The Craving Crisis

I am now in my twelfth week on Optifast and consider myself a "veteran" of sorts when it comes to doing the program. I have my routine down pat, I flavor my products so they taste great, I feel fabulous, and I am seeing the results of my hard work. I even cook for my husband and with only one exception, I have never felt any urge whatsoever to eat his food.

And yet, I am sitting here today recovering from the worst craving for food I have ever had in my life.

It happened last night. It came out of nowhere. I was definitely unprepared -- nothing like this with regards to food has happened to me before so I had no experience to draw upon to manage the situation. For the first time, my commitment to our Optifast products came into question. I started to build a "justification" for eating. But somehow, I got through it with sheer, brute willpower.

The target of my urge? An Italian sub I brought home from work party, for my husband to eat for dinner. He decided he did not want to eat it, and got some pizza instead. There it sat, in the fridge, wrapped in aluminum foil. I hadn't unwrapped it, so I had no idea what it looked like. But oh, I could imagine. I've had many, many subs in the past. I can gobble those up in six bites. The moment my husband said he didn't want it, I started thinking about it. A lot.

At first, everything was okay. I had my dinner soup and shake at 7:00 p.m., and logged on the computer to check my e-mail and Facebook, and research a few things. I had two hours until my jello treat at 9:00 p.m., but that time tends to fly by. Last night, however, it didn't. My mind kept drifting back to the sub. I decided to have my jello earlier. I drank water, as suggested. Regardless, I could not get that wretched sub out of my mind.

As you can expect, the next step was to throw that thing in the trashcan -- I pushed it down as far as I could. I even wondered if I should run it under water (to ruin it) before I threw it out, but I didn't go to that length. I'm glad, because I think if I saw it up close and personal, that would have created even more trouble for me. I went back to my chair, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I didn't feel entirely safe, but I was able to collect myself enough to go read some blogs of other Optifasters. I always go to their pages when I need support -- and this was one of those times. As I read, the craving lost its grip on me. I stabilized. And felt an incredible sense of relief.

I'm one who likes to compile "Lessons Learned" -- wisdom I've gained from navigating through tricky situations. Despite how uncomfortable this experience was, I am coming out of it with some knowledge. Most importantly, a craving does pass. You do not have to eat food to make it go away. If something is "threatening" you, throw it out immediately. Take it to the trash outside, if necessary. I believe it's important to remove the item entirely.

Secondly, in my case, I should have called my husband at work to see if he wanted a sub for dinner. I assumed it would be something he would like. It wasn't -- and I ended up in a compromising situation. When I cook for him, I have complete control over what he eats, portion sizes and leftovers. This was not the case last night. Sure, I loved taking the night off from cooking, and I plan on continuing to do this. But I need to make sure that "outside" food brought home is what he will actually eat.

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And finally, if you are in trouble with a craving, seek out blogs written by others on Optifast. I have a list of a few to the right of my page, and on their pages are links to even more Optifast blogs. Reading helps eliminate the urges. I don't know how exactly, but it works. Draw on the wisdom of others. They are there to help you through your journey. And rest assured, they have been where you now find yourself.

As always, my mantra is: If I could manage this crisis -- and I'm not the strongest of people when it comes to food -- you can too! Expect the unexpected and you'll be one step ahead of the game.