Insane craving for carbs

First, your new profile pic is beautiful!! Your work is showing!

I get cravings too. Moon cheese helps me sometimes, or sometimes I'll make a pickle roll up (ham, cream cheese, and dill pickle). I have made the mistake of "having a few" of whatever I'm wising for...and I overate it and felt physically and emotionally terrible later. I felt like I'd betrayed myself and spiraled out on feeling like I was failing. It's just totally not worth it. Someone (maybe Grimm?) said that hunger is not an emergency, which I like when I get my "I want it" feeling. Cravings are my brain, not my stomach and I remind myself and sometimes that helps.

Thank you for the compliment! And you are right, I am so used to giving my body food the moment I think it wants some. Even if I'm not hungry now, I catch myself with the habit of going to the kitchen and looking in the fridge. I don't want anything, I'm not hungry, but I'm still looking inside it to see what I have! I'll stop and ask myself why I'm standing there like an idiot just staring into it. Longingly perhaps lol.

Yeah I felt like a total failure when I ate a bit of junk food. Honestly I had in the beginning been in the mindset of "a little isn't bad, I don't want to have foods that are off limits." But the amount of calories in one serving compared to the protein you don't get, and the amount of carbs you do get in chips is enough to have made me stop and KNOW that it is not true. For me, some foods needs to be off limits until I'm at my complete goal health wise. Those delicious chips are just not worth it.

Oh, I hear you! I am a recovering "everything in moderation" gal.

However, (clearly) I am unable to have certain things in moderation. I'm a binger and a nibbler and I hate self deprivation. Before surgery I was really scared because I couldn't imagine how I would connect with people without food. I'm in MN and everything is planned around food. Plus, food was how I took care of myself. So....I digress, but I'm working on being glad about not eating certain foods. I'm pretty sure there's a lot I wont be able to have in maintenance because my brain doesn't have a "shut-off" valve. That's okay. I look at things and say "I don't eat that. I don't want to eat that." (like its gross! LOL) Even when I don't believe this statement, the universe shifts just a little bit....

Giving yourself those little talks is key! I have them with myself everyday. "You don't need an extra bite," or "You're doing great with the gym, don't give up just because you're tired" they help me to keep going a lot when I am feeling less than energetic.

What is moon cheese? I have never heard of it?

Crunchy little circles of cheese--0 carb, a little protein. Mostly they just satisfy my need for crunch

New Profile Photo!! You look fabulous!

I've had the Quest chips, and Kay's are much different/better. I don't like all of their stuff, but these are good. Someone said they found them at Walgreen's. I signed up for their e-mails, and order them online when they have coupon specials. I get the larger box, and portion them into serving sizes. I keep a bag in the glove compartment for 'emergency use'. (Like when the pediatrician's office is running two hours behind, and I've missed lunch.)

Carbs cause carb cravings IMHO. So I stay away as much as possible.

The cheese crisps are a good thing. Easy to make. Here is how I make them:

Get a bad of shredded cheddar or parmesan. Get parchment paper. This is essential. Certain coated paper plates work but the crisps will stick to any other surface.

put heaping teaspoons of the shredded cheese in four evenly spaced little piles on the parchment. Microwave on high for 1 to 1.5 minutes. Watch carefully until you know the right time for your microwave. They are done when they darken very slightly. Remove the parchment and place the chips on paper towels to cool using a pancake flipper. The will become crisp as they cool.

I take these to parties as my friends demand them. I usually have two parchments going so I can set one up while the other cooks. You can reuse the parchment until you are finished with the batch even though it gets a bit oily.

Use a good quality brand of cheese as the cheaper store brands are ofter oilier.

Enjoy. Much cheaper than buying them. Diane S