Travel Health and Fitness - how to handle cravings?

I've always been a big cheese person--you name the cheese, I love it, I eat it, especially ooey-gooey melted!

I've been cutting back on cheese though, and I'm now finding myself craving it. So, before I sit down with an entire block of cheese and toss it in the oven to melt it and eat all of it, please help me!

I know I need to eat cheese in moderation, so I'm guessing my best bet is to find low-fat or no-fat cheese, and use that in a grilled cheese and hope the craving goes away?

Cheese was my life. I am not kidding when I say that my grown children still get cheese in their Christmas stockings. But with my diet... Oops.. Lifestyle change, cheese has mostly gone bye bye.

I still indulge on special occasions. Had some lovely Stilton and fruit with my daughter recently. For the everyday cravings, I like Laughing Cow lite wedges. The soft cheese is only 35 calories a wedge. I also buy the light cheese sticks, 60-70 calories a wedge. Then, every once in a while, I get a treat of the real thing. check the packages, a thin slice of parm isn't that bad.

Good luck.

I typically tell myself, okay, you can have it, but have a glass of water first.

After I've had a glass of water, I often find my cravings subside, and also, the time it takes to consume the water gives me time to reflect on how I would feel at seeing my tire expand. ;) Making it easier to say no.

I've bought reduced fat medium cheddar (it can be any type of cheese though) blocks of 8ozs. I cut it into 1oz each (usually the one ounce is sliced into a few slices), throw the 1ozs into individual ziplock bags & toss in the fridge. If I want a cheese nibble, I just pull one of those out. Presumably Laughing Cow wedges would do the same (although after opening a wedge, I'd probably cut it into smaller pieces so I felt I was getting more). That plus water or whatever your lo-cal drink of choice is should take care of that.

And if you are going to have some cheese (what's w/ gooey, melted in the oven thing - heresy on good cheese), the bit of cheese w/ grapes or an apple makes a nice snack.

Cheers.

IME the worst thing you can do is deny a craving. That just fuels it.

Get the little bitty packs of cheese (the types that come in gift baskets) and have a small portion along with some healthy and filling food like carrots or celery or fruit.

As with so much in life, moderation and portion control is indeed the key.

My rule was always wait a day. If I still wanted it the next day, indulge in a small amount. That normally curbed the craving for me. In my case, it was fried chicken wings. Often I'd forget by the next day that I wanted them in the first place. If the craving was still around a few days later, I'd get a small order (4 pieces) from the place I liked, and that was generally enough.

In the case of chocolate though, I just keep a ton of chocolate in my cube. Somehow, knowing that I can always have one small piece a day keeps me from gorging on them. I've actually done quite well by having a lot of chocolate availible to me but always knowing that I get one small piece every day. If I don't eat it that day, I know there will still be chocolate around tomorrow.

It's a mental thing.

That said, I wouldn't substitute low/no fat cheese for what my brain was really asking for. My brain is smarter than that, and that stuff is nasty. I figure better the occasional ounce of real cheese.

Thanks for the good suggestions everyone! I've been holding off on a grocery store run, so when I make it there this weekend, I need to add some Laughing Cow light wedges or something similar to my order, rather than just my typical fruit and yogurt order.

It definitely did not help the cause that last night, when we were out at dinner, I noticed "Loaded Pub Fries" on the menu, and commented about how I could really go for those, but wouldn't. I told Mr. Kipper that I really just wanted cheese. He ordered "Fried Bacon Cheddar Potato Balls," and then ate them in front of me. I was not a happy camper!

And if you are going to have some cheese (what's w/ gooey, melted in the oven thing - heresy on good cheese), the bit of cheese w/ grapes or an apple makes a nice snack.
LOL, when I was growing up, I only ever ate cheese if it was melted! Now, while I will eat non-melted cheese and love it, sometimes, I just really want melted cheese. No idea why, but I guess it's one of my quirks. :D

BTW, low fat string mozzarella 'string' cheese is a very regular part of my diet, especially when I am working out a lot and get protein cravings. ^

for a good part of the day time hours, i know I'll be working out later so I can just say to myself, I dont' want to taste that again so that keeps me from eating it.. at night thats another issue, usually, i get my kids to tell me that I don't need that stuff as it will make me fatter and that usually helps as well