Satisfy Your Cravings-and Lose Weight
By Karen Ansel, RD
Have you ever tried desperately to avoid a food you crave only to find yourself devouring
a pint of ice cream? Labeling something "forbidden" only makes you want it more, so satisfying a craving (in moderation) is usually a better plan. But if you're serious about losing weight, you need to strategize. A few options:
1. Downsize your treats, so you're eating a smaller amount of the exact thing you want. For example, instead of a 4" square brownie, have a 2" square brownie.
2. Go for a lower-calorie substitute. That may mean skipping ice cream in favor of sorbet. (Warning: If you've been dreaming about the real stuff for hours, a stand-in might not quash the original craving.)
3. Make room in your daily calorie count for a food you really want.
4. Know your trigger foods. The exception to the "don't deprive yourself" rule: foods that you can't eat a bite of without stopping. So, if you know that you can't eat a cookie without devouring the box, better to resist the first one. Read on for more ways to deal with cravings.
How to Make Room for Your Cravings
Each of these sample meals adds up to 500 calories for a total of about 1,500 calories a day (which should enable you to lose about 1 to 2 pounds a week).
Breakfast
What you're craving: Bacon
• What you'd normally have: 2 scrambled eggs cooked in 1 tsp butter with 1 slice Cheddar on a whole-wheat English muffin with a 12-oz latte made with skim milk
• Eat what you want: Skip the Cheddar and add 2 slices of bacon.
What you're craving: Chocolate-chip pancakes
• What you'd normally have: 3 medium (4") buttermilk pancakes with 3 Tbsp maple syrup and 1 cup fruit salad
• Eat what you want: Skip the maple syrup and add 2 Tbsp chocolate chips.
What you're craving: A sweet and gooey cinnamon roll
• What you'd normally have: 1 medium (4 1/2 ") cinnamon-raisin bagel with 2 Tbsp cream /cheese and an 8-oz lowfat cappuccino
• Eat what you want: Swap the bagel and cream cheese for a medium (5 oz) cinnamon roll; swap the cappuccino for an 8-oz regular coffee with a splash of 1% milk.
Lunch
What you're craving: A side of potato chips
• What you'd normally have: A tuna sandwich on whole-wheat bread with a side salad (1 1/2 cups mixed greens with 2 Tbsp Italian dressing)
• Eat what you want: Skip the dressing on the salad (vinegar is OK) and add a 1-oz bag potato chips.
What you're craving: Caesar dressing
• What you'd normally have: 2 cups romaine lettuce with ½ cup grated carrots, 4 oz grilled chicken, 10 croutons, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, 2 Tbsp lite balsamic vinaigrette and a small whole-wheat roll
• Eat what you want: Skip the Parmesan, use only 5 croutons and swap the lite dressing for 2 Tbsp Caesar dressing.
What you're craving: Cheese on your sandwich
• What you'd normally have: 2 pieces rye bread with 2 oz roast turkey breast, 1 Tbsp mayo, lettuce and sliced tomato, and a 1-oz bag tortilla chips
• Eat what you want: Swap the mayo for 1 Tbsp honey mustard and the tortilla chips for an apple, then add 2 slices Swiss cheese.
Dinner
What you're craving: Alfredo sauce
• What you'd normally have: 1 cup pasta with 1/2 cup marinara sauce, 1/2 cup steamed broccoli and 1 slice buttery garlic bread
• Eat what you want: Skip the garlic bread and swap the marinara for 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce.
What you're craving: Steak
• What you'd normally have: 6 oz grilled chicken, a medium baked potato with 2 Tbsp sour cream, and 1 cup steamed spinach with 1/2 Tbsp butter
• Eat what you want: Skip the sour cream and butter, and swap your chicken for a 6-oz grilled lean flank steak.
What you're craving: A chocolatey dessert
• What you'd normally have: 6 oz salmon fillet with 1 Tbsp teriyaki sauce, 1 cup rice and 1 cup broccoli with 1 tsp olive oil
• Eat what you want: Cut your portion of rice to 1/2 cup and add a small (2" square) brownie.
Think Small
You can satisfy cravings without inhaling a hot fudge sundae or jumbo bag of chips. For 200 calories or less, you can have:
Sweet
• 1 oz high-quality chocolate, like Dove Silky Smooth
• 1 small (2" square) brownie
• 1/4 cup Cranberry Raisinets
• 1/2 cup all-natural lowfat pudding, like Kozy Shack
• 1/4 cup dried fruit, like apricots, cranberries, blueberries, mangoes or pineapple
• 1 cup chocolate- or caramel-flavored herbal tea, like Lipton Caramel Truffle or Celestial Seasonings Chocolate Caramel Enchantment Chai
• 8 oz hot chocolate made with skim milk
• 1 Tbsp caramel topping (drizzle on sliced apples)
• 1 Tbsp honey (add to tea or plain yogurt)
Salty
• 15 all-natural tortilla chips, like Garden of Eatin'
• 1 oz whole-grain pretzels
• 1/4 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup soy nuts
• 20 olives
• 1-2 Tbsp low-sodium
Creamy
• 1 cup lowfat cream of mushroom soup, like Imagine or Amy's
• 1 cup cooked polenta
• 1/4 cup tzatziki (Greek yogurt, garlic and cucumber dip) with a mini whole-wheat pita
• 1/4 avocado (on 1 slice soft sandwich bread)
• 8 oz cappuccino made with 2% milk
• 6 oz all-natural lowfat vanilla yogurt, like Stonyfield Farm
Crunchy
• 15 all-natural potato or sweet potato chips, like Terra Chips
• 3/4 cup whole-grain cereal
• 1 cup sliced jicama (dip in salsa or add to salad)
• 1 oz plantain chips
• 1-2 granola bars, like Nature Valley
• 12 small whole-wheat crackers, like Wheat Thins Fiber Selects
For more dieting tips, read The WD Get Real Diet.
All photos courtesy of Shutterstock.
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