderation,not at all.

That's my ultimate goal and I hope to reach it in some more or less distant future.

Interesting isnt it? Mental triggers like that. And you try to rational the triggers by saying - ok - I will do it this once today but that is it! Tomorrow I will eat clean. And of course you have the same thoughts tomorrow!!

I realize now, after I re-read my post, that I forgot to make my point... it's that the cheat meal confuses your body.. it makes it wonder 'what the hell is going on' and it makes your body think about what you are puting into it again... it's good to confuse your body now and then.. don't let it get into a rut... AND.. and this is an important AND, it help keep you from cheating the rest of the week, because you know that you'll get your cheat meal on the weekend.

I'm sorry to say this, but I'm not a believer of a cheat meal once a week. For me, you can eat all food in moderation, the food is not fattening, it's your eating habits that makes you fat. By only having a cheat meal once a week, it seems that your whole life is by living that single day in a week. I would rather eat as clean as I can, and when I want something "less nutritious", I'll have it after I've eaten my meal. This way I still get my proper nutrition, and the craving is usually gone by a slice or two... I hate having a cheat day, it mess my body physically and mentally... makes me feels like s**t and overstuffed... I'm saying this because I think binging is the end product of depriving and starvation, so if you can avoid that in the first place, then you have a good start... :nod:

The reason my cravings are bothering me is not because I just don't want to give up or I'm a kind of all-or-nothing dude. It's because I don't think they should be there in the first place.

But the thing I more want is to not to be tied to junk food for the rest of my life.





I still enjoy unhealthy meals.

I don't want to anymore. Not in moderation,not at all.

That's my ultimate goal and I hope to reach it in some more or less distant future.


I totally understand this because I have said the same thing! And in my journey, I have come to realize a few things--

**I DO love my oats, my cottage cheese, my "weird healthy stuff" that makes my coworkers wrinkle their nose in disgust. I love the textures and flavors of whole foods--the nuttiness of a whole grain, the clean fresh flavors of lightly steamed vegetables--and I love how I feel after eating them. My hunger is satieted, my tastebuds are amused, and my body feels good because it has energy and nutrients it can use. I wouldn't give up this lifestyle for the world.

**But we are human. Our minds are hardwired to like the combination of high fat/high carb/high sugar. It goes back to our days as cave men and women. Even if the thought and even the taste is disgusting to us, our brains release the serotonin to make us think it is the sh*t. Survival mode.

**Oftentimes, if I AM craving a certain type of food (which isn't as regular when you've cleaned up your diet), I see it as a cue my body is sending me and I will look at what or how I have been eating the last few days or a week to see if there is something I have been lacking that my body needs (or, erm, harmones).

So, maybe your body wants more vegetables? or maybe more calcium? maybe even lycopene from the tomato sauce? Treat your body with your own healthy mack-daddy version of a pizza and see if that makes it happy. :gl:

You crave the pizza because you like pizza. Its not unhealthy to crave that which you like.

You take the pizza, eat a piece and then feel sick. I would guess the sickness is caused by the guilt you feel, that the pizza will take you further from your goals and thus you shouldnt be eating it. Its not a physical revulsion to the pizza that makes you feel sick. Its the mental aspects.

I say this because of certain things you have written in this post.

The "I WONT have the pizza" type statements.

"But the thing I more want is to not to be tied to junk food for the rest of my life."
"I still enjoy unhealthy meals. I don't want to anymore. Not in moderation,not at all."
"That's what I'm trying to get rid of: the pleasure of eating junk like a heavy smoker would like to get rid of the pleasure of swallowing smoke."

etc etc

At the end of the day, i used to smoke and have now given up. I still crave cigarrettes and probably will for the rest of my life. If i could just smoke one cigarrette a week and it wouldnt do me any harm and it would stop the cravings, i WOULD MOST DEFINATLY !!!

You enjoy pizza. So what ? One pizza a week wont do you any harm, providing its scheduled and doesnt lead you down a slippery slope. Ok, i agree it may slow your progress, but then whats the rush, you aint got a competition to get the BF down for. So long as your MAKING progress, thats the main thing. I aint in a rush, id rather enjoy my fatloss.

1 pizza a week isnt "being tied to junk food". Thats ludicrous ! Thats having something which you like once a week. If you sheduled a pizza a week, and got over your un justified guilt, you would enjoy the pizza. How do i know ? I quote...

"Before Christmas I was having a cheat meal a week and didn't experience this effect."

But let me put this to you ? Were you loosing body fat before xmas ? Were you improving your lifts at the gym and eating healthy the rest of the time ? Yes. So why jack in the cheat meal in the first place. One cheat a week doesnt mean your tied to junk food, its not "unhealthy" in relation to the rest of your meals, which are good healthy meals. Its simply something you like, once a week. Theres nothing wrong with liking pizza. Its nice.

I aint saying have a cheat meal for metabolism reasons, bodyshock reasons or anything like that. There are ways to do both those things without junk food if you wish. The main reason for this cheat is to get rid of these cravings, which are only bad because you feel guilty about having one and because you wont have one. And just to get by.

1 pizza aint gonna undo all your hard work. 1 pizza aint gonna make you fat. Ultimatly this attitude you have (i dont mean that in an insulting way :) ) will lead to more problems, potential loss of motivation and ultimatly will effect the rest of your programme.

There is no need to put yourself through this all over 1 pizza. Why push at a goal which gives no real benefit when achieved yet brings misery ??? Namely, striving to not ever eat a pizza when in reality that goal does you more harm then good ?

Think about it. Good luck. :)

That was a post to reckon with.

Thanks once more, Reno.

Thinking a bit deeper I realized that when I decided to go for the pizza the other day, that was unplanned. Before Christmas I was having a planned weekly cheatr meal. After Christmas I decided to go hardcore for three weeks, no cheat, nothing.

That might make sense with Reno's suggestion. However the bad-feeling has been quite physical, nothing like guilt or whatever I would recognise. Maybe because the pizza I was having a month ago was homemade. I don't know.

I'm not in a rush to meet my goals. This is a lifestyle change, so I hopefully have plenty of time.

Maybe I should plan my cheat meals a bit more carefully and avoid going overboard because usually I'm not satisfied until I'm stuffed. Not good.

Have a meeting with myself now.

Cheers.

Maybe I should plan my cheat meals a bit more carefully and avoid going overboard because usually I'm not satisfied until I'm stuffed. Not good.

Have a meeting with myself now.

Cheers.


good idea... I don't use my cheat meal as a chance to binge or get stuffed... I just use it as a time to eat the not so clean stuff that I probably shouldn't eat the rest of the week... like having butter and sour cream on my baked potato.. and maybe having a small desert if I'm not already full ;)