Eighth Day - August 17, 2008

I had spaghetti for lunch/breakfast. I had my snacks of chocolate wafers and multi-grain chips. I'm too full to have dinner. I drank Fit 'N Right juice drink. It's too sweet for my taste. I felt a drive to eat and eat today. That's why I'm too full now. Tomorrow, I'm gonna start eating moderately again. And eating slowly. This morning I was so impatient to eat. I think it's coz I continued eating spaghetti when I felt full, because my plate was not emptied yet. Then after several minutes I just wanted to continue eating. Oh well. It happens. Tomorrow is a new day.

I ATE AGAIN. Omg. I'm too full. Sigh. When will this stop? I'm frustrated. Ok, let's be calm.. I didn't have a formal dinner so, I ate two rounds of corn flakes with non fat milk. I had a snack again, of multi grain chips. I also ate a few chocolate wafers. Gawd..I need to discipline myself. A few minutes ago, while I was eating those chips, I thought why I keep on eating when I'm already full. And I couldn't seem to think about anything besides my craving to eat. It's like it has taken control of me, that craving. It's like a monster, or like something that's possessed my mind and body. It was an anxious afternoon for me, I confide. In fact, the cravings started after while I was anxious. I need to deal with stuff with my momy and sister. They have serious attitude problems. How do I know? Coz simple things irritate them. And I get anxious when people get irritated with me, or annoyed with me. It makes me feel anxious and terrible. Like this afternoon, my sister was asking me to do stuff, and she has this really soft voice, so nobody who has average hearing can hear her. So I asked about 3 times what she's saying, and she repeated and cursed under her breath. Then later when I walked into the room I peeked through the little window to see my mother staring insolently to her right. And I'm thinking, what the H is their problem? What did I do? Did I do something so terrible?? They have serious problems.... And it's affecting me, too.

To help, here's a number of reasons why I crave, also, a list of seven ways to deal with it:

Reason: emotional reasons especially anxiety and stress and desire. "Food cravings arise to satisfy emotional needs, such as calming stress and reducing anxiety," says Drewnowski, a well-known researcher on taste and food preferences.

For many of us, cravings kick into high gear when we're stressed or anxious. Carbohydrates boost our levels of the hormone serotonin, which has a calming effect. And recent research suggests that the combination of fat and sugar may also have a calming effect.

According to Drewnowski, cravings that are spurred by emotions are typically for foods containing fat, sugar, or both.

7 Tips:

1. Give in to those cravings but only take smaller portions.

2. Make lower-calorie choices when possible.

3. Don't let yourself get too hungry. When you for example skip a meal or refrain from eating when you're truly hungry, you will get SO hungry that you end up overeating to compensate. It's in this state of extreme hunger that we tend to crave quick-fix foods like candy bars. Eating several meals through the day may help to control cravings and binge-type eating.

4. Start a cravings journal. (That's what I'm doing right now.) Keep a cravings journal for a month. List the times of day you have cravings, the emotions you're feeling at the time, the foods you crave, and what and how much you ate. When you look back through your journal, ask yourself if there are any patterns, such as certain times of day when you tend to experience food cravings. Are there certain emotions or situations that tend to bring them on?

5. Eat smart carbs. Carbs like whole grains, fruit, beans and vegetables.

6. Take care of yourself. Emotionally, physically, mentally. Nurture yourself. Think about what will attribute to your wellness. This includes doing things that make you feel pampered.

7. Learn to relax. Take a deep breath and think, before attending to those cravings.

Note to self: Cravings are not evil. They're physiological in nature. They're there to help you calm yourself and reduce your anxiety. So they're not your enemy. Cravings are usually a sign that you need to start looking after yourself emotionally and mentally and physically. Release your anxiety by talking to the people who made you anxious.

-http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55942