STOP wasting your time trying all those tricks to stop cravings.
Have they ever been able to fix your cravings for good?
If you are still reading, I guess we all know the answer.
The reason that no tricks are gonna fix your cravings is that they are all distractions. They just treat the symptoms, not the root causes.
Most people eat when they are emotionally hungry.
When it comes suddenly and we crave specific foods but snacking never makes us feel better because we are hungry for something else.
So what is at the root of our craving? Are we stressed, frustrated, overwhelmed, bored, or in need of a quick escape?
Ultimately, cravings are a signal. It’s a signal that something is bothering us.
The broccoli question is a simple test to see if you are really hungry.
Is that it?
Well, read on
We might love broccoli, but most of us are not physically hungry when we crave for something, so if we are not so hungry that we will eat some broccoli now, it’s more likely we are rather emotionally hungry.
The first step to overcoming emotional eating is being aware of it.
So what we need to do is to answer those following questions:
What is really bothering me?
Why am I not doing anything about it?
And there is more,
Instead of choosing to go into a “food trance” which suppresses those bothersome feelings, we will need to find out your way to address them.
Now answer those following questions:
What I can do about those emotions?
What is the smallest action I can take right now to change that?
Unless we treat the root of our emotional hunger, the urges to stuff ourselves will not go away.
We might find ourselves completely clueless if those questions have never occurred to us. Try to be specific about what is bothering us,
For example, I feel anxious because of X; I’m so bored because of Y.
Be as specific as possible in reflecting on the emotions that bothering us and be creative in coming up with things we can do to replace snacking.
This is not a trick to stop our cravings, rather it is a habit we need to establish to address the root cause of our cravings.
Of course, it’s easier said than done. Like building any new habit, consistency is key. The only way to do it is to start journaling on our emotions whenever we crave for something.
Ultimately we want to eat whatever we desire because it gives us joy and it nourishes us, isn’t it?
WHY NOT try a mindful journal to cope with the cravings together with your partner? Check out more HERE.