In this video, I discuss how thoughts of food cravings can take over our minds. Is willpower the answer? NO WAY!!
Post Script: A news story caught my eye with the headline “How to Stop Overeating.” It was a video by a woman who introduced herself as a nutritionist. She was one of those women who’s so skinny, their cheeks are sucked in and their heads look too big for their bodies. Her genius tips for “healthy eating” is to eat from a smaller plate, don’t bring serving plates to the table so you’d have to get up if you want seconds, and use plates that are a contrasting color to your food so you can see what you’re eating. I told you it was genius.
2 comments
Great blog! So glad I found you. I read a comment you left on Arya Sharma’s blog, clicked through, bought your book and am now reading your posts and enjoying them immensely.
I’ve found distraction to be very helpful but there are times when it didn’t work or I wasn’t successfully able to distract myself. What I’ve found to be helpful as well is a technique called “urge surfing” from cognitive behavioral therapy/mindfulness. It’s another tool I’ve added to my arsenal which others may or may not find helpful.
Here’s an MP3 on the urge surfing technique:
http://depts.washington.edu/abrc/mbrp/recordings/Urge%20Surfing.mp3
Welcome Andrea!
First of all, THANK YOU so much for buying my book! I hope you find it’s helpful. I worked very hard to create something I hope will be different from anything else you’ve read. I think you’re already catching on to my approach—find something that works FOR YOU and never mind somebody else’s “advice.” Tune into yourself, your own needs, your own triggers, and devise your own plan.
Yes, DISTRACTION!! Cravings can be so nagging! At the 5:50 point in the Urge Surfing recording, the suggestion is made to think about what you really need at that moment. I do that myself. I have trained myself when a craving comes over me to first connect with myself just as Urge Surfing suggests. I ask if I am really hungry. Pretty much every time I AM NOT!! OK, it’s not a real hunger urge, it’s a craving! Why did I get it? Sometimes because my brain needs no excuse to think of food or maybe I caught a whiff of an aroma or something on TV or I was reminded in some other way of something I love to eat. It can be really inconsequential, my brain doesn’t care!! It has been several years for me now that I have found if I can get through the day, I can usually get the craving out of my head for good but the thoughts used to pursue me harder than they do now. I can even get angry when I feel my focus is interfered with. Hey, I’ve got stuff to do!!
As I was listening to the Urge Surfing recording, I was reminded of some reading I have done into Buddhist philosophy that teaches we may all have thoughts that drift into our minds that we may find unpleasant or even disturbing. We could even be shocked that we thought of something. But it happens, we’re human. We can let it go, it can drift away just as it drifted in. There’s no reason to judge ourselves for what thoughts may enter our minds. If we know we shouldn’t act on those thoughts, our higher reason can take over. In our case when those thoughts are food cravings, how we change our reactive behavior will be unique for each of us. It takes practice and a LOT of honesty to face what you’re really experiencing and how you know you are likely to respond.
When it comes to food, I believe strongly that very often food is its own driver! The craving is not really coming from a need for something else for which we could substitute a different reaction. That’s the toughest craving to beat and all you can do is recognize that you must get yourself distracted PRONTO!!
Please write me anytime! I respond to blog post comments and I’m happy to receive your email. THANK YOU AGAIN!!!