Craving Pizza

[NicoletteAmber]

So I've been doing insanity and walking the dogs constantly, but I hadn't lost a single percentage of body fat in 2 weeks. Hmmm. I realized my macronutrients were the problem (or so I thought). I was eating 40% carbs which was the wrong call. So I changed my macronutrients to 40p/40f/20c. I thought this will fix the problem. And then my most favorite food of all time, the pizza craving hit. I stopped myself from ordering pizza tonight by going into myfitnesspal and calculating how many cheat meals and snacks I've had in the 20 days of this month. 9 cheat meals (3 of those pizza) and a handful of cheat snacks (mostly peanut m&ms). One cheat meal a week is good, so in 3 weeks I've trippled what I should have. 

My question to the fitbit community, what do you do to curb cravings? I'm always like oh I ate good today, I'll just have xyz. I need to be consistent. And really not have cheat meals the rest of the month. Any suggestions?! 

Thanks xoxo

[1stepcloser]

Right now I'm doing "the shred" eating plan. It seems to be working since im down 12 pounds in around 5 weeks. Here's the best part first you get pizza, and spaghetti. Not every night but you do get to eat it. You also get skinny cow ice cream or choclate chip cookies. The goal being you eat the calories for the meal or snack you are having. So if i get a 150 calorie snack and I want ice cream I get to eat it, but its also balenced out by 4oz of chicken and 2 veggies say for dinner, and yes I looked for next week and it will be lots of smoothies, protein shakes and soup but those are meals not my snacks. There is probably 6 pages of snacks, you will like something. I have been keeping track of calories for this last week and a half, I average about 1300 a day. Im also doing turbo fire and jogging and 2 days a week i work at a barn. So my thing is it isnt about a cheat meal, it's about figuring out how to eat healthy and still have pizza.I only have 15lbs to go for my goal weight and even the book says the closer you get the longer it takes. I can't say 100% that this plan will work. It's for 6 weeks ( i did the super shred 1st), but I can say this..I'm not hungry. I don't feel deprived. I know ahead of time what I need to have with me(snack wise) to go out for hours and not worry about what i'm having. Changing eating habits is hard, but so far this book has helped me. And I get home made chocolate chip cookies....So far im happy!

[jmperez]

I love pizza and have to have it frequently, too!  I only measure my caloric intake and have had great success losing weight.  I make my own dough at home and roll it out very thin, but I still use flour.   I'm only recently trying to change my focus to building muscle mass instead of weight loss so I'm not very familiar with your challenge.  I haven't tried the cauliflower pizza crust that I've seen floating around, but I have some friends who have enjoyed it - and they all say to make sure you squeeze out ALL the liquid from the cauliflower before trying to bake it or it gets too soggy.  I've also heard of people using squash or zucchini mixed with eggs to make a crust as well.  If you're worried about the carbs then I would recommend giving it a try.

[amandamelton13]

I make my own pizza. I don't have time to make my on dough so I use flatout products. I load it up with veggies and it is so good! You will want to bake the flatout by itself before adding anything on it so it won't be soggy! (We learned the hard way!)

http://www.flatoutbread.com/products/flatout-wraps/flatout-traditional/italian-herb/

[carl669]

@NicoletteAmber - i don't know where you live, but every time i'm in the Chicago area, i get Lou Malnati's crustless pizza (http://www.loumalnatis.com/blog/crustless-not-your-average-deep-dish/).  the base is one big sausage patty.  i usually ask them to go easy on the sauce to keep the carbs even lower.  just pile on the toppings.  it's awesome!

if you want to make your own low carb crust, this is the best i've found (and i've made several):

http://www.fathead-movie.com/index.php/2013/06/30/weekend-bonus-the-older-brothers-oldest-sons-faux-...

i've made it a few times and it's delicious!

[mrolling03]

Sometimes if you're experiencing a certain craving it means you're missing something in your diet. This might help a little in offering alternatives to satiate your craving in a healthy way. Hope this helps!

[nkotblove]

Hello my friends its good to be back now I had a pizza when I got back home from Branson mo from my b-day last weekend

and I brought a pizza from Pizza Hut its was good and I had it for 3 days Pizza that was nice..

I had Pizza for lunch time...

I had Subways sandwiches and its was A Turkey sandwich. At Branson Mo

I love Pizza's is good

thanks for reading this post have a great weekend

[MaryVE]

Here's how I deal with pizza craving:  We have a nearby car show every Friday evening from April through September and I try to attend each week.  There is lots of walking involved, and along the way there is a restaurant that sells very good pizza by the slice to the spectators for $2/slice.  I always get a slice of veggie pizza when I walk past and eat it while I listen to one of the bands entertaining at the park down the street.  Afterwards I continue my walk around the show.
That's the secret - moderation - think pizza by the slice, not a whole pizza.  Works for me.

[WendyB]

I agree Moderation. I fill up on salad and all I want is 1 slice of Pizza and Im fine.

[bcalvanese]

I buy those flat bread whole wheat pizza crusts. I think they are only about 120 calories for a whole crust. I put sauce, just a little cheese, and pile on the veggies. I think it comes out to less than 300 calories to eat the entire thing, and it looks to be almost half the size of a whole pizza.

