Ways to Handle Cravings

     If you eat when you're not hungry because a favorite food "is calling your name," this post is for you! When you have an urge or craving for the Oreos in the pantry or the ice cream in the freezer, can you handle that urge without eating? Do you “white-knuckle” your craving or give in to it? Frequently "giving in" to urges makes permanent weight loss difficult. When you know how to handle cravings, that powerful skill will help you lose and maintain your weight.   

     The definition of a craving or an urge for a food is that you feel an intense desire for that food.  How you think about that food causes your feeling.  Urges are strong, but they usually last for less than 5 minutes.

     When you learn to allow your cravings, become familiar with them, and use your mind to envision them so they don’t feel so urgent, it becomes much easier to handle those urges.  When you have become comfortable examining your cravings, you will then be able to experience them without needing to act on them. 

     Some techniques that can help with experiencing cravings:   

1.  Instead of responding to an urge, allow yourself to experience it, sit with it, and think about it.  If you can, figure out the thought you had before you felt the urge.  As you are allowing the urge, think about how that urge feels.  Does it have a color, shape, or texture?  Is there a place in your body where you feel that urge?  Does the urge feel hard or soft? The more familiar you are with that urge, the easier to experience it without acting on it. 
2.  Tapping or EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is another method of dealing with urges.  Here is a link to a short video demonstrating a fast tapping technique that will help you handle cravings. https://www.drbarbaralkatzcoaching.com/video-to-decrease-cravings
3.  There is also a freebie available on my website about how to handle urges - including how to make an "urge jar": https://drbarbaralkatzcoaching.com 
4.  Through coaching, you will learn other techniques to handle urges or cravings if you need them. 

     Notice how long your craving lasts.  It is important to reward yourself (with a non-food reward) when you allow yourself to experience the desire until it goes away.  Celebrate when you handle an urge successfully.  When you reward yourself frequently, urges will become familiar and easy to experience.

     With practice, using these tools makes it easy to handle any craving confidently.  The cravings will not go away completely; however, they will be manageable and not impact your weight. 

    I’d love to help you lose weight for the last time so you can handle any situation confidently.  If you want to learn more, set up a free, no-obligation, no-pressure consultation with me at: https://calendly.com/coachbarbarakatz/60min.