Tips on fighting cravings

I haven't had my surgery yet my Surgeon put me on a diet to get my weight down so she perform the surgery, but I'm have hard time on diet I've been having a lot of cravings for unhealthy foods. What are some tips you can give for fighting cravings.

Distraction! Tell yourself that you don't want whatever it is, not that you can't have it. Focusing on what/why that is a craving (read about the types of hunger), I will drink a dessert flavored hot tea if I'm craving something sweet; some people who crave salty/crispy will make small cheese or pepperoni chips in the microwave to get that crispy/salty thing. Drink a glass of water to see if that helps. Don't have the unhealthy foods in the house if you can do that, or have them separate from where you are most of the time, if you can't.

I started preparing for my surgery in May. I gave up everything white. Nothing made with sugar or flour. Nothing processed or refined. No bread, no pasta or noodles, no cookies, no rice, no cereals, no potatoes, no crackers, no ice cream, no donuts or candy, no high fructose corn syrup. I read labels religiously. I ate meal, eggs, fish, and no starchy vegetables. My vegetables did not include corn, carrots, peas, or lima beans. I ate spinach, broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes.

I did eat large amounts of meats and vegetables because I did not want to let myself get hungry. I would prepare roast beef, baked chicken, turkey breast, hard-boiled eggs, deli meats, canned tuna and cheeses. I always had plenty of snacks ready to grab from the refrigerator. I also gave up caffeine and Diet Coke.

I spent a lot of time walking in the mall and looking at the clothes that I would be able to fit into after my surgery and weight loss. After a few days without sugars and flours, my cravings disappeared. I drank as much water as I could hold. Once I was alone in the office on the evening of donut day at work. There were donuts left over and I ate one. That is the only slip up that I remember.

When I had my surgery in October, I did not have to make many adjustments. I did not go through any cravings because the I had detoxed in advance. The only difference was that after surgery an ounce of meat filled me up instead of the eight-to-ten-ounce servings I had been eating.

By spring I was buying and wearing those cute outfits that I had been window shopping the year before. The best advice I can give you is to go through the ordeal of detoxing from sugars and starches. Once you are eating just protein and non-starchy veggies, your cravings will disappear. Fill up your mind with cravings for health and for great clothes in small sizes.

Research the Pima Indians who lived in Arizona. Before the white man introduced them to white flour and refined sugars, they were strong, lean, and healthy. After twenty years of white foods, they were obese and diabetic. I grew up in the 1950's. An obese person was rare then. Now they are everywhere. It is because of high-fructose corn syrup, white flour, and sugar in everything. Just give up everything white. You will not crave the meat and vegetables. You will eat to live, not live to eat.