CRAVINGS AN INTERESTING ARTICLE by Martica Heaner, found on MSN

A Cure for Out-of-Control Cravings
What to do when chips, chocolate or another favorite splurge food keeps calling your name.
By Martica Heaner, M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & FitnessQ: My cravings are out of control. I do cardio at least five days a week for at least 40 minutes and lift weights three days a week. But I still have excess body fat and I suspect it might be because after eating really well for a few days, I then develop uncontrollable cravings and I keep eating and eating until I feel full. This happens every couple of days. How can I stop this?

A: It's hard to say exactly what may be contributing to your cravings or resistance to fat loss without knowing more specifics—the intensity of your workouts, how long you've been following this routine, whether you've lost weight recently, how close to a "normal" body weight and healthy body-fat percentage you are, and how much you eat on binge and non-binge days. But it sure sounds like your tendency to overeat several days of the week may be counteracting the calorie-burn you're getting from your workouts, making it harder to slim down.

Cravings may be complicated

Grab any diet book and you'll find a number of theories about what causes cravings. Some claim that eating too much sugar, or too many foods that have a high glycemic index, or foods that do not have enough fiber or fat can make you hungry soon after eating. Some say not eating enough protein or going too long without snacking can trigger cravings. Some suggest than hunger can actually indicate emotional hunger, so any practical advice on food or fitness won't get to the root of the problem. These proposed causes may play a role, but, in reality, it may not be that simple.

For example, while greater amounts of protein and fiber in the diet have been found to be more satiating, if you are under-eating or burning a lot more calories than you are consuming, chances are you're going to be hungry no matter what—your body simply needs more fuel, sparking your cravings. If your perception of your "good" days—when you're eating well—are actually days when you are taking in too few calories, your body eventually may demand more calories to try to balance out your energy intake versus your energy expenditure over the week. If you're bored or lonely, you might not be physically hungry, but a preoccupation with food may be a psychological trigger to add stimulus or comfort to your life.

If you're not eating enough compared to the calorie burn you are accumulating from daily workouts, you're likely to feel hungry and seek out more food. If you go long periods without eating—skipping breakfast, and avoiding eating dinner past 6 or 7 p.m., for example—you might be creating a rollercoaster energy supply that leads to a few days where your body tries to stock up by stimulating you to eat more to make up for the periods of not eating enough food. Often, highly caloric foods are the most appealing when your body wants fuel fast.

Cravings may also have a biological component. If you've lost weight recently, biochemical triggers may kick in to try to help the body to regain the lost body fat. Recent research suggests that genetic influences may affect things like how fast you get hungry after eating, how full you feel from eating, and how active you are when you are not exercising.

Just as there are many potential reasons why you may be getting cravings, there may be a variety of solutions that can help you abolish them.

Are you eating enough?

Your first step should be to make sure that you are eating enough to fuel your energy expenditure. If you're hungry, your body is going to demand food, so make sure you are well-fueled every day. If you're trying to diet, take a non-drastic approach: Cut out a couple of hundred calories each day, not thousands.

It's impossible to know exactly how many calories you're eating and burning each day, but you can do the math to get an estimate and try to keep on track. By keeping a diet diary, you can spot obvious culprits—like days when you don't have time for breakfast, then you don't eat lunch until 2 p.m., and then you end up binging the rest of the day. Or days where you do a greater amount of exercise (your regular workout plus lots of extra walking, for example), yet you restrict how much you eat. If you are compelled to eat twice as much the following day, it might simply be because you deprived yourself the day before.

Or, you might spot a seemingly innocent snack that adds a whopping amount of calories to an otherwise "good" day (a pint of premium ice cream can take 10 or 15 minutes to eat but add 1,000 to 1,200 calories, the equivalent of perhaps half of your day's calories; frequent dipping into a co-worker's candy dish can add hundreds of calories). If you're careful to include lots of details in your diet diary, such as the times of day you eat, and what you're doing and how you're feeling when you eat, you may be able to spot cues that trigger you to eat more. One lesson from cognitive-behavioral therapy is to learn to avoid those certain cues— or teach yourself new behaviors—in response to certain triggers.

Use these tools to help track your energy intake, output and needs.

Controlling cravings

Learning more about your diet patterns can help you figure out how to improve how you eat, but you should also prepare a plan of action for when a craving hits. Try these suggestions:

Take a time-out. Ask yourself if you are really hungry? Can you go for a walk around the block instead?
Water it down. Start by drinking a glass of water. Sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger. Even if you are hungry, water can help to start to fill you up.
Put it off. Consider that you may be able to eat more or less depending on what you've had already today, and over the past few days, and depending on how much physical activity you've fit in. If you've been highly active, a little snack may not matter. If you've been a complete couch potato all week, maybe you can make a deal with yourself. You'll exercise today, and have an extra snack tomorrow.
Choose low-cal nibbles. Figure out ways to feed the cravings that don't pack on a lot of calories: eat a piece of fresh fruit (or two). If part of what you crave is the physical feeling of fullness, getting it from high-fiber, low-calorie foods like fruits and veggies is better than stuffing yourself with fattening snacks.
Eat. If you are still obsessing, eat a small amount of what you're craving.
Use portion control. Be aware of how you dish it out. Rather than grab an entire giant bag of potato chips, dole out a serving in a small dish. Then close the bag properly and store it up high, out of sight, in a cupboard. If you're eating a candy bar, give yourself 1/3 or 1/2, then toss the rest (or save it, if you think you can resist the temptation to come back for more.)
Enjoy. Eat your splurge food slowly. Make the most of each mouthful. Keep in mind that most of the pleasure you get from eating is in your taste buds. So the satisfaction you feel when succumbing to a craving is not from the quantity that you shovel down, but from the seconds spent savoring what's in your mouth. Fat has a distinctively pleasurable mouth-feel, which is one reason why fattening foods hold so much appeal.
Write it down. Successful weight-losers tend to keep ongoing diet diaries. You may get to a point where you can plan in sensible splurges without upsetting your overall caloric intake.
As every day is different, experiment with different strategies that you can whip out when needed: one day the walk might work, another day, a half portion of a sweet you love may suffice, another day you might be able to eat a whole bag of mini-carrots and feel satiated.

