How it works in my head

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joesfolk

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I was thinking about the way I choose the foods I do and I realized that being hungry and craving sweet are two completely different things. Hunger requires food with a modicum of nutrition..usually savory but not always. Craving sweet has nothing to do with hunger. While it generally feels as physically necessary as nutrition I know that it is not. My body should be perfectly happy once I have consumed a little meat and v e g but I still crave something sweet and find it as difficult to ignore the craving as it is to ignore hunger. I also realize that this is just a matter of habit which can be broken but hunger cannot be broken. Still the craving for sweet sure feels like a biological necessity. Does it work like that for you?
 
Pretty much the same for me. I need savory when I'm hungry. Sweets are an indulgence. As a matter fact, I just finished a bowl of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce. I think I'm all set for tonight.
 
Pretty much the same for me. I need savory when I'm hungry. Sweets are an indulgence. As a matter fact, I just finished a bowl of vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce. I think I'm all set for tonight.

But does that sweet craving feel like a biological necessity?
 
Sometimes it does, I was fine until I started thinking about something sweet. Not happy and actually antsy until I got the ice cream.
 
But does that sweet craving feel like a biological necessity?

I'd have to say no. I never look for a sweet snack. If I have any hunger pangs between meals, it's always for a savory snack.

That said, we have several different kinds of chocolates around the house. Right now it's mini Reeses cups, dark chocolate M&Ms and Andes mints. My grandson loves chocolate (big surprise) but in truth, they are for me.

Each night after dinner, around 9:00 - 9:30 PM, I need the dessert that goes with my dinner. Certainly not because I'm hungry. I guess it's a habit. BTW, that dessert is never the candy. It's cookies and milk or cake or ice cream. Some dessert or pastry.
 
Sometime after dinner, I often crave something sweet. I give in to it for awhile, but when it becomes too much, I remind myself that that was yesterday and I need to stop for awhile. By ignoring the craving which I found that was just because I had given in to the urge the day before, it's fairly easy to pass on it that next night and by the following night, the craving has passed.

If I want a sweet and have one, I will definitely have the craving the next night, usually at the same time. When I realize that and decide to skip it, it won't bother me again for awhile.
 
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Many years ago, I used to get cravings for Coca Cola. I started substituting O.J. Now, I might get the urge for a Coke once a year, but usually only if I see one. It's easy to resist, 'cause I don't like the taste of Coke with HFC.
 
For me the craving for sweets is purely mental or emotional.

I'm sort of like the little kids you see whining in the grocery store, I want the candy, cake, cookies etc..... If I resist the initial temptation I am soon distracted and the idea passes. If the desire for the same item keeps recurring for several days or weeks I give in and have a controlled portion. The latest craving was for a cinnamon streusel doughnut from the local Wegman's. I stopped last Sunday and got my one doughnut in a little paper bag* and had a mini feast with a glass of ice cold skim milk. A few years ago I would have bought a dozen and wolfed down a couple on the way home, progress! :ermm::ohmy::LOL:l

*Do any of you feel guilty when they ask you what's in the bag? I don't think the kid believes me. Maybe I don't look like a one doughnut person. :ermm::ohmy::LOL:
 
When I was diagnosed with diabetes I made a deal with the Devil. If I could continue to have sugar in my coffee, I would gladly give up all other sweets. I have never been a dessert person. Maybe about once a year I will see a Mounds bar and buy it. After the first bite, YUK! Too sweet. I make the cakes and all the sweets for the family. I do not lick the beater, or scrape out the bowl, etc. I don't even lick my fingers. Last night I made a large jar of Hershey's syrup for Spike. I have no idea how it tastes. It must have been all right. :wacko: He was eating it out of the jar with a spoon. It is supposed to be for his nightly dish of ice cream. :wacko: :angel:
 
...The latest craving was for a cinnamon streusel doughnut from the local Wegman's. I stopped last Sunday and got my one doughnut in a little paper bag* and had a mini feast with a glass of ice cold skim milk....

I never feel guilty.

If I go to a Dunkin Donuts and order some donuts (never just one) I am comfortable that I am making a smart low calorie choice. Next time you have a minute or two, compare the calorie count for a donut to any of the 'healthy' muffins or breakfast sandwiches of coffee drinks.
 
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I never feel guilty.

If I go to a Dunkin Donuts and order some donuts (never just one) I am comfortable that I am making a smart low calorie choice. Next time you have a minute or two, compare the calorie count for a donut to any of the 'healthy' muffins or breakfast sandwiches of coffee drinks.

I don't feel guilty about my single doughnut, I always feel like the kid at the checkout will think I have two or three in the bag and that I am attempting to cheat the store!

If I felt guilty about the doughnut I probably would never have gotten fat in the first place! :ermm::ohmy::LOL:
 
I never feel guilty.

If I go to a Dunkin Donuts and order some donuts (never just one) I am comfortable that I am making a smart low calorie choice. Next time you have a minute or two, compare the calorie count for a donut to any of the 'healthy' muffins or breakfast sandwiches of coffee drinks.

So, so true Andy. That is why the "just the muffin top" became so popular. :angel:
 
I am trying to gain weight. But I am not hungry very much so I do not eat very much. DA says to eat more pasta and those carbohydrates. I do not like so much of that, because they make my stomach feel too big for me.

I do not like sweets. I love vegetables, however! Mamma never allowed me to have many sweets when I was growing up. She said small people can get fat too quickly when they are still growing.

I like dipping chunks of raw carrots and celery into Ranch Dressing!

I have had doughnuts I did like. I think it was called an eclair? It is a tubular pastry with chocolate on the top and a creamy vanilla filling inside of it.

Your friend,
~Cat
 
I am trying to gain weight. But I am not hungry very much so I do not eat very much. DA says to eat more pasta and those carbohydrates. I do not like so much of that, because they make my stomach feel too big for me.

I do not like sweets. I love vegetables, however! Mamma never allowed me to have many sweets when I was growing up. She said small people can get fat too quickly when they are still growing.

I like dipping chunks of raw carrots and celery into Ranch Dressing!

I have had doughnuts I did like. I think it was called an eclair? It is a tubular pastry with chocolate on the top and a creamy vanilla filling inside of it.

Your friend,
~Cat

Aha! Another one who likes Ranch Dressing. I love Hidden Valley dressings. Specially Ranch Dressing. And I will fight you Cat for the éclair. :angel:
 
So, so true Andy. That is why the "just the muffin top" became so popular. :angel:

Oddly enough, I prefer the bottoms. :ermm: Do you think I could get a job as the designated muffin-bottom-eater? :yum:

I am STILL holding out on my donut for when the new shop opens in town. They are waiting on ONE part for their donut-making equipment (each location makes everything on-premise) and they'll be able to hang the "open" sign.
 
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