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Mark Cooper wrote:The cravings will, eventually, start to fade away; it can sometimes take longer than we might think and it is usually a wise strategy not to succumb to those cravings, lest we reinforce and strengthen them.
Try to remember, if you aren't hungry and are still craving foods that don't fit within the MWL guidelines, it is almost certainly either the grumbling of the "pleasure trap" or perhaps you are feeling in need of some other form of reward or support for which "treats" are a stand-in?
Tian-De wrote:Thanks for sharing everyone,
I'm really grateful that this space is here to talk things out.
I have been going through the same sort of things lately too. I'm only about a week into the MWL plan, but no matter how much I eat (erring on more starches than veggies, like 60-40 or 70-30) the cravings for fatty, sugary, processed things in entirely too intense.
I'm eating till I'm full all the time, but just can't shake the hangry, depressed feelings.
Yesterday, I made a glass of chocolate almond milk when I caught myself. I took a sip, then quickly reminded myself that I committed to break this addiction, and poured the rest of my chocolate almond milk down the sink. It's really hard to describe how sad and hurt I felt. I cried briefly at the sink as I watched it go down.
Essentially, the feeling is like I'm not actually hungry but I feel extremely sad and have this irrational drive that if only I could gourge on vegan junk food it would go away.
Oh! Writing this, it reminds me of what it felt like to quit smoking! This irrational, irritated, quick-to-anger, feeling.
I appreciate the suggestion to do something that isn't food related though. That's good advice, I feel like the more I focus on the issue, the bigger it becomes.
wildgoose wrote:Tian-De, as a former smoker, I understand your comparing the feelings from cravings to the feelings from quitting smoking. Fortunately, you know that you can get through them, because you’ve done it before, albeit in a different context.
wildgoose wrote: The bad thing about the feelings is that they can seem overwhelming (especially these days, when so much else is seeming overwhelming). The good news is, the feelings are temporary. They don’t last. Surf through them, distract your way around them, get past them till the next one surfaces, repeat. They will diminish, in both frequency and intensity, as long as you don’t feed them.
wildgoose wrote: Don’t feel bad about crying over spilt chocolate almond milk. I once cried over a Subway sandwich. About a month after I started MWL, the Gander brought home a foot-long veggie sub. He asked me to slice it in half and re-wrap it for him. Simple — I’d done that dozens of times before. But when the smell of that bread hit me, I wanted that sandwich so badly that I cried — both from the craving and the sadness that I couldn’t have that sandwich ever again. I don’t think that would happen now, but at the time it was pretty depressing.
wildgoose wrote: Stay the course! We're all here with you.
Goose
Tian-De wrote:Question, did you have any good whole starch foods that really pulled you through the hard times? Something you could eat everyday and make you feel whole.
Tian-De wrote:The two things I feel like I could eat everyday are oven fries and taco filling.
The fries are a recipe from HighCarbHannah. I take Yukon golds, steam them for 13 minutes, cover them in garlic powder and other spices, then air fry or broil them until brown.
For the taco filling, I water sauté onions and garlic in a big wok with lots of spices, then add lots of random veggies, and finally add corn and beans. When I went vegetarian a few years back, this was a major staple. I find it's still quite good even without crispy tortillas, oil, cheese, and sour cream.
Right now, I think I need to focus more on following the 10 guidelines are much as possible, and not think weight loss. I am actually a fairly healthy weight now (high end of normal BMI). When I think about loosing weight, I feel that I make be making myself eat less quantity than I really want to eat (even though it looks like a lot to others).
A thought came to me in meditation that a lot of these intense feelings may be from sugar withdrawal as well. It feels so much like getting off drugs. I can't describe how much this is like getting off drugs.
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