Post Thanksgiving Thoughts

I was tempted to write on Thanksgiving, but I thought I would enjoy the day and see how it went, food wise. I did well. I followed my own advice that i was going to give you: wear a figure flattering, form fitting (not tight) outfit. I know from experience that when I wear something loose or too "comfortable" it is more likely that i will overeat. At least in my case when i wear something form fitting, i am more conscious of how i look and how i will feel after a huge meal. Thus, no huge meal, just a tasty meal that i easily stopped myself when i had enough.

My problems started the day after...I did so well Thanksgiving but gave into temptations for a few days after. Oh well, I am not going to beat myself up, like i mentioned last time, if you take a wrong turn, get back on the right road. One of my main problems and I know i am not alone in this, is if i overindulged say on a Friday or Saturday Night, I won't start getting back into my healthy groove until Monday. I convince myself weekends/holidays were made for this sort of gluttony, and i will behave the rest of the week starting Monday. And i do behave. I eat well and generally not too much. But, as an article I just read outlined, this just can't work. Yes, i won't gain a ton of weight doing this, but it will not help me achieve my fitness goals longterm. I will be on this see-saw indefinitely and this is what bothers me.

Its up to me, just as it is up to you how you treat your bodies in terms of what you put in them. I am thankful for my regular exercise routine, and if that is all you have at the moment, it's better than nothing.

GOOD NEWS: I have been a willing guinea pig for you all trying various new beauty products and services. Got a winner here: The new gel manicures work! Sometimes called Shellac or just gel, they are awesome! They promise that they will last for up to 2 weeks and cost anywhere from $20-$30 per. I got mine the Friday before thanksgiving and it still looks good. No chips...I was told there was no dry time, but actually there was more of a dry time because they have to put the gel on in stages...so be prepared for about 15 more than you are used to for a regular manicure. BUT SO WORTH IT. And my nails have grown more it seems cause the gel seems to make them stronger or protect them. I will be a regular patron of these. My one question is does the gel come off easily or do you have to go back to the salon to get it off? Will tell when the time comes.

Diet -vs- Exercise

Hi there! Been a while but this blog and the topics it covers are never out of my thoughts. I often wonder why this is: some people are completely obsessed with fitness and health and others just aren't. I guess this is a topic for another day. One theory i have is that those people who aren't haven't tasted fit! Pun intended. Fit feels fantastic, and as much as I love food, i think it feels better than a butterscotch sundae. Because you don't feel horrible after being fit!

Being fit, bottom line is a combination of diet and exercise, PERIOD. I have long fought the belief that diet has as much to to with physique as it does. You are what you eat, simple. Not easy to do the right thing in terms of eating all the time, but you can give it your best shot each day. Number one rule: If you slip, get right back on track. I heard this from Dr. OZ. He said if you were travelling along a road and you made a wrong turn, you wouldn't keep going in the wrong direction, you would turn around and get on the right road, trying to find your way to where you should be! Perfect analogy for healthy eating. I do this, and it took me a long time to really do it. Before, if i slipped i would indulge the rest of the day, telling myself i would start tomorrow. I can't say i don't have episodes like that anymore, but they are fewer.

About a year ago, I was at a ladies day out and the leader asked each of us to write a note to ourselves about our goals for bettering ourselves. I wrote to control my portions and to engage in CONSISTENT exercise. Being a person of extremes, which probably explains my bouts of indulgence, i am now the exercise instructor. (I am always SO envious of those power eaters whose job is to each endlessly say 100 hot dogs in 5 minutes. I say to myself, I can do that! There are even a few who are thin, go figure...healthy, not so sure.) Being the instructor is a good thing for me as i tended like most to blow off classes or exercise routines. The outcome has been very interesting. Teaching 6 classes a week plus practicing routines, in my book is plenty of exercise. I have seen amazing changes in my body after doing it for about a year. Am i perfect? NO. I know i will never will be, but i think if i had a more consistent diet i could be a heck of a lot closer. Some of my problem areas have changed dramtically, some have changed only slightly.

Bottom line: I can force myself to exercise (not so much forcing because i found exercise that I LOVE), but I do not have the discipline for 100% healthy eating. There are too many forces working for me to be able to control it directly. Hormones, fatigue, carbs and the effects...sugar and blood sugar levels..I know what to avoid, but i don't always. All i can say is when i do hit the detours, i will turn around and try to find my way once again. Will you? Hope so because you are worth it.

Beauty Tip: Best Hair Conditioner EVER: Naked Naturals. I am using this one right now. I have thick course hair and it is the only one that makes my hair silky and smoother, without using alot! Try it!