In part 1 of this article I described the physical and emotional torment caused by a deliberately induced food craving. In the second part of this series, I outline a diary of events covering how I successfully dealt with the craving over a period of one month. By reading these articles it is possible that you too might find some method that helps you manage or eradicate your food cravings and reinforce your commitment to a slimmer and fitter you.
Day 1 - Evening
The same day I bought the crisps and that evening they are uppermost in my mind. A little battle going on in the mind - you have better things to be thinking about. I decided to be mindful of the thoughts and sensations going on in my mind and body. Thinking about the crisps in the press, their colour, texture, how they would feel in my mouth. I noticed my mouth watering. Even the saliva tasted salty!! Then the craving sensation jumped to my stomach where I felt hunger pangs, yet my stomach was full from an earlier meal. It felt even a small bit bloated. I started contemplating that maybe I had ignored my appetite's signal that I had eaten enough. I could feel the waist band of my jeans feeling a small bit tighter, then the sensation went back into my mouth to the increased salivation. So there was a sensation now moving between my mouth and my belly. Using an NLP technique I decided to spin this feeling clockwise first - that tended to increase the intensity of the craving, so I spun the feeling in the opposite direction, faster and larger and hay presto the craving went. This technique took less than a minute to carry out.
Day 2
The next day - evening and I am sitting watching TV relaxing and thinking about the crisps. My mind is jumping from the film to the crisps in the cupboard. I am thinking about all kinds of things, like so what if I eat them, they will be gone then and sure if I don't buy another packet I won't have to worry about this craving again. There is a bit of internal dialogue going on now. Devil on one side- 'go for it'- and conscience on the other side reminding me that this will be one of many crisps, the first of a thousand crisps, even tens of thousands of crisps, cholesterol, fat, lifetime on the hips, health problems, etc. All this dialogue only takes seconds at a time and I know where it's heading if I don't put a stop to it. So I decide to do a thought stopping exercise called white out. It's like having a movie projector in the mind which is playing your thoughts and when the destructive thought comes up on screen you white out the screen. Do it very fast and the results are amazing. Do it repeatedly and even faster each time whenever the craving comes up and you find that you are released from those incessant thoughts about what you want to eat. In fact the white out releases those thoughts and frees up the mind to concentrate on the task in hand which for me at the time was simply watching a film. It could just have easily been writing a report or doing the dishes. Then I watch the real film on TV and watch it mindfully, really being attentive to the storyline, the characters, focusing on sounds and colours. At the advert break I do a quick body scan. It feels good to breathe into my body and sense how I am sitting on the sofa, the way my body contacts it and so on.
No cravings experienced until .....
Morning - day 15
I am at home with a head cold and the crisps are beckoning to me, calling out to me 'you are not feeling well, why not have us to cheer you up?' I think about the crisps, feeling a little bit sorry for myself and thinking it's only one packet and then switch my thoughts to the fit, slim, healthy, dynamic me, without cellulite, who wears her clothes well, who moves well. I not only see in my mind's eye what it is like to stay fit, trim and healthy without this food, I feel it too and I spin that great feeling faster and faster through my body. Before I know it, I have created a goal image of me being even fitter, healthier still and I want to protect this image and refocus on my commitment to me. In my imagination, I look down to my feet and see them in dainty sandals. Zooming up my body, I notice my trim, well muscled legs, the jewel colours of my clothes, my strong arms, my trim waist and so on. I feel happy in my skin. I am surrounded by friends. Laughter vibrates around me and through me. I imagine I am breathing in a sky blue colour into my body (my favourite colour), through my body and this colour is expanding into the room and encasing the whole house. I am in a cocoon of blue. Just as I feel myself almost quivering with the excitement generated from the visualisation, I breathe in a perfect breath of fresh air into my perfect body, and anchor this feeling of confidence and fitness and looking good, feeling good by pressing my forefinger and thumb together. The craving is gone. I decide to go for a walk and every step I take, taking in a good lungful of air, feeling so good, feeling lest congested.
Day 28 and 29
Still opening the cupboard a few times a day to get the teabags out. Crisps still there unopened. Most of the time I don't even see them. I have no desire for them whatsoever. They are in there and I am here. It doesn't matter whether they stay there on the shelf or go into the bin. I have no sensations of craving either in my body or in my mind with the added factor that I don't feel deprived of something I want. I anchor to my positive state periodically throughout the day for no reason at all except to enjoy the buzz of feeling good.
Conclusion
I teach my clients a great number of techniques to manage cravings and other eating related problems. Remember that most people gain weight because of cravings. My clients are empowered to help themselves in times of crisis to use techniques which help them gain control of cravings without them feeling deprived. One of the most important success factors is to have a clear commitment to being and maintaining a slimmer, thinner you. There are other techniques which I could have used on myself - NLP Swish Technique, self-hypnosis, EFT, etc. To manage this issue I used the ones that felt right for me at the time and I encourage my clients to select the tools that suit them. These techniques can be employed very quickly and successfully anywhere. They are easy to use and remember that practice makes perfect and strengthens them.
Autor: Anne Marie Courtney Anne Marie Courtney
Level: Platinum
I am a licensced NLP practitioner through the Irish Institute of NLP and use NLP with my clients to tackle all kinds of issues, including ... ...
Anne Marie Courtney. I am a Homoeopath based in Tralee, Co. Kerry, Ireland and am registered with the Irish Society of Homoeopaths, qualifying from the Irish College of Homoeopathic Medicine. My business is called Integrated Health Therapies and I offer three healing modalities - homoeopathy, hypnotherapy and neuro linguistic programming. My aim is to help my patients or clients in a gentle and safe manner to overcome personal limitations on mental, physical and emotional planes. I am introducing a new weight management programme shortly, for individuals and groups which tackles overeating and cravings, in particular the emotional factors governing negative eating habits. For more information please look at my website http://www.hypnosistralee.com
Added: September 2, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/
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