Thursday, April 16, 2009

To Indulge or Not to Indulge

I was one of those rare creatures that HATED chocolate. I didn't like the taste at all and I never understood the compulsion others had to satisfy their craving by consuming vast amounts. All of that changed in October of 2004. For it was in that month that I became pregnant. Within months I was craving chocolate cake with an intensity that I didn't know I possessed any more. I began my search for the perfect cake and eventually settled on a huge, deliciously rich and moist cake from Costco that I would send my husband out to buy on a weekly basis. It is amazing to think that during that pregnancy I only gained 18 pounds considering I probably ate that amount in cake each week. This strong urge to consume chocolate in all forms lasted the duration of the pregnancy, but for the most part disappeared once I gave birth. Every once in a while that craving would return, which I'd satisfy, and then it'd be months before I even thought of chocolate again.

Then August of 2006 hit and I was pregnant again. Almost immediately the craving for chocolate returned. Only this time, in addition to cake, I craved chocolate ice cream and candy bars too. It was nine glorious months of guilt-free indulgence. Then I gave birth and the cravings did not go away.

So here I am almost two years later and every once in a while get these intense cravings. I try to eat healthy and work out as I'm still trying to lose a little more weight. In my mind I figure by caving I am only undoing all the hard work I put in at the gym or off-setting all the healthy choices I had made with food. But man I am dying. Every once in a while I give in and I'm okay with that as long as it remains the exception and does not become the rule because but if I gave in each time I had a craving I'd be over 200 pounds.

So, how do you deal with cravings that become consuming at times?

2 comments:

Nancy said...

Oh, I just give in to them. It's not good to deny yourself what you're craving. Just don't overdo it and get right back at it, and don't beat yourself up about it.

Joanne said...

I've loved chocolate every single day of my life, even more so in pregnancy. I allow myself small bits of it often, but like Nancy said, I don't overdo it. It's a taste I cannot deny.