Ever since I returned from my trip, I’ve been craving carbs. Even more than sweets, I think about how much I’d like to enjoy a plate of pasta, a thick, crusty piece of Italian bread dipped in herb-infused olive oil or a dense, flavorful muffin accented with creamy, soft butter.
Not that I could actually eat a whole plate of pasta, thick slice of bread or entire muffin, but I’d be more than happy to pick at the dishes a few bites at a time and put the rest away.
I feel somewhat like an alcoholic who is positive that one small drink won’t hurt.
It’s not that I’m on a no-carb diet, but I’m supposed to follow a low-carb plan. So if I have carbs, they need to be in very small amounts and not all in one meal or on one day. Honestly, if I’m following my plan right and eating protein first, I don’t have much room for carbs, so it should be relatively a non-issue.
Yeah, right. Cravings are always an issue. I’ve been extraordinarily happy to not be struck with them much since the surgery. I don’t count when I was in week five of the six-weeks of liquid diets and craved something more solid. Hell, at that point anyone would have craved something other than milk, soup or protein shakes.
I had a bagel today. Not all at once, but spread out over two snacks and lunch. This was a poor choice for several reasons. One — a big Thomas’s Everything bagel has lots of carbs and calories. Even thought I didn’t eat the entire thing at one time, it still upped my count for the entire day. Two — by eating the pieces of bagel, I took up room in my stomach that was meant for protein. So, today I not only went over my carb goal, but I’m also under my protein grams.
Blech. I’m not beating myself up, although I’m not happy with the choices I made. I’m just putting it out here so that I can process it all in my head and get back on track tomorrow. I don’t want to slide down a slippery slope and repeat the behavior tomorrow.
When I quit smoking many years ago, I learned in the cessation class that the urge to smoke will pass whether or not you have a cigarette. There’s an actual, chartable, progress to a nicotine urge. It builds and builds for about ten minutes but if you can make it through the peak of the urge, the craving will dissipate. I’ve never found that to be true of food cravings. What usually works better for me is to substitute. A glass of water, a cup of hot tea, a bite of something else. The trick is to be willing to not pick up the carb overload.
I can do this. I will do this tomorrow. Today wasn’t horrible, but tomorrow is going to be even better.
Weighty Matters 
Yeah, craving do suck. I don’t have much luck with substitution, I find I still WANT whatever it was I was craving.
You might check with your nutritionist, just to make sure the craving isn’t for something that your body isn’t getting enough of. You know, like some vitamin or something.
Cravings kill me. I have such a hard time with them.
Julie