Does "just a taste" to curb the craving work for anyone???

Advice I have received many times regarding cravings it to have "just a bite" to satisfy the craving  - and then no more. I'm just wondering if that has worked for anyone. I've compared the cravings for food I know is not good for me as how an alcoholic might feel about alcohol.

I realize that everyone is different, but I'm just wondering - overall - if those of us who have struggled with weight have had success with the "just a bite" approach or if it's best to hop on the wagon and stay there to ensure long-term success.

Like you said everyone is different.  This approach works for quite a few people on here. 

Unfortunately, I am like an alcoholic and one taste could lead to another and another.  Quite frankly I'm not satisfied with a "taste"...I will keep going till I'm full.  Then it's too late.  It's not to say I never cheat.  I allow myself one cheat day a month.  Where I can have whatever it is I am craving...guilt free.  I find a scheduled cheat day helps me curb my appetite for "bad" foods because I can look forward to my cheat day. 

It works for me, and many times all I want is just a taste. But the trick is to make sure BEFORE I have that taste that I only have access to that taste. For example, buy a single serving of something, open it up, take a piece, and throw the rest away before you start.  Or take a bite of someone else's really good looking thing but make sure you tell them you only get one bite.  If I buy a large portion of something and have it around, there's no way I can just take a taste but if I prefer beforehand it works.

Unfortunately for me, "just a taste" sends me into a frenzy so if it is not something on my meal plan for the day, I don't have it.  Period.  However, I will plan to eat a serving of something "bad" on a special occasion, but never on a whim, ever.  For instance, my Dad's birthday was yesterday and I planned the night before to have some of his b-day dessert at dinner.  It ended up being a sliver of this heavenly b-day cake his friend brought and I enjoyed ever bite with no guilt since it was part of my planned meal all along, rather than a hasty decision that I would dwell over and stress out about while eating with crazy amounts of guilt.  The latter takes the fun and enjoyment out of it for me personally.

For me, proper planning is clutch in finding that perfect balance which works for you and sustaining long-term success. :)

I can do the "one bite" thing sometimes.  Usually as Thundergrrrl says, as long as a larger quantity isn't available, it can work for me.

The example I can think of is last summer my kids would be eating ice cream out of the little pint cartons.  I'd get a spoon and have a sample and then leave the room until they were done.  It didn't send me into a frenzy to go buy some and I didn't feel deprived either.

My motto is "enough to satisfy, not enough to sabotage" for these type situations.

I do and I have to .  If I start telling myself I cant have this or I cant have that then I feel like I'm on a diet and then I start breaking all kinds of rules.

Also if I start denying myself of things I will go and find things to eat trying to replace that item that I wanted. I would have been better off in the long run just to eat what I wanted in the first place.

A vet told me on here when I first started she lived by this rule Moderation not Deprivation and that is so true for me . I live by that rule 100% of the time .

I want to learn how to eat all foods in moderation , how often to eat them foods, and when to eat them foods that is what I want to learn and that is what I'm learning because them foods will always always be around us the rest of our life no matter what so might as well learn how to face them and learn how to eat them properly.

This way is working out very well for me .

I'm just like my buddy Steelerfan...
I live on the mantra "moderation not deprivation."  Throughout my journey, when I found myself depriving myself of something, I wanted it so, so bad that when eventually I had it, I binged on it!  SELF DESTRUCTION for me!  Now when I want something, I'll get it in the smallest portion possible.  I don't keep any of the bad stuff in my house.  When I want something like chips, I go to the store and buy not the 99 cent bag but the 25 cent bag or steal one of those snack sizes from my nieces.  If I want ice cream, I go to the store and buy the kids scoop size.  Most of the time, I don't end up finishing it anyway! (I get bored easily!)  but ever since I stopped depriving myself, I have been able to control those cravings.  I don't crave for them as often, weird I know but that's how I do it!

Take care!
Jan

It depends on the type of food that I am craving.

With sweets, one taste, turns into cravings for me --- and then I get into a 'seek and destroy' mindframe where I want to eat those foods to the exclusion of everything else.

What has worked for me --
1.  Identify those foods (triggers) that cause me problems
2.  Be willing to decide every day that 'those are not my food"
3.  Re=make that decision every day -- one day at a time

That is not to say that I do not have some foods that are 'treats'.
I eat Luna Bars for a 'chocolate fix'.  I eat pudding snacks, with real whipped cream, occasionally.
I eat way too many Tortillia chips ( I have recently decided to no longer bring them into my home -- restaurant only).

But, I have not eaten candy, cookies, cake, donuts, pancakes, ice cream since April 1, 2009.
(Thank God!)
Those foods make 'noise' in my head ---- and distract me from my goals.

That is so awesome Kath that you have not had sweets for over 2 years! I wish I could say the same! :) I know what my trigger foods are and I still battle in my mind to justify having them. If you can do it, I think I can too! :D

Thanks for the great replies ~ a lot of "food for thought" (yes, that pun was intended, lol).

I too have found that if I "ban" something, I may just end up wanting it more. Making sure to only buy/have a small portion - and tossing the rest - &/or incorporating an occasional treat into the daily meal plan are both excellent approaches. I find myself going to extremes with the "never again" mind set, and I think that may be sabotaging (sp) some of my efforts. I need to identify the triggers though, and be very careful about them.

I have about 45lbs to my goal, and really want to make it before the end of this year.