i feel like chewing on sugar free chewing gum helps a lot to stop the cravings but i dont seem to be losing any weight. HELP!!!!!!!!

[alishah700]

Please give me suggestions on how increase the amount of weight i lose a week. Thanks!

[Windswept1]

You don't say what you are doing to try to lose weight. If you are following a sensible eating plan then you shouldn't be getting too hungry & getting cravings.

nhs.uk/LiveWell/Loseweight/... If you are following this plan you should lose 1-2 lb a week. Good luck

[alishah700 in reply to Windswept1]

I want to control my craving which often lead me to eat something which is filled with calories. i think your right about follwing the NHS recommended plan.

but alternativley what do you think i should eat which is low in calories and doesnt make me crave as much.

[Divided]

I have a hunch sugar-free gum probably slows the metabolism if you are using quite a bit of it. The sweeteners will be confusing your brain, making it think energy is on the way when it isn't, and the body's response may be to assume a famine. That's all just theory, but a reasonable theory, I think.

[alishah700 in reply to Divided]

so if you chew chewing gum it slows your metabolism?

what do you recommend to speed up the metabolism rate?

[Hidden]

Hi alishah700,

Personally, I think some chewing of sugar-free gum may help to divert your attention away from eating particularly at times when you feel vulnerable to comfort eating / bingeing.

But really, it's much better to adopt a proper strategy for dealing with those sorts of behaviours.

Also, I'm not too keen on some of the sugar-free sweeteners they use in gum and other sweets, so I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to have too much of it.

I rather agree with Windswept1 - there's lots of good (and free) advice and a free weight loss plan and all sorts of useful information on the NHS pages - just google "NHS live well lose weight.

Worth having a good read around those web pages.

[Windswept1]

Hi, What foods are you craving? With me it tends to be crisps etc and I found that it wasn't the salt as I was happy with Salt & Shake without the salt. The fat possibly is an issue for me but my main thing is the 'crunch'. My diversion for that is celery and olives to get the crunch & savoury hit. Since I saw a picture of one of the forum - Olsbean's - lunch, then I am into Ryvita as well. Can't helpwith sweet things as I do not crave. Have had a bar of chocolate in fridge for 3 years! On of the others - Vonny liz I think,does have some chocolate every day to deal with cravings but calorie counts it in.

Sweet & savoury in this link. nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/...

Good luck

[alishah700 in reply to Windswept1]

i like chocolate and i think its mainly because its creamy! especially cadbury dairy milk. what substitute would you recommend for that?

[Renka in reply to alishah700]

You can eat chocolate as long as you factor it into your daily calories. The problem then might be that one square is not enough!! You could try Options or Cadbury's Highlights chocolate drinks at 40 cals each - stir one into a low fat vanilla yogurt, it seems to last longer that way. just make sure you note the calories. If you deny yourself 'treats' it will be very difficult to stick to your plan.

[Windswept1]

As I said difficult for me to say on chocolate but I know someone does have it in their calorie count and there is a hot chocolate drink on the link I sent you for 98 calories. that might help but try to keep full on healthy foods. check out the rest of the website for other ideas.

[Divided]

Low-fat vanilla yoghurt! *facepalm* It's full of sugar. You might as well eat the chocolate!

[Divided]

I've just looked it up. Low fat vanilla yoghurt has 33.6 grams of sugar per 100 grams. That means if you eat three tablespoons, the third tablespoon is pure sugar. With that much it won't make the slightest difference if it's zero fat. Definitely eat the chocolate!