Pop THAT in your mouth

Even though I've lost a lot of weight and believe myself to be disciplined when it comes to food, I still get cravings. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen - whether it's cooking or taking refuge from my daughters - and the temptation to pick at food is sometimes great.

Many times I can ignore it. I am disciplined enough to do that. But I'm only human and temptation tries to get the best of me sometimes.

Of course, it's not carrots or celery that scream for my attention. It's the Doritos or Mission Tortilla Chips or, the worst, sweets. They clamor for me and I can't resist. So I've found one way to help me win the Battle of the Cravings.

Gum.

Wrigley's Big Red, to be precise.

I like gum just as much as the next person I suppose. I've never been a big gum chewer, although I suppose before losing all my weight any time I put gum in my mouth I was a big gum chewer... Anyway, to help me from slowly putting the weight back on and keep the cravings at bay, I'll pop in a stick or three of gum in my mouth.

It's hard to enjoy Doritos when you have gum in your mouth, and cheese doesn't taste the same either. Candy? Forget it. Gum wins out.

But I have to be careful with that too. I can't pop some Hubba Bubba in my mouth because that has quite a bit of calories. Sticks of gum have calories too. Each of the Big Red has 10 calories so if I put six or seven in my mouth, that sort of defeats the purpose. But usually one or two or three is enough to squash out the cravings and when the moment passes - usually long after the flavor has subsided - the chips have quieted down too.

Now I don't always have gum handy. So what do I do if the chips are clamoring and I have no gum around? Well, that's when I get the hell out of Dodge.