My Secret cure for sweet cravings!

[BreakfastSurreal]

This sounds really strange, but it works for me...may or may not work for you...On saturday I would have given anything for a piece of cheesecake..but instead I decided to watch the Food Network. They had a show on about the food at disney world...they had TONS of cakes, cookies, and sweets, and showed chefs cooking and everything...At first I thought it might make me crave more..but instead it seemed to actually SATISFY my cravings...weird huh? Same thing today...bad sugar cravings (damn TOM!) and I watched the food network, and they are gone! Maybe its just in my head...but it works!

[Shay]

oh that would kill me, I would probably eat the TV :eating

[BreakfastSurreal]

hehe...i dunno WHY it helps me, if anyone here is a shrink then please explain this!

[Enchantedraisin]

Hey, I do the exact same thing. I call it "food porn." Food Network's my fav channel. I watch it 24/7. I even saw the show you watched, it was a special hour of Unwrapped. It was a good one .. yumm

[BreakfastSurreal]

Hey, I do the exact same thing. I call it "food porn." Food Network's my fav channel. I watch it 24/7. I even saw the show you watched, it was a special hour of Unwrapped. It was a good one .. yumm

haha! yes! That show is the BEST! Food porn, thats hilarious! I wonder why it works for us? I bet there is some psychological explaination!
:joy

[Finelly]

I can't say it would work for me...but last year when I was on Atkins, I would get completely satisfied just SMELLING fresh baking chocolate chip cookies. Never had the urge to taste!

[Sirine]

I call it "food porn."

ha ha ha...that's good..I'm going to use that!!!

[Sonya Parker]

Not at all weird ! I have done exactly the same thing infact to the point of baking cakes myself and giving it away to neighbors. I've only done that a couple of times but mostly the watching the Food Network does the trick. Food porn! thats a great term.

It is psychological ofcourse ! Im no pyschologist but here is how I think it works. Pleasure, and its opposite, deprivation are felt at many sensory levels besides the obvious. Example: while eating a piece of cake may seem like it satisfies our sense of taste and smell but actually it is giving pleasure and satiety at many more hidden levels: it provides a sense of security from having abundance of food ; comfort because having it releases the body from the stress it would normally go into if deprived.

Therefore ""smelling" or even "watching" baked cookies for a while can actually fool all of these senses that food is in abundance and close by and the bosy is not stressed if food is available. If 3 out of 4 sense are pleasured , then the bodys stress levels go down becaues it does not sense deprivation any longer. So the craving passes.

[BreakfastSurreal]

Not at all weird ! I have done exactly the same thing infact to the point of baking cakes myself and giving it away to neighbors. I've only done that a couple of times but mostly the watching the Food Network does the trick. Food porn! thats a great term.

It is psychological ofcourse ! Im no pyschologist but here is how I think it works. Pleasure, and its opposite, deprivation are felt at many sensory levels besides the obvious. Example: while eating a piece of cake may seem like it satisfies our sense of taste and smell but actually it is giving pleasure and satiety at many more hidden levels: it provides a sense of security from having abundance of food ; comfort because having it releases the body from the stress it would normally go into if deprived.

Therefore ""smelling" or even "watching" baked cookies for a while can actually fool all of these senses that food is in abundance and close by and the bosy is not stressed if food is available. If 3 out of 4 sense are pleasured , then the bodys stress levels go down becaues it does not sense deprivation any longer. So the craving passes.

wow neato! thanks for providing some psychological insight! I LOVE the Iron chef now! I can't keep my eyes off the food channel! And you're right, it is like getting satisfaction from a different sense other than just taste.

[Sonya Parker]

Here is another seemingly strange thing to do. I have done this before (not on Atkins) but it may work the same. You MUST be in control of yourself though or else could end up in trouble.

When you get a craving and your fav cheesecake or chocolate is nearby, but not people, (i'll explain why later)...put the treat in your mouth and masticate , swirl it around on your tongue, enjoy the sensation, but dont swallow, not even a morsel should you swallow. After it is chewed, spit it all out in a sink. better yet do this by the sink. A couple of mouthfuls later (making sure you havent swallowed a drop), brush your teeth thoroughly and drink an enormous glass of water.

Your body wont know what just happened. Craving gone!

I think you might have figured why I said no people around - not the most elegant sight.

Let me know if anyone finds this works for them

[Effie]

Here is another seemingly strange thing to do. I have done this before (not on Atkins) but it may work the same. You MUST be in control of yourself though or else could end up in trouble.

When you get a craving and your fav cheesecake or chocolate is nearby, but not people, (i'll explain why later)...put the treat in your mouth and masticate , swirl it around on your tongue, enjoy the sensation, but dont swallow, not even a morsel should you swallow. After it is chewed, spit it all out in a sink. better yet do this by the sink. A couple of mouthfuls later (making sure you havent swallowed a drop), brush your teeth thoroughly and drink an enormous glass of water.

Your body wont know what just happened. Craving gone!

I think you might have figured why I said no people around - not the most elegant sight.

Let me know if anyone finds this works for them

Uhhh... isn't this what bulimic's do? I don't know if this is such great advice. I think I read somewhere that your body starts metabolizing the food as soon as it hits your taste buds, not when you swallow. You could be doing more harm than good with this one. I'd love to hear other thoughts on this though, since I'm not too sure about the physiological impacts.

[FightingTheFight]

lol I think the problem with that is the fact that Digestion begins with saliva, and there is alot of people who arn't going to spit it out.

I know I wouldn't :nono lol

[Sonya Parker]

Bulimics eat and swallow large amounts of food, and force themselves to regurgitate (puke) it out in a forced manner. Chewing a piece of chocolate and spitting it out doesnt even come close.

Let me clear up you misconception about the digestion process. It is true that in theory books, the digestion process begins in the outh. This is because Saliva 9and the enzymes in it) in the mouth starts to breakdown large pieces of food in to smaller ones preparing it for digestion.

Let me be clear: You are not throwing up food, you simply spit it out jsut like you would something you didnt like the taste of.

Ofcourse this is not for everyone !

[kellyf]

I think the most important thing to remember is that we are working on changing our relationship with food. I am not criticizing your advice, to each is own, but your suggestion does not sound emotionally healthy in anyway shape or form. No offense!

[Sonya Parker]

As I said, this is not for everyone!

This is only something to do in the short-term (ie induction) when youre choices are limited. As you progress on the diet, you can introduce more variety to control sweet cravings.

If you use this in an unhealthy manner (too often, too much, obsessively) then it is unhealthy. If you are a well balanced person, you wont experience any issues.