Getting past these cravings

Chocolate is one of my few food triggers, and I fell off the wagon over Christmas and had small amounts of chocolate several times. Silly and stupid, huh? Luckily, I got away with it.

 

Are you taking a preventive with a weight gain side effect? I'm very sensitive to that side effect. I went up to 245 pounds on a 5'3" frame on Depakote, Nardil, and Zyprexa.

 

The good news is that with Diet Center, I've lost 30 pounds this year. I'd lost 40 since I went off the Nardil and Zyprexa mid-2001. I've still got a ways to go, but I'm pleased with my progress.

 

It sounds like your elimination diet is healthy. Have you tried snacking? Diet Center recommends a mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and 8pm snack. I'm more satisfied if I have a little protein and fat included in my snack. Sliced apple with almond butter? I've found almond butter at the whole foods co-op.

 

Can you have eggs? I sometimes make homemade mayonnaise, and I can add herbs and spices to make a ranch dressing dip. I don't worry about the raw eggs, but I could use egg substitute. Commercial mayo is safer than homemade as far as spoiling goes, but the homemade is SO much better tasting. I can't keep it around. I'd eat nothing but mayonnaise sandwiches!

An herb vinegar and oil, with a little garlic and Dijon mustard, makes a great dip for raw veggies. I dress all my salads with it.

 

It may take 2 or 3 weeks before you see any improvement on your elimination diet. Stinks, huh? It's kind of the same as starting a preventive.

 

And it may be that you don't have any recognizable food triggers. Chocolate only became one for me a couple of years ago. Beer, even O'Doul's is a trigger. I was bummed out when I realized I couldn't even have a non-alcoholic beer with my homemade chili. Red wine is a trigger, and I have to be careful about sauces when I go out. Several types of hard spirits are triggers, but I had to give up alcohol completely when I started Lyrica last month.

 

Check out a low tyramine diet. Things like "broad beans" can be migraine triggers. It looks like you're avoiding a lot of tyramines, but you might find a few that you can eliminate.

 

Hang in there on the weight loss. And on just maintaining your weight. It's hard to resist a snack attack when you're hurting. Walking helps me a lot. It gets me outside, in the natural light and fresh air. That's good for my Major Depression. And if I start out with head pain (which is more often than not), it usually goes away while I walk.

 

Gretchen in Mississippi 

an easy thing to do.

 

Do you think eating a sweet piece of fruit might help take the edge off? I know sometimes when I crave sugar, I eat a clementine, or kiwi and that helps.

 

It isn't chocolate, but does the trick.

Good luck. If you need support, and who doesn't, why don't you join us in the forum.

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I always carry two pieces of fruit to work with me--one to go with my lunch (which also includes a homemade entree and some veggies) and one for a snack.  I tend to eat the second piece of fruit in the mid-afternoon, when I start craving candy or chips.  It usually solves the problem; after eating it, I'm too full to want to eat anything else.

that you try eating some fruit when you get the chocolate craving. Looks like Nancy beat me to it! But I've found it is absolutely essential that I bring fruit to work with me for the afternoon or I will stray and eat chocolate.

 

I'm not doing the elimination diet, but I have eliminated many trouble foods from my diet - wheat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, MSG, non-organic meat, and most processed foods. It's been difficult for me to keep to it, but if it helps me, it's worth it.

 

Keep on keeping on... one day you will be happy you didn't give up!

 

MJ

A few years ago, I eliminated all the foods that could cause a migraine. My meals basically consisted of a toothpick and water .  I lost 20 pounds and looked great, but after doing this for 18 months, decided that my migraines weren't all that much better. ( I kept a record of how many a month) Now I gained back the weight  and I don't avoid my favorites. One thing I have cut out is anything with Aspartame, cuz for awhile I was addicted to Coke Zero. I drank one a day and my migraines got worse. So now I drink only diet drinks with contain Splenda and I think it helps. Coke comes with Splenda as well as some of the powders you mix with water. My period will always be a trigger. I have tried all kinds of meds around that time and nothing helps. I am on Lyrica and Verapamil and seem to be doing better than most of the meds I have tried. I find that Zomig only lasts 24 hours and I have better luck with DHE to abort a migraine. (It lasts several days).

Hi Suzy,

 

I went through the elimination diet last year. As others have said, it is not easy to do especially when you get these cravings. Chocolate has always been a weakness of mine too, but it also turned out to be a trigger for me. I always found it to be a comforting food and still find it hard to avoid at times. At least now I know the consequences which does make it easier to give up sometimes.

 

I saw that you want to avoid soy product so I hope you don't mind if I caution you about them. Soy turned out to be one of my triggers. Soybean oil is in so many different products. More than I ever realized! Someone had mentioned mayonnaise as a possible trigger. Soybean oil is in that along with most store bought spaghetti sauce, soups, salad dressings and many more. Sometimes you can find an alternative oil in these products. I have found this in mayonnaise and peanut butter.

 

It sounds like you're having fun trying to come up with different meal concoctions. That's great! As far as when those cravings hit, it is tough. As many have suggested, I tried to keep some safe snacks around such as the fruit, fresh vegetables or just something to suck on. I even snacked on dry cheerios.

