Today I had a really tough time with my head hunger and temptations. I swear people never ate pizza as much as they are since I'm post-op! I know that's probably not true, but it sure feels like it sometimes. Anyway, I got home today from a long day and coming out of the week without a loss was feeling a little bummed about. I was looking forward to the turkey chili we'd been planning, but everyone else in my family had decided on pizza and had ordered it. I have been craving pizza for about two months now, and though they did nothing wrong, I was pretty upset.

I had to remove myself from the room, because I was offered pizza and was really wavering in my will power, even though I knew that it's not on my list to eat. I know I was being a bit overemotional, but I really had a bit of a breakdown moment. I gave myself maybe 15 minutes to feel sorry for myself, then I got my butt up and I exercised for 35 minutes on the elliptical at a higher level than I had before, followed by 3 sets of 10 reps of each free weight arm lift that I know. I let myself rest a little between, threw on some tv that I enjoyed while I worked out and by the time I was done they had finished eating and put the extra pizza away.I was able to make myself some Madras Lentils and kept myself to a half a portion, with a desert about 10 minutes ago of a sugar free fudgesicle. I'm pretty proud of myself - even though 1/2 of my brain is still having to fight at the gates to hold my head hunger back.

So I was wondering, especially because I think it would have been helpful for me to have a list (And throughout the past two months, especially at the beginning of soft foods) - if we could all add a few of our strategies to fight head hunger to this thread. I know I'd love a quick reference of ideas for those hard times. Here are my top 3:

1. Go for a walk

2. Come browse these forums

3. Make a deal with myself that if I can do my homework for 30 minutes first and I still can't control it I can have something (This never ends up happening though - after 30 min I am way more rational and can choose one of my other strategies)

So what are your top 3?

I make a habit of making sure I've had Protein recently before giving in to any head hunger. I've found that once I eat some sort of food (ie string cheese) then the things that are bad for me don't seem so tempting.

That said, I still get cravings so this is what I do...

1. Drink first and foremost.

2. Review recent VST threads on my I-phone. Many times just hearing/seeing other peoples success sparks a super hero within me where I can fight off cravings

3. Go for a walk/jog. Many times contemplating the calories I would tack on for the day if I gave into my craving doesn't seem worth while after I just spent the last 30min trying to burn off 1/4 of that.

4. If I have a craving all day for something sweet/rich then I'll allow myself to indulge by having a little Peanut Butter. It seems to quiet my craving and frees me from beating myself up afterwards because I know I at least got some protein in.

5. Oddly enough, if I find myself craving something starchy like baked cheetos or a pastry, I have discovered that if I grab a pickle instead then my craving goes away. Not sure why or how a little pickle could conquer such a big craving but it works for me so I use it as my go to craving killer.

1. Meditate

2. Call/text my sis

3. Freezing cold decaf iced tea

5. Oddly enough, if I find myself craving something starchy like baked cheetos or a pastry, I have discovered that if I grab a pickle instead then my craving goes away. Not sure why or how a little pickle could conquer such a big craving but it works for me so I use it as my go to craving killer.

I haven't had any pickles since post-op started....but they sound so good!! I will have to grab some. I could definitely use those for my salty cravings.