Resisting temptation -how to?

[Veggie-based Heathen]

Hi.
I really in all honesty do not want to make this thread since this is very personal.
And I'm also going to get a lot of hate probably.
I hope that you are gentle with me.

I have been vegan successfully for a long time. I do not want to support the horror and suffering that we humans bring upon innocent animals who just happened to be unfortunate enough to be born in those factories.

I have bad cravings for eggs and cheese. I think one of the biggest reason for this is that I'm on a diet and exercise plan trying to lose 3 kg and sometimes I feel hunger. Second major reason is probably Autumn, crappy weather makes me feel down -that is when my mind is more suggestible to condone bad cravings.

It's probably hard to understand why I wont just suck it up and shut up about it and simply NOT put unhealthy animal based non-food into my mouth? Well, I haven't been eating those -yet. But I still think I need advise. I'm indecisive as what to do since this dilemma is so emotional and disturbing.

In this light, would any of you have suggestions how to make the cravings go away without giving into them?

Cravings are the body's way of telling us it needs something—it doesn't specifically need the eggs per se, but something in the eggs is being craved. Maybe it's salt, maybe it's protein, maybe it's just a comfort food... whatever it is, your body is trying to ask for something. It can be hard to figure it out and find a replacement.

When I first went veg, I used to crave Panda Express orange chicken intensely. I didn't like the idea of giving in to that, so I started to take note of when these cravings would hit. Usually, it was after a stressful day of work or when I was too tired to cook. Orange chicken had been one of my primary comfort foods, so I realized the craving was for something to relieve stress. Once I figured that out, I started testing different things to see what could give me that same relief. I found some vegan orange "chicken" in the freezer section of my grocery store one day and decided to give it a try. It was amazing! So, next time I went to the store I bought several packages just to have them on-hand for when those cravings hit. Now, I crave the vegan version and not the meat version.

One thing I've found that's also helped me deter from giving in to cravings is keeping time—I have one of those countdown apps on my phone, so I plugged in the date I went vegan so I know exactly how long it's been. When I get tempted to eat an animal, I pull that out and see how long I've gone without, and I tell myself I'm doing so well I don't want to break that and have to start over. Not once have I given in to a craving for meat (and they became less frequent over time, to the point that they're now non-existent), and I credit the countdown app for helping a lot with that.