"To Eat or Not to Eat?" That is the Question! How to Deal with Temptations
"To Eat or Not to Eat?" That is the Question!
The hardest part of craving a certain food and facing temptation is the hesitation over whether to eat it or not.
The internal dialogue that goes on in your head sounds like this:
It looks so delicious, just one piece...
But I shouldn't, I'm on a diet.
I'm not being punished... I deserve it... I've been good all day.
No, I must not break. How will I feel afterward?
But I really feel like eating it now, you only live once.
This internal dialogue makes it hard for you because it allows all kinds of arguments to rise to the surface, leading to behaviors that preserve the status quo without any possibility of real change.
This internal dialogue destabilizes you and prevents you from thinking rationally, calmly, and logically. So, how do we cope?
Coping Strategies
- Delay/Gratification Delay - Cravings are like a wave that rises to a peak. If you surrender at the peak, you lose, but if you wait 20 minutes, the intensity of the wave/craving will drop significantly, and the chance of resisting temptation will soar.
So next time you feel a craving, wait 20 minutes and only then decide if you really want to eat. - Checking True Needs – Most overeating or unplanned eating is a substitute for satisfying a different, genuine need. For example, eating because of thirst that is mistakenly interpreted as hunger, eating to compensate for an emotion that arises when we don't know how to deal with it otherwise, or due to physical, mental, or emotional fatigue.
Ask yourself: what am I feeling right now? Try to address and make space for the true need without immediately escaping to food. - Rating the Craving - Not all cravings are equal in intensity. Try to rate the craving on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing an intense craving. You might discover that while a craving exists, it is not very strong and can be overcome.
- Identify self-sabotaging thoughts and put a question mark at the end instead of an exclamation mark. For example, instead of: 'I must have chocolate!' say: 'I must have chocolate?'
Question the decisive statement, challenge it. Casting doubt is a huge step toward changing thoughts and behaviors. - Try to imagine a situation where someone close to you asks for advice on how to handle temptation. What advice would you give them? We are always good at giving advice to others.
- Craving is often accompanied by a feeling of rising tension in the body. When you identify this tension, take a deep, slow breath, and then exhale slowly. Repeat this process three times. Notice how, with every breath and exhalation, the tension in your body dissipates and the craving weakens.
An important tip for dealing with slip-ups and returning quickly to the path:
In all those times when you tried to lose weight and broke in the middle of the process, did you give up because you no longer wanted to lose weight?
Was it no longer important to you to look good?
Did you no longer want to wear smaller clothes?
Of course not. So, what changed?
The thoughts changed.
At the beginning of the process, the thoughts running through your head were:
"I want to lose weight so much, nothing will break me"
"It is much more important to me to be thin than to eat chocolate right now"
"The goal is clear to me, and I am going all in"
Along the way, we tend to drift mentally from our goal; we forget why we set out and why we started this process in the first place.
Try to remember, with what thoughts did you begin your weight loss journey?
Did they change along the way? Why did they change along the way?
Are the goals for which you started the process still true for you right now?
I suggest you make a list of your goals and thoughts, and put it in an accessible place.
From time to time, open the list and read it. Remember, motivation is like a muscle that needs training to grow stronger.
Use the list as a compass that will bring you back to the path whenever you feel you are drifting away from your goal.