Craving killers

As an American, when you get a craving for something edible, will the standard serving size do it for you?

Probably not.

Growing up I didn't know anyone who would be satisfied eating two chocolate chip cookies. I think my friends and I could eat at least a box and still be thinking about food when we were in middle school.

Even though the serving size won't cut it, most of us *I hope* are still smart enough to know that the more you eat, the more weight you gain--unless you're one of those lucky people with an amazing metabolism (I hate you).

So I thought it was funny reading this article my mom sent me about curbing food cravings without needing to go up a pant size.

I know my cravings usually result from boredom. So I drink something--usually water, milk or orange juice. Or those great Vita Rain (Talking Rain) drinks sold at Costco that aren't glutted with corn syrup, much unlike those horrid Vitamin Water drinks that purport to be so healthy for you.

The suggestion that eating a small piece of chocolate will hold you over...not gonna cut it. There's a fine line between teasing yourself and pleasing yourself in this case. If you think, "OK, I'm just going to eat one square of chocolate because I'm going to drop dead if I don't," you'll probably open the packaging, inhale that heavenly scent, and devour the whole thing before you know it. At the same time, if you decide to with hold and just drink a gallon of water to force yourself to be full, the craving's just going to grow and you'll end up feeling entitled to much more than you should eat.

The safest way to approach the munchies, I think, is to drink something first. Then think about it. Find something to do that's involved and not just busy work. Then, if you're still hungry for, say, Cheetos, drink something else and eat some Cheetos--but not the whole bag. If that still doesn't work, go somewhere else (run errands, go to the mall, anything!) and find something new to occupy you. And if that doesn't work, it's probably time for a meal. And if you don't want to go through the whole try-this-then-that ordeal, just fix a meal and thwart the craving.

And no, don't snack while you're cooking. That defeats the purpose.

Another option: try eating something healthy that's like what you crave. So for sugary candy, try fruit--and fruit that you like, not just fruit you'll force yourself to eat because it's healthy and you feel like you have to. And if you don't like fruit, well, there's no help for you.

And dangit, this post just gave the munchies.