You don’t have to satisfy cravings

[2023a]

I’m getting a bit annoyed by people who go in about their ‘uncontrollable’ cravings. They are controllable.

Unless you’re pregnant (in which case, do what you need to do) or have a mental health condition, you don’t need to eat or drink everything you want to eat or drink. The fact that you want a litre of Diet Coke doesn’t mean you have to have a litre of Diet Coke.

This all seems very basic, but it seems some people don’t understand this. All this ‘how do I control my cravings?’ Just have the cravings? Not giving yourself said ‘treat’ won’t kill you.

I know I’m being flamed, but some of these responses are still hilarious. 😂

Not sure what's so funny, it's fairly basic understanding of why people develop bad but fun habits.

I think the OP is enjoying something new: humour.

Some cravings are due to deficiencies, so someone craving chocolate may need to look into magnesium deficiency and so on.
I know from experience, anaemia can be and is linked to cravings.

It's important to differentiate between the two, craving just because you have a moment of 'feeling good' compared to craving because you're body needs something and is trying to access that.

It may seem insensitive but I understand what the OP is saying. Different people have willpower for different things. I'm fairly good at not eating and am fasting from lunchtime until tomorrow afternoon. I can see how multitude of factors might make it difficult but I get a perverse pleasure out of saying no to myself or ignoring the chocolate cake in the fridge.

Take me to a garden centre though and all my willpower to just look at plants disappears. I'll come home with far too many most of the time. Also my resolve to have a 3 minute shower ends in 10 minutes in the lovely showery warmth nearly every morning.

A wide variety of humans is what makes the world interesting imo.

Maybe try controlling your urge to preach at people??
If pregnancy is a free pass because of hormones, what about pms? Just checking if I should feel guilty or not oh wise one?

The fact you get a perverse pleasure from denying yourself cake though suggests you've just shifted what gives you the chemical high. Until you're ambivalent about the cake existing you're still seeking that rush, even inadvertently. It's like propel who do endurance sports. It isn't that they resist these urges, it's just that they've channeled them a different way. Which is obv not a bad thing!

OP is talking about just ignoring the urges and living your life as perfectly as they do.

If i was you i would reflect on why you’re so invested in this.

Why does it even concern you? Mind your business and enjoy your virtuous life 🥬.

The fact that the very idea of not giving into cravings is ‘preachy’ and ‘perfect’ is essentially what I’m talking about.

The Health Survey for England 2021 estimates that 25.9% of adults in England are obese and a further 37.9% are overweight but not obese. 68.6% of men and 59.0% of women are overweight or obese. We’re one of the fattest countries in Europe and forecasts have us topping the list by 2033.

Somehow, people in most other countries manage to have sane adult relationships with food. But, sure, I’m being unreasonable to think you should be able to manage your cravings.

I posted an MN thread and said I was a bit annoyed about something. If you consider that a serious investment, I suppose our definitions of the word differ markedly. 😊

It might seem obvious, it took me a good while to really understand the approach that says 'just sit with that feeling of craving something'

If you give into a craving, you reinforce its power and lead your body to expect to be given whatever you crave.

Covered by Gillian Riley in her eating less approach https://www.eatinglessonline.com

OP "Unless you’re pregnant (in which case, do what you need to do) or have a mental health condition"

so, by that logic, I'm allowed to give in to cravings as I've been in treatment for mental health issues for years

but someone who hasn't, isn't? Hmm.

Quite.

I’m getting a bit annoyed by people who go in about their ‘uncontrollable’ cravings. They are controllable.

Shut it all down, everyone! OP has sorted out how to end addiction! All the heroin addicts and alcoholics should be fine now; they just have to tell themselves that the craving is controllable and it will be.

In all honesty, I don’t know if OP doesn’t understand brain chemistry or psychology or both, but I have to assume this thread is a joke, when there are so many studies about the links between not just food and addiction, but food cravings and addiction - for example, that things like the anticipatory phase of binge eating (so, those cravings) is mediated by the opioid system in your body.
www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cns-spectrums/article/abs/role-of-the-opioid-system-in-binge-eating-disorder/D34A61305287C6BB45719AE851DB5D23

Not everyone who 'gives in to cravings' is overweight.
MYOB

I wish that's all I had to get worked up about

I give into cravings in an effort to mitigate my migraines.

"Food cravings can also be a sign that you're about to get a migraine, according to the American Migraine Foundation. People often crave certain foods during the pre-headache phase of a migraine attack."

Sublime!

Yea I'm really craving the smell of petrol, tippex and marker pens etc at 36w so have to control mine ffs.

eat what you want sans guilt

Do you want to eat the smell of petrol, tippex and marker pens? If not, not seeing the relevance to anything I’ve said.

Wowwwww.

Are you under the illusion that only oregnant women have hormones?

Life is pretty miserable round my way at the moment. If I want cake and soda, I'll have it. Whether you feel I don’t have the right because I chose to not have a kid is of no consequence.

It could all be over in a flash. Eat the cake and share it with people you love.

@MelchiorsMistress agreed. If I had listened to all of my pregnancy cravings I would have been the size of a house.

Well, that's pretty much what Pica is. So it's fairly relevant as it's a craving.