How in the world are you supposed to deal with cravings!!??!! If jealousy is the evil green monster, then cravings would be the evil red monster. [pullquote]Realize that what you eat in private will show up on your body in public[/pullquote]Cravings are one of the weird things that start out “all in your head” and somehow make their way into your mouth and onto your body as fat. Yikes.
So what’s a girl to do … you don’t want the “minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips” to be a description of you! You’ve got to come up with a strategy to get yourself through and past the cravings monster.
A little bit of self control here will go a long way. Learn to focus on what is really important to you. Do you really want to eat that batch of cookies or do you want to look spectacular this weekend in that slinky dress?? After you eat the cookies, how are you going to feel? Take a moment to reflect on the full, depressed, out of control feelings that are going to come up after you wolf down all that fat and sugar.
Realize that what you eat in private will show up on your body in public. It’s frightening but true. There really is no way around it. Understand on a psychological level that you can’t just go hog wild and suck down every morsel of junk food you see. Think of it as a cruel trap … kind of like the “Turkish Delight” in the Narnia series … a trick; a trap; not what it seems and cleverly disguised as something enjoyable.
Try my secret little formula the next time you’re feeling vulnerable:
IGNORE – DISTRACT – SUBSTITUTE
What does this mean? It means when the thought of eating something unauthorized enters your mind, ignore it and switch your thoughts to something else … like yourself with hardcore six pack abs! If that doesn’t sustain you and the thoughts return, distract yourself. Get involved in something else, like cleaning, brushing and flossing your teeth, get out of the house – anything that will take your mind off of food. If you still can’t stand it, and you absolutely have to have something, then try to substitute something relatively healthy instead. For example, say you are craving movie theater popcorn; make air-popped popcorn instead at home with butter spray and sea salt. If you’re craving ice cream, how about a protein shake blended with a lot of frozen fruit and ice until it’s an ice cream like consistency?
You get the idea. Just make an attempt to make better choices. If you absolutely can’t, know that it is occasionally okay to go ahead and have a little cheat food here and there. It’s better to address the cravings with small amounts of junk on an occasional basis, than to restrict and deprive yourself to the point where you completely go over the edge and have a week long binge.
Moderation is the key here – not a concept I do well with, and maybe you don’t either, but well worth making the effort!