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You are here: Home / Nutrition / Guest RD: How To Control Food Cravings With One Simple Change

June 22, 2016

Guest RD: How To Control Food Cravings With One Simple Change

Welcome back Registered Dietitian Jessica Penner with an article on controlling food cravings : )

Arrows

I used to have a love/hate relationship with chocolate. I loved the taste, and the way it melted so decadently in my mouth.

I loved it so much I could eat it nonstop.

I hated that I WOULD eat it nonstop.

I loved eating chocolate but I hated it for revealing my weakness. I hated myself for not having self-control.

Food Cravings

Food cravings are nearly universal

As I studied nutrition in university, I found out that I wasn’t alone. One study reported 100% of young women and 70% of young men have reported dealing with food cravings. But more importantly, I found out that science has some important things to teach us about how we can deal with cravings effectively. This is ultimately the secret to how I stopped hating chocolate and started loving it again… in appropriate amounts!

The critical part of dealing with cravings has to do with permission. Ever heard of forbidden fruit? When something is forbidden, it gains a certain allure, a quality that makes it stick in your mind. This can make it almost impossible to keep the forbidden item at bay. Spend a minute trying your hardest to NOT think of a purple elephant and you’ll see what I mean.

Or take this study as a more relevant example. Participants were divided into three groups: one group was told not to think about eating chocolate, the second was told to talk about what it’s like to eat chocolate, and the third (the control group) was told to just talk. Afterwards, they were all offered some chocolate to eat. They were told that the researchers wanted to know which of two types they thought tasted better. However, what the researchers were really after was how MUCH they ate.

Conventional wisdom might assume that the people who spent their time talking about chocolate would have the strongest desire to eat and would eat the most. But if you’re following carefully perhaps you can figure out what actually happened.

That’s right, the people who were told to NOT think about chocolate ate the most chocolate. They ate a SIGNIFICANT amount more than the group who just chatted.

There are biological reasons for this. When food is on the brain, the body follows suit. Just thinking about food can activate your digestive system. Your mouth salivates, your stomach starts to grumble, and your body expects to be fed! When your whole body is working against you, your chances of success are slim.

Your willpower can only hold out against your body for so long. You’re likely to eventually binge on the food your mind has been fixated on.

It’s a matter of habit

The researchers decided to repeat the study. Except, this time they also got the participants to fill out questionnaires to assess whether they typically suppressed thoughts of food or restricted themselves from specific foods.

This is where it gets really interesting.  The people who didn’t usually try to suppress their cravings were unaffected by the study. They weren’t in the habit of suppressing themselves, so they ate the same amount regardless of which group they were in. But those who were in the habit of suppressing cravings ate a ton more when placed in the suppression group!

Often in life we get into bad habits because our natural reaction to problems is to avoid the source of that problem. But most often this just exacerbates the problem. Our avoidance becomes a deeply entrenched bad habit that is very difficult to break. If we had just dealt with the problematic issue to start with, we could bypass a lot of the struggle.

In the case of cravings, we encounter a problem (ie. a food that we eat too much of), and we decide instinctively that we should stay away from the source of that problem, the food itself. But these studies show us that these restrictions just create a much bigger problem.

Foodblog (3 of 3)

The solution: a change in attitude

So if restrictions don’t work, what does? Let’s look at the opposite: permission. 

Giving yourself permission to eat takes away the power that forbidden fruit holds. This change in attitude doesn’t necessarily mean you have to eat that food, it just means that you’re not limiting your choices. The effects can be very freeing, and amazingly effective at lowering unwanted eating!

This study show us how giving yourself permission can help you eat less in the end. One group of participants was given coaching on strategies to help deal with cravings, using permission and acceptance. The other group was given coaching on distraction methods. The acceptance group ended up a) having less cravings and b) eating less food!

The End Of Uncontrollable Cravings

So give yourself permission to enjoy food! Give yourself permission to eat any food you want! It may sound wild and irresponsible, but think of it this way: when you open up yourself to eat, you also give yourself permission to not eat. You are not bound by your cravings.

Restrictions are just one of the many reasons many people feel held captive by food cravings. I’ve helped many people discover why they’re having food cravings, how to prevent them, and most importantly what to do when a craving hits. You have the power inside you to conquer your cravings. You just need to be given the tools to do so.

