This is a huge topic and it affects so many people. Did you know the type of foods you eat can affect you? Making you want them, crave them, and overeat or binge on those foods.
If you can reduce the cravings for those foods it will go a long way in helping you put healthier habits in place.
Here’s what I mean!
Highly processed foods (high in trans fats, salt,and sugar) are designed and marketed to us to make us want and crave more – it’s that simple. We live in what is referred to as an obesogenic environment. And this – the craving for these highly palatable foods can be a vicious cycle and can also play on our mind.
And, we think, why can’t I just stop?
One thing I put in place to curb bingeing was to limit my time in front of the television watching shows on Netflix. I know if I sit there alone for more than 1-2 episodes I’m more likely than not to jump in the car, head down to the supermarket, and buy my favourite binge food.
What triggers you?
Another thing that triggers me is the sensation of feeling full. I seem to want more. So for me this means at this point in time I need to pay attention to my satiety signal–eating until satisfied, not full. Which is something we all should practise to help maintain an even body weight.
You might have several triggers that set you off on a day of indulgence. One of the most important things you can do to alter your habits around food is to know your triggers and work through coming up with 1-2 solutions for each trigger, and then, test them out.
My new way of thinking now is if I want ice cream, I have to leave the house and buy a single scoop waffle cone at the local ice cream shop.
This is something I do occasionally now.
So, you can see that small changes to habits and thinking can put you on a better path to health.
Getting back to highly processed food, the key here is moving more towards whole-foods – meat, poultry, fish, fruit and vegetables, and eating adequately. Eating adequately at every meal will help you satisfy your true hunger and when combined with health promoting foods, the good bugs in your gut will start to re-populate and crowd out the bad bugs that crave all the highly processed products in the supermarket.
If you need snacks, which is something I steer my clients away from over time, protein is good for that feeling of being satiated – satisfied.
A tin of sardines, boiled eggs, cooked meat can all be ready to go when you really need to eat between meals.
But when was the last time you felt true hunger?
Sure you get cravings or a thought ‘I’m hungry, or I feel like a muffin,’ for example but are you hungry? If you are used to eating 3 meals and 1-3 snacks per day, you probably don’t experience true hunger.
An important point here is a thought, is only a thought. You don’t need to respond to it or act on it. This is where you can really change habits – by simply not acting on them.
In her book Brain Over Binge, the author Kathryn Hansen teaches the reader to view urges to binge as neurological junk. Separate yourself from this primal urge, meaning use logic. Stop reacting to the urge to binge – don’t give it headspace. And the fourth component is NOT acting on the urge to binge.
The other side of this is if you mostly eat processed foods your body will continue to signal for more food. This is because your body is starved of what it needs most, essential nutrients found in whole-foods. This also happens on a low-fat/low-calorie diet. Your body just isn’t getting enough nutrients to regenerate cells, nourish your organs, build or maintain muscle mass, and give you energy. So you feel hungry most of the time.
To recap
- Discover your triggers and list them
- Consider 1-2 solutions for each trigger
- Pat yourself on the back when you use the solution
- Discover true hunger
- Eat protein for snacks
- Don’t act on your thought around food
- Eat mostly whole-foods
Happy healthy eating!