Oh, Those Crazy Cravings!

Ack!!!! They’re everywhere!

Tempting treats on every street corner, at restaurants and the grocery store make it so hard to stick to our healthy living goals. They call to us with their sweet seductions:

Hello darling, come eat us! You know we’re delicious and you can’t resist!

The little vixens.

In order to lose weight we’ve gotta get a handle on those crazy cravings. They can undo our efforts to make good food choices quicker than you can say, “If I eat this froyo really fast it won’t count, right?!”

Ahem. Wrong.

Upon request of many of the “10-Week, 10-Pound Challenge” participants I bumped the “Block Cravings” topic ahead from Week 7 to Week 5. And for good reason too! Getting the upper hand on cravings can be the difference between weight loss success and coming unglued, yet again.

Here’s the “Cravings” line up for Week 5:

Monday: Oh, Those Crazy Cravings!

Tuesday: Try-It Tuesday: Go Jump in a Lake (open water swimming)

Wednesday: “I Love You, Sugar (… and fat … and salt)”

Thursday: Crave the Good Stuff

Friday: Video with my daughters – they’re so funny, and they take no prisoners when they dish.

When we tune into the “language” of cravings we start to realize that their pull is emotional, as well as biological and chemical. Any of this dialogue going on in your head? Yep, mine too:

(Reading restaurant menu): Oooooo, that Colossal Cardiac Arrest Burger sounds sooooooo gooodddddd!

Hmmmmmm, so many good choices! I feel like the Salted Caramel Molten Chocolate Belly Buster Cake. Oh yeah, baby!

Not only are cravings not about physical hunger, but they also tap into some pretty deep-rooted desires. We’re going to talk about some of those hard-wired responses to food cues this week, so stay tuned!

One of my all-time favorite summer foods is popsicles, but store-brands are often made with artificial ingredients and are loaded with sugar – even the fruit juice ones. With the help of the Tovolo Groovy Ice Pop Molds I’m into making my own these days. I’ve got some fun recipes I’ll share this week and Week 5’s prizewinner will get one of their own!

And congratulations to Week 4 winner Donna, who will receive a one-year subscription to Cooking Light magazine. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Happy, healthy cooking Donna!

Taking charge of cravings – like so many principles of permanent, lifelong weight loss – means being aware of your own behavior and mindful of your goals. But feeling a sense of mastery over something that may have previously left you feeling helpless is so empowering!

Cause, who’s in charge here, after all? Is it the Doritos or is it you???

(The correct answer should not elude you, at this point.)

C’mon, we got this!