To get more of the tools I give my clients in a condensed, budget friendly package, check out my 10 day e-course, Conquer Cravings.

Jessica is a Canadian girl with a passion for traveling and food, in that order! She grew up as a picky eater, but her love for travel forced her to meet the challenge of accepting new foods, and she now loves exploring new flavours in the kitchen. All of that delicious food posed a different problem at first, overeating, but her nutrition education and experience as a Registered Dietitian has brought insight and balance to her eating habits. She loves to share what she’s learned with others to help them get the most out of food! 

Filed Under: Nutrition

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Comments

  1. Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says

    June 22, 2016 at 8:20 am

    Great food for thought! Thanks for this post!

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      June 22, 2016 at 9:08 am

      I’m so glad it resonated with you!

      Reply
  2. Kori says

    June 22, 2016 at 8:42 am

    This is such an awesome post! I will be sharing on my Facebook page. Thank you for providing great insight on KERF!

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      June 22, 2016 at 9:08 am

      Thanks for sharing! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
  3. melissa says

    June 22, 2016 at 9:10 am

    I enjoy reading your blog. Unfortunately with all the ad’s it crashes my phone and I can’t even enjoy it. Not sure if you are aware of this problem.

    Reply
    • Heidi says

      June 23, 2016 at 2:28 pm

      Me too!!

      Reply
      • LMN says

        June 24, 2016 at 8:09 am

        ACK-this happens to me every time I access from my phone, which is most always. 🙁 I’m starting to give up.

        Reply
  4. Linda @ The Fitty says

    June 22, 2016 at 9:54 am

    I think for different people moderation would or wouldn’t work. I read that in Gretchen Rubin book that for abstainers, not having the food provides them more freedom because that food is no longer an option and I think a lot of times that strategy works for me. 🙂

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 17, 2016 at 5:18 pm

      It’s good to know your own personality type!

      Reply
  5. Sophie says

    June 22, 2016 at 10:38 am

    Interesting post! What would you advise for people who are on a restricted diet because of chronic medical conditions? The cravings don’t seem to go away even though there are really good reasons not to eat bad stuff, LOL!

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 17, 2016 at 5:21 pm

      That’s a tough situation! This one would require an individualized approach. I recommend contacting a Registered Dietitian in your area to book an appointment to provide you with a solid plan to address your needs!

      Reply
  6. Mom says

    June 22, 2016 at 11:15 am

    Great post and you are so right.

    And now I am craving that beautiful chocolate cupcake!

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 17, 2016 at 5:21 pm

      The power of just SEEING a food! LOL!

      Reply
  7. Amanda says

    June 22, 2016 at 3:19 pm

    This is so interesting! Thank you for sharing. I have often thought that knowing something is available to me, makes me want to eat it less. So this study totally makes sense to me!

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 17, 2016 at 5:22 pm

      Awesome! The more insight you have into your habits the more control you have over them 🙂

      Reply
  8. Jessica says

    June 23, 2016 at 10:03 am

    So interesting! I live in Paris, and I think this post explains exactly why French women have the reputation for staying thin, no matter what they eat. My French friends, colleagues, and family memebers don’t diet–if a French woman wants a burger for lunch, she’ll order one! I think the difference is exactly what you said–she’ll eat whatever she wants, just until she’s satisfied with no binging. Great advice 🙂

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 17, 2016 at 5:23 pm

      There have actually been studies that show how the French way of approaching food like this is such a healthy mindset… which leads to healthy bodies!

      Reply
  9. Jess @ Keeping It Real Food says

    June 24, 2016 at 8:28 am

    Thanks for sharing this! So many of my clients are afraid to give themselves permission to enjoy foods, but it really does make a big difference!

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      July 17, 2016 at 5:24 pm

      Yes it does! It can be a big hurdle for some people but once they start on the path of permission, it is so liberating!

      Reply
  10. Jimmi says

    October 18, 2018 at 3:27 am

    Intriguing post! What might you prompt for individuals who are on a limited eating regimen as a result of unending medicinal conditions? The longings don’t appear to leave despite the fact that there are great reasons not to eat awful stuff, LOL

    Reply

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