Do your food cravings control you?
How many diets have you been on that were totally sabotaged by giving in to your cravings?
It seems we can make all kinds of good decisions to eat healthy, exercise, REALLY lose weight this time. Then we get a little stressed, or we catch the aroma of something, or we see someone else eating what we love. It is at that moment that all resistance and willpower fade away and we give in to our cravings!
Giving in to the craving fills us with guilt and sometimes self hatred for not having the ability to overcome this craving. Our self-esteem lowers and we hear that little voice in our heads tell us what failures we are. This further lowers our self-esteem and so we satisfy our cravings because that food make us “feel better.”
Following are a few suggestions you might try to help control your cravings.
- Keep the food you crave OUT of the house. No matter how much your family complains, tell them that you need their support for this. Get them on your team.
- When you get a really bad craving, STOP and first drink a glass of water. Then, set the timer if you have to, but wait 15 minutes before you give in to your craving. Chances are it will have passed.
- Grazing at a get-together can sabotage all of your success. So head to the vegetable end of the table, put what you want on a plate, and then move away from the table. Take a glass of water with you. Find an interesting person to talk with.
- If you see someone else enjoying what you really crave, do an about face and head for the glass of water again. Water is very satisfying to the body and more times then not will keep your cravings at bay.
So what is the connection between cravings and weight loss? I believe that we can all do quite well on a healthy choice of foods if we do not have our cravings flare up. What if you didn’t have any cravings? You wouldn’t be eating that bag of chips or that bowl of Kisses or that extra helping of pasta. If those cravings could be removed, I truly believe that your weight loss will become much simpler.
Cravings can also be controlled with one of these methods:
- A few sessions of Hypnotherapy can reach the subconscious mind to find out why it is you crave these foods. Then, the conscious mind becomes aware of the emotional connection and it becomes much easier to avoid the cravings.
- Emotional Freedom Technique, also known as Tapping, can help you to change the negative energy in your body to a positive energy. When this happens, your cravings go away and you have a neutral reaction to the food that you crave.
Cravings are hard for most people. When you are craving something, you lose control of the situation. Don’t let that happen. At least grab a glass of water. Make yourself drink the whole thing before you give in. You will find that this is the beginning of being in control
Drink that water, and then find out about these alternatives. They really work!
