You’ve just returned home from a stressful day at the office and you are absolutely famished. There are tons of healthy options to choose from in your fridge however you just don’t have the time, energy and/or patience to spend an additional 30 minutes on your feet to fix yourself up a home-cooked meal today. Along with your hunger, you start to show signs or irritability. At this point you want something, anything, everything. As long as it’s quick and easy you’ll take it. So you pick up the phone and call in for a take-out. Pizza, Chinese Food, or perhaps some Thai. All are quick to make and can be delivered to you within minutes. And hey, you know that most Fast Foods aren’t good for you and will most likely add inches to your waist line in the long term, but you find reason for your “Dirty Decision” by justifying it with the insanely hectic day that you’ve just experienced. So you place your order and wait patiently for your meal to arrive.
It’s now later into the evening and you’re watching TV. The show you’re watching isn’t very interesting and you find your mind starting to wonder. Your stomach still feels full from the four slices of pepperoni pizza you inhaled a few hours earlier yet you start to feel peckish. You get up off the couch and start to rummage through your kitchen cupboards looking for something to curb your cravings. Again, there are plenty of healthy options available yet you want something that is quick to make and in your mind, what you think will be extremely satisfying. A piece of fruit won’t do it. That Greek Yogurt in the fridge just won’t be enough. And those baby carrots? PLEASE!!! You want food! You want something with substance! You want…..SUGAR!
Now if you are like most human beings, the scenario above should sound familiar or at least relatable to you. There are plenty of reasons why we let our cravings for certain foods get the best of us and make us loose full control of our diets at times. Some of these reasons are emotional while others are psychological. And sometimes we really just want the damn food because we “feel” like it. There is nothing wrong with having a slice of pizza or a bowl of ice cream every so often. In fact, I personally encourage my own clients on a regular basis to not deprive themselves of the “bad foods” that they are craving at certain times. This is because I believe that by depriving oneself of too much and too often will only set the person up for failure in the end. In this case, restricting the “bad foods” that a person is craving for long periods of time can easily lead to a out of control junk food binge which can create an unhealthy relationship with food itself, amongst causing numerous other eating disorders.
A common problem that I encounter with clients is how to teach them not to make these poor food decisions on a daily basis. Remember, on average, it takes roughly 21 days to develop a habit. For some people, they’ve been eating poorly their entire lives. Now imagine, doing (or eating in this case) something everyday for 20, 40, 60 years and then having to just stop all of a sudden one day. Most people wouldn’t be able to do it. Sure, some might be able to do it, but that’s a rare few. While others too might try and succeed for a few days or even months, they will usually fall back into their old habits eventually. When this habit is food and in this case the person starts to restrict their habit aka food, I call this a diet. And in my strong and well voice opinion – DIETS DON”T WORK. So rather then focus on restricting our cravings for the food that we love, we should shift our attention into learning how to control our cravings for the most part, while allowing ourselves to give in to temptation every so often. After all, as the saying goes – “Life is for Living”. What’s a life full of restriction, deprivation and starvation? It’s not much of a life at all.
Here are just some of the tricks and strategies that I use to help control my cravings and not let poor food choices get the best of me:
Listen To Your Body
In my opinion this is the number one reason why most people gain weight. They don’t actually listen to their body. Their mind tells them they want food, while their body tells them something different. Ask yourself whether you really must have the food that’s popped into your mind? Each time you think about a food and don’t eat it, it will become easier, I promise.
Food for Thought
Replace food images with other images (like how you’ll look after your weight loss, compliments you recently received, etc.). Thinking of alternating images will work better than trying to stop particular food cravings.
Distract Yourself
Engaging in activities that keep your hands busy is particular helpful in controlling your food cravings. I personally find that writing out programs for clients, doing chores around the house or calling a friend/family member all help me with taking my mind off my own cravings.
Assess Your Situation
If you crave cookies because you haven’t eaten in a few hours and you just saw a cookie commercial on TV, you’re better off eating something nutritious first, and then determining whether you need to have the cookies. This tactic really works well as I find when used correctly, it helps eliminates cravings 90% of the time. The trick here though is to be prepared. So make sure that you have healthy alternative foods on hand. PREPARE!!!!
Give In.
Finally, my number one tip to help control your cravings – Give In To Your Cravings!
No, that’s not a typo. Set a specific place and time as well as how you’ll fit the food into your daily and weekly plan. This will allow you to look forward to eating the food rather then eating it randomly and feeling guilty for doing so later. One strategy I follow is that I never have junk food in my house and I never allow myself to eat junk food in my house. I keep my house very clean and keep my diet even cleaner when I’m inside it. By going out to eat the “bad foods” I am able to control what I eat and how much of it I eat. If I’m at a restaurant, once I leave the food behind, I don’t return to it or go back for second helpings as I would do if I were at home and had a cupboard full of sugary and salty snacks.
Above all, I believe that it’s extremely important that we develop a healthy relationship with food while still being able to control our cravings. For myself personally, I view food as my primary source of fuel for my body. Like a car, without it, I won’t get very far. I also enjoy the food that I eat. If I’m craving something that I know isn’t particular good for me, I apply the five strategies from above. If I’m still craving the particular food even after I’ve used up all my strategies then I will eat it. Once my body is satisfied, I know that I will be satisfied as well. Don’t think of controlling your cravings as depriving yourself, rather I suggest you view controlling your cravings as in controlling your own life. By controlling your own life, you decide what goes into your body and don’t let emotions, outside stresses or other people make the decision for you.
Yours in Good Health,
Nick Cosgrove