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[av_heading heading=’Cravings’ tag=’h2′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=” subheading_size=’15’ padding=’36’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” custom_class=” admin_preview_bg=”][/av_heading]
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When we met a few weeks ago, my client, Kim was struggling to control her sugar-eating. In the past, Kim tried cutting sugar out altogether and had some success– but never long-term. Like many dieters, Kim can recall countless instances of falling into the all-or-nothing sugar trap: eating way too much sugar, cutting it out completely, then falling off the wagon and eating way too much again. Repeat.
Kim knew that while she was eating too much sugar, cutting it out entirely wasn’t the best plan, because it’s not an effective strategy long-term. When we met last week, we devised the plan of eating one reasonable portion of dessert (defined as 200 calories or fewer) per day. We came up with strategies for what she could do and say to herself once she finished dessert to make stopping easier. Kim came back this week and told me that while she had been mostly successful at reining in her sugar intake, it was still feeling really hard. Her cravings were still strong, and she constantly felt like she was fighting a battle against them.
My goal with Kim was to try to figure out why her cravings were feeling so psychologically painful and to see if there was anything we could do about it. I asked Kim what was going through her head while she was having a craving. “Is it something like, ‘This is just a craving. It’s temporary and once I turn my attention t something else, it will go away completely. And then I’ll be so proud of myself for overcoming it?’ or is it more like, ‘I hate feeling this way. This is so uncomfortable. This situation stinks?’” Kim thought about it and realized it was much closer to the latter. “I think I’m focusing on the discomfort, and maybe even telling myself that it’s permanent.” No wonder Kim was finding her cravings so hard to cope with! In telling herself that they were highly uncomfortable, and that they weren’t going to go away, she was making them seem so much worse than they actually were. And if that’s what she was telling herself, that’s probably what she was experiencing, too. Kim made the following Response Card to remind herself that cravings are temporary.
This is just a craving. It’s temporary! Cravings never last forever, and, in fact, they don’t usually last very long at all. In a matter of minutes, it’ll be gone – or even sooner if I focus on something else. You got this!
Kim and I also discussed a situation coming up this week when she thought it would be hard to manage her sugar cravings. It would be her son’s birthday on Sunday, and she was getting a cake for him. Kim told me that her plan was to have a smaller slice than her husband and son, and she knew that if she finished first and had to sit at the table while they were still eating, that would feel difficult. Kim and I decided that her goal for Sunday would be to be the last one to finish her cake. That probably meant she’d have to eat it slowly and take small bites – but all the better for maximizing her psychological satisfaction!
Kim agreed to read her new Response Card every day this week and to continue working on eating her dessert very slowly and mindfully. She’s not 100% where she wants to be with sugar yet, but she’s definitely getting closer!
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