How to stop food cravings
Why is it so hard to stop giving in to cravings? We often have a strong physical drive to eat on autopilot, even if deep down we just want to eat healthily and look after our health.Why then do we continue falling back into the disappointment of giving in to our urges?
It is easy to fall prey to the allure of diets as the answer to all our problems.
But diets and deprivation only add to our misery as we swing between restriction and binge-eating! Regardless of whether you have an eating disorder, emotional eating or just struggling with weekend food comas, breaking the cycle of overeating can be challenging.
Today I share one of my previous webinars on how to manage urges and cravings so that you can stop feeling disappointed when you give into them.
If you would like help with clearing out some emotional wounds, find out more about my Emotional Eating Energy balance and EFT sessions
Listen to the episode here
Back in episode 3, I talked about the urge to binge and in episode 10 I shared how that urge shows up for us in the form of my famous Food Zombies. Make sure to tune back into that episode if you feel you need a refresher
Why do we have cravings?
Cravings are a signal that something is out of balance
What Causes Cravings?
- Visual cues Seeing something delicious (advertising, walking past McDonalds, etc.)
- Environmental toxins Air and water pollutants, chemicals in household products, additives in food
- Food Having a disordered relationship with food
- Hormones Chemical messengers triggering digestive functions (cortisol, insulin, ghrelin, Leptin)
- Emotions When you feel an overwhelming emotion, you will start craving foods that will provide comfort.
- Habit Eating certain foods a certain of the day
- Your brain (a.k.a) the food zombie brain. The Food zombie Brain is associated with reward and pleasure. The Foods you crave can be associated with pleasure and the food zombie brain will do about anything to feel pleasure instead of painful restriction
What Drives the undeniable urge to eat?
Just because cravings can be overpowering, does not mean you have give into them the whole time!! Cravings are just a signal that something is out of line and you are so capable of working through them once you know how!! Believe it or not,, just because you have cravings does not mean that there is something wrong with you, in fact your body is communicating with you exactly as it should.
It’s our Food zombie brain that keeps us stuck in the overeating loop
My 3 tweaks to manage your cravings or urges to beat the binge for good!
Heal Emotional Wounds
- Prioritize self-care and self-compassion
- Emotional healing takes a lot of energy
- Pay attention to physical sensations and cravings
- figuring out what our bodies need
- Take the extra time to listen and take good care of yourself.
Emotional wounds are stored in our bodies and memory banks till we are strong enough to face them.
Unfortunately, situations, dreams or memories of these wounds can open old emotional wounds.
We feel discomfort and confronted with this old world and this is not a place we want to be in. Our minds start flooding us with thoughts of food, knowing it will distract us from the discomfort. So we eat to feel better
Manage Anxiety around food
Take the anxiety out of a meal by becoming more neutral around food, let go of perfectionism and turn to gratitude that you have a meal.
Don’t let fear keep you from enjoying food and life. Managing stress levels to lower cravings. Managing your general anxiety levels will also help with anxiety around food
Did you know that often we eat because of subconscious stress? For many years I would not admit that I was feeling any stress as that would mean that I was weak.
Cortisol (our stress hormones) floods our larger muscles with glucose in preparation for a fight-or-flight situation. Our other vital cells are starved of energy and therefore sets off cravings and tendencies to overeat.
Nourish your mind and body without food
Make peace with food by letting go of all the food rules put together by the diet industry, start following your intuition on what serves your body well from a food perspective.
2. Accept your body
Wanting a positive relationship with food often needs to start with having a positive relationship with your body!!
3. Planning for success
Manage your day and week to avoid unexpected stressors
There is still time to join the food zombie challenge, this is a 30 day program to help you get control back around food so that you can focus on other things that are important to you.
If you want more information on how to finally quit binge eating for good go to http://quit.wholesomelifestyleproject.com/
BOOK A FREE 20 MIN CONSULTATION WITH Me https://wholesomelifestyleproject.wordpress.com/work-with-me/lets-get-started/
Can’t wait to see you in the next episode where I will be sharing some drivers behind overeating
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Stel Coombe-Heath: Binge and emotional eating recovery specialist 