Let’s face it, we live in a world where food temptations are everywhere…which lead to cravings, which lead to you eating things that you shouldn’t. Again. And again. And again. Until you’re so fed up with your body that you don’t even know where to begin to get yourself back on track.
Stores display the most tantalizing junk food items right where you could easily reach them. TV commercials for greasy, fattening foods portray them so scrumptiously that you literally salivate. Sugary snack items have full-page, glossy pictures in your favorite magazines. And as if all of these weren’t enough, the people in your daily life are another, constant source of food temptation.
To make matters worse, you’ve been conditioned since childhood to have a positive association with the act of indulging in your cravings. You use food as a reward. You use food as a source of emotional comfort. You use food as a way to relieve stress. And quickly these associations and uses of food become habit. A habit not easily broken.
New Technique to End Food Cravings
Food cravings don’t need to control you. You can control them.
Try This Powerful Mind Exercise: Imagine that you are peacefully floating down a river on a raft. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and you are having a fun, relaxing time.
You feel wonderful about the river because it’s making you feel happy.
Now change perspectives for a moment. You’re now in a plane flying over the river and the raft. Instantly our eye is drawn to an enormous rocky waterfall. Then you look back to the person floating on the raft, having a wonderful time, headed straight for the treacherous falls.
With this new perspective of the river, do you think that you’d agree to get on a raft and take your chances floating toward the falls? Laughable, right? You’ve seen the hidden danger of the river. You know it leads to pain and suffering.
Now your negative association (watery death) with the river has replaced your initial positive association (relaxing fun).
This is the key to overcoming food temptations and putting an end to food cravings: building negative associations in place of existing positive ones. Break it into two steps:
Step One: Create a STRONG Negative Association with Unhealthy Food: You may not have realized it, but up until this point you’ve placed unhealthy, fattening foods on a pedestal in your mind. Take the wrong food off that pedestal by listing off everything negative about them…
- These foods make you unhealthy.
- These foods cause weight gain.
- These foods drain your energy.
- These foods kill your confidence.
- These foods lessen your quality of life.
- These foods damage your love life.
Every time that you feel tempted to eat an unhealthy food, focus on your list of negatives. Kick the junk off the pedestal and put something healthy in its place.
Step Two: Create a STRONG Positive Association with wholesome foods
Healthy foods should be the foods high up on the pedestal!
List off the things that you love about healthy food…
- These foods make you healthy.
- These foods promote fat loss.
- These foods boost your energy.
- These foods build your confidence.
- These foods improve your quality of life.
- These foods enhance your love life.
We encourage you to find healthy foods that you enjoy. Browse the aisles of your local natural foods store. Stroll through a farmer’s market. Pack healthy snacks to bring to work.
With consistent practice, you will find that cravings for unhealthy foods will begin to decrease and you'll crave that healthy feelings that only eating well can provide.
