The 100-Calorie Secret - Never Diet Again!

Start or re-start your weight loss program using these four tips to deal with cravings:

• Eating or drinking low calorie  "look-a likes, "
• Making sure it's not hunger,
• Cleaning up the house,
• And making sure you are not skipping meals .

Of all of these the eating  or drinking of "look-a-likes" is far more successful for most dieters.

“Cravings” refer to intense desires or urges for a particular substance-a drug, alcohol, or a food, even in the absence of hunger. Obese prone individuals have a heightened awareness of food  as compared to thin people.  Hunger is that growling in the stomach when have gone long periods without  eating.

The though, color, shape, and smell of certain foods  often bring back stored pleasure experiences and the need for reward. Cravings cannot be avoided since this behavior may have been going on for 20 or 30 years. Control  of Cravings is a major issue for many dieters.

Cravings can be very destructive when drugs and alcohol are involved.  Food cravings can be one of the major contributors to obesity.  The causes of craving is as varied as the substance craved: nutritional deficiencies, hormonal changes, metabolic changes, anxiety,  and depression are among the causative factors.

28% of women and 13% of men report cravings. Dieters report much higher levels of food cravings than non -dieters

Are Cravings an Addiction?
Are food crave-rs, addicts?  Dr. Richard Surwit from Duke University Medical Center says "People eat sugar because it tastes good. To call them addicts is ridiculous."

Addiction occurs when there are  predictable physical symptoms after stopping the substance. This has NOT  been report with sugar or any other food.

Cravings vs. Hunger vs. Low Blood Sugar vs. Emotions:
One should not confuse low blood sugar and hunger for cravings. The shaky, moody, and  sleeping feelings one gets after going long periods of time without foods which quickly disappear with eating protein or carbs is low blood sugar. They are predictable and not influenced by any outside factor.

The growling in our stomach is hunger. Most cravings occur when we are not hungry and are fueled by what we see, smell and even think.

Cravings and Chemistry in the Brain:
In a study published in The Lancet in February 2001, Dr. Gene-Jack Wang found that obese people had less  dopamine receptors in their brains than normal weight people  Wang found that the heavier the subject, the lower the number of dopamine receptors.

The Look- A- Like’s:
Low calorie -100 calorie bags of snacks and other portion controlled, foods and drinks that fool the brain into thinking it is eating the original.  

The Look-A- Likes:

I call these low calorie, low carb or low fat snacks that look like the real high calorie originals the -- “Look-a-Likes. They may be either low carb, low fat, and/or low calories, it's the packaging that's the key. They are made using fibers that are not absorbed  and sweetened with Splenda or aspartame. They include numerous new soft drinks, some fruit juices, low carb, low calorie candy, crackers, ice cream, bread, muffins and even bagels and pizza.

Fooling Our Brain:
Our brains are not very smart and can be easily "fooled" into thinking many low calorie-low carb, portion controlled  products are "almost as good "as the real thing.  These foods can  fool our brain because they have similar packaging, physical appearances, smells, oral sensations, textures, and tastes as their higher calorie originals. When eaten they go quickly into the brain and attach to the same receptors as the originals and release the same pleasure producing chemicals.

Since they have minimal effect on blood sugar, and fewer calories there are less metabolic consequences to eating them. The portion controlled bags make portion control easier.

Eating theseThey Do Not Increase Cravings or Hunger:
Some diet plan authors suggest that they only give the dieter license to eat more bags or they really increase cravings. Anyone who has fought with cravings knows that a portion controlled 100 calorie pack of chip or cookies does not increase anything- they provide the person trying to lose weight at least some degree of control, imperfect as it may be.

Look-A-Likes in Drinks:|
Diet sodas are the best example of  using look-a-likes. Diet coke is a good substitute for
regular coke, but for some people that taste is not like regular soda. Coke Zero is even
closer to regular coke and for many people who do not like diet sodas a good choice.

The Smart Dieter:

For those overweight or obesity prone individuals who are struggling to lose weight the answer to cravings is simple:
Give up trying to fight them, a bunch of carrot sticks will never satisfy someone who desires chocolate or salty chips.

What to do about cravings without driving yourself crazy:

1. Clean up office, house and even the car: seeing it or smelling it sets off the signal

2. Make sure the urge  is not thirst, hunger or low blood sugar

3. Have some 100 calorie snack packs or other portion controlled low calorie foods around, and let them fool your brain. They really are "almost" as good as the
   originals.

4. Eat regular meals to prevent your sugar from falling.