And unlike regular pizza, its good for you.

[emili]

make your own if you have to have it. and be creative. use an english muffin or low carb wrap (60 calories), bagel thins (120 calories)- read labels for something to put your toppings on. Instead of sauce use fresh tomato or salsa or make a sweet pizza and use low sugar jelly. go for low fat cheese- like a feta or blue- Parmesan or low fat mozzarella- veggies or fruit- have fun.. pop it in the toaster oven till it gets gooey and warm- way less time than any other pizza option and totally delish.

[MamaWog]

I find that when I plan my meals ahead for the day and enter everything into MyFitnessPal the answer is immediately clear as to whether I can cheat that day or not.  e.g. ice cream after dinner 🙂  That said, a craving is a craving.  It's up to you if you give in to it, asking how important the craving is to your overall goal for the day/week/hour.  Sometimes you just must cave to the crave; it's OK.  Do it and be done.  Just don't do it again anytime soon.  

[RedHairDontCare]

There's these wraps called flatouts (http://www.flatoutbread.com/) quite possibly the best things ever.... get one of these, some ragu pizza sauce (http://www.ragu.com/our-sauces/pizza-sauces/homemade-style-pizza-sauce/), and some shredded cheddar... heat a frying pan with a little spray butter, put the wrap down flat, put about a tbsp of the sauce, 1/4 cup of cheese, fold the wrap in half and let the wrap crisp and cheese melt (rougly like 3-5 minutes). Cut it up into strips or however you please and heat 1/4 a cup of the sauce to dip in... AMAZZIINNGGG and low cal 🙂

[abby_p]

Making your own pizza is a comparatively better option. I am crazy about cheese burst pizza, but I don't even remember the last time I had it. Whenever I feel like eating somthing like that I remind myself of the gruelling shedule.. the workouts and the sprints that i'l have to go through because of it. Amazingly the craving goes away. It's like fighting your cravings. I do cheat 1-2 meals a week but I avoid cheese in any form.. coz "those 10 minutes will destroy 1 week of workout".    

[DerrickS]

I had a flat bread pizza over the weekend that had a ton of raw arugula on top and it was pretty good.

I'm not particularly a fan of arugula, but it gave the pizza an interesting texture. This was by no means a "healthy pizza"  (there was a lot of cheese and sausage), but I'm a big proponent of eating more veggies whenever you can!

[OCDOC]

The same as @carl669 above.... I finally tried this (a friend brought some to work...), and then I made it at home.

Ridiculously easy, tastes stupid good. I couldn't believe it. I fed slices to my 12 and 14 yo sons (without saying anything except 'homemade') and they loved it.

www.ditchthecarbs.com/2015/04/23/fat-head-pizza/

I made 2 'personal' size pizzas from the recipe..easier to manage.

Don't scoff until you try it 🙂  R

[tamado]

Pretty much the same as everyone else here.  I make my own pizza from scratch and go for a thin crust, lots of sauce, moderate cheese, some cooked chicken or sometimes taco beef.  I may add a bit of cured meat like bacon or pepperoni but very moderate for flavor, not for substance.  Then lots of veggies.  I eat one or two slices depending on how big I made the crust and have a giant salad.  If the pizza is balance, then eating it with a big **ahem** salad is not an unhealthy meal in my books.  Don't eat an entire greasy dough monster and expect to feel good later...

[AuroraKat]

The way I deal with cravings is to let myself have whatever it is I am craving in moderation. I find that if I try to substitute my desired food with something else tends to backfire. I end up eating the substitute and go on to continue craving the original food.

As a nice side effect of this strategy, my cravings have subsided significantly. I rarely have them now. I know I can have whatever it is that I want by working it into my caloric budget, so I don't tend to fixate on specific foods.

On the other hand, if pizza is something that you want to have often, then others' suggestion of making it yourself is a great idea. You can control exactly what goes into it, how thick the crust is, etc. Plus, it's a fun family/group activity if you like cooking. 

[AndyDandyPandy]

Just like the rules of chips: You can't just eat one piece of chip. 

Same thing with pizza, you can't just have 1 slice. 1 slice will go into 3 and before you know it, half the pizza is gone. Sure, eat in moderation people say, easier said than done. 

Pizza will satisfy your cravings. But having the will power and determination to not eat pizza is a much more rewarding satisfaction. You will have a sense of control over your cravings and ego. Do it enough and your cravings will go down and seeing weight loss results will motivate you into continuing your journey. 

Losing weight and maintaining health is not easy especially if you're overweight/obese. You'll have to make some sacrafices, keep yourself motivated, be strongly determined and committed to succeed.

The reality, sad but true. Good luck. 

[shipo]

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@AndyDandyPandy wrote:

Just like the rules of chips: You can't just eat one piece of chip. 

... 

The reality, sad but true. Good luck. 

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Hmmm, not sure I buy that.  If I want pizza I make or order a pizza and if I'm alone, I eat the whole thing typically in one sitting.  As for my weight, it doesn't have an effect either way; then again, given how many calories I burn in a day I guess this isn't too surpising.