 

You may not find any food triggers, but I feel the elimination diet is the best way to go about trying to identify them. I wish you the best with your diet and migraines.

 

I think it is awesome that you are working so hard to get past these cravings.

 

I can certainly understand because these are EXACTLY the foods that I crave, and at my workplace, it was the M&M dish on the CEO's secretary's desk.  And, I had to pass it everytime I walked to my cubicle.  We custom-ordered those M&M's in our company colors.  They were so cute, and so pretty, and tasted extra good and fresh because they were sent directly from M&M Mars.  They were an especially good pick-me-up when my energy level always inevitably fell at 4 PM, and I took Tylenol, Excedrin, Ibuprofein, had a cup of coffee, and a handful (or two) (or three) of these M&Ms to get me through the rest of the day.

 

My weight ballooned up, and I ended up having liposuction before I got married.  The liposuction wasn't what i thought it would be.  It only took off like 4 pounds.  Maybe less.  I was going to Weight Watchers at the same time, and I was amazed at how LITTLE I lost by having that painful and expensive surgery.  Knee surgery was much less painful than liposuction.  What a waste.

 

Not the way to lose weight.  That's for sure.

 

The only migraine medication that has worked well for me has been Topamax, but I know most people don't do well on this medication because it has sooooo many side effects, including word cognition/impairment, and tingling in the hands and feet that make some people feel like they are having a stroke.

 

Oddly enough, Topamax completely eliminates all my food cravings. Why is it that the same thing that causes my migraines, also makes me crave Baskins Robins chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with hot fudge whipped cream and sprinkles?  What center of the brain is that?  The hippocampus?  Hypothamalus?

 

How weird is that?

 

So, whatever it is that Topamax is either suppressing, or stimulating, is working on both.

 

My husband gave me a stocking full of dark chocolate for Christmas, and I've just been using it as bribes for my son to get him to do his homework.  I gave some of it away to a lady from the church who came over for dinner last night. I just haven't been eating it.  It's wonderful quality chocolate, too.  (Hubby isn't home, and I didn't want him to think I didn't appreciate his gift, so this way it will appear I am "eating" it.)

 

I don't crave much of anything anymore, and often forget to eat.  It is not until I am dizzy, or irritable that I realize I have completely missed a meal and have not eaten in many, many hours.  (Of course, this triggers a headache, so I try to make more of an effort to eat, and remember to eat at least SOMETHING whether I have hunger or not.)

 

But, it sure is easy to eat something HEALTHY when you have zero appetite at all with no cravings.

 

It is too bad that Topamax has so many bad side effects.  Otherwise, it would be a helpful drug for a lot of migraineurs, and help people with the elimination diet.  I tried going off it this summer, to see if I still needed it and I I would still have migraines without the drug.  

 

I was off it for about five weeks, I think.  Blam.  Full-on migraines again.

 

Well, I tried.

 

Oh, and once the Topamax was fully out of my system, I was back in Baskin Robbins again.

 

Weird.

 

Good luck.  I have heard that the longer you are away from temptation foods, the easier it gets.  I was a vegeterian for six months last year, and after a while, I did lose the taste for a lot of foods.  Even now, my tastes have changed and I don't eat foods that I used to like, (can't standthe sight or smell of  shrimp now, which I used to consider a real treat.) 

 

I also gave up flour for Lent last year, and after the first ten days or so, it got real easy to avoid cookies and brownies and stuff.  I lost weight and my headaches were better.  And, because I was doing it for Lent, it made it easier to do.  You know, it being Lent and all, it was that added incentive not to cheat.  Ash Wednesday is wayyyyy early this year, (day after election day I believe, Feb. 6th or something,) so if anybody is thinking of giving something up for Lent, it might be a good extra incentive for an elimination diet.  Giving up flour was a really good way for me to get a lot of bad foods out of my diet last year.  All the "white" foods we shouldn't eat anyway.  I did look and feel a lot better with that stuff out of my diet.

 

Good luck. (again.)

 

Regards,

Diana 

I just want to add that I also have cravings for chocolate or fatty foods during a migraine attack. I crave french fries, potato chips, peanut butter, despite the nausea I suffer. Like you the relief may be short-lived but there are times when I feel that it actually helps me get rid of the headache. I have no rescue drug and rely on Fiorcet or Excedrin, Diet Coke and something for nausea. I've tried every preventative in the book but nothing helps me.

I know the foods are bad for me and I don't need the calories but when I'm suffering, I don't really give a hoot. I hope your elimination diet works for you. I've given up caffeine before but to no avail. I haven't given up anything else or been advided to. I don't think I've ever talked to anyone else who craved these foods during headaches. I'm glad I'm not alone!

HI Take it easy on yourself and enjoy your indulgences in moderation.  I still have migraines monthly with my cycle, overexertion, and eat an organic, no gluten, no sugar vegan diet that does include skim milk.  I have less chemicals on my body and in which does seem to trigger them even my old shampoos and hand lotions with chemicals even though they are organic.  I just read lower blood pressure may be part of the cause though ultimately we will live longer.  Just keep on the path, pat yourself on the back for your diligence and I hope you have relief soon.  Donna