Amy- About not diving head first into the fridge-

I hit the gym before work- so my post work out meal is egg, shreddies (a breakfast cereal) or toast or oatmeal, a banana, a glass of milk, some OJ some coffee and maybe some nuts.

As far as staving off the cravings- try substitution instead of complete teetotalling.

Instead of getting a burger from McDonalds and fries and a coke, make yourself a burger with extra lean ground beef, or make the switch to the darkside- try Tofu burgers! They are surprisingly delicious! I also make myself a little bit of low fat fries and a diet soda. It satiets my burger craving and it's actually healthy.

My big junk food craving is in the form of pizza- so I started making my own pizza- The crust is available naked from my grocer and I pile on sauce, low fat cheese, tofu peperoni, and veggies and it's low fat, high protein, and very healthy!

Ps. Congrats on losing the weight.

When you're cutting calories, many small meals throughout the day seem to help me from ever getting to empty. Like 5 or 6 meals.

Schedule one of those meals around gym time to abate hunger.

Drink lots of water. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger.

If you're not getting enough EFAs or protien or micronutrients in your cutting diet you will have crazy cravings which is your body trying to save you from scurvy or something. It can be difficult to tell these helpful hints from the general hunger you get from wasting off all that hard earned fat. Make sure you've got nutrition right as you cut down.

Maybe my body works differently, but my appetite is actually more suppressed after a good workout. With all those endorphins flowing, my appetite is very well masked.

If you're not doing it already, I would advise concentrating on resistance routines that cover most of your body in the workout. If you're just doing aerobics, maybe that's why you're hungry. Or, maybe you're not getting a good breakfast in the morning--this is also key.

You should drink a recovery drink like Endurox R4 that has the proper mix of protein and carbs within the first half-hour after your workout. This is when you really do need carbs and protein. You can have it all mixed and ready to drink in your bag and before you get in your car drink it. Not only will this be very good for you - it will dull those Mc-cravings!

Good luck! - Patrick

First of all, i am truly inspired by the collective wealth of knowledge on this group. Amy, you are in good hands here. However, there are a couple of things that haven't been addressed that I want to bring to attention.

You got a lot of great information on what do to fight the cravings (maybe too much - LOL). But i'm more curious about a couple of comments you made.

You said that you were 'undisciplined', and you also said that you were on a stress eating binge after you lost weight. A lot of the advice given will help with the physical stuff. The weight loss, the cravings, etc. But knowing what to do isn't your challenge. You feel me?

How do I know this? You already lost weight successfully. You hit a huge goal, right? So, what really derailed you? (BTW, I'm not asking for a response- this is for you to think about).

Instead of focusing on 'what' do, think about the 'Why'? Why did you go on the binges? Why are you, as you say 'undisciplined?'

I'd say in addition to all this great advice, get yourself a strong support system. This fitness game is as much mental as it is physical. And always remember, our physical bodies are simply a reflection of what's going on inside.

something I tell myself about those crazy cravings for stuff that I know I shouldn't have........ is that I just burned off the fat that was stored from a time when I did eat that food, hence in a way I am "feeling" it again, but the whole idea of the exercise was to burn it off and not put it back on! I'm sure it's not exactly true that I've just burned off "those particular, specific fat cells" but it is a great way to retrain my thinking on how to deal with the urges.