HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF? PART 5
FOOD CRAVINGS AND COMFORT FOODS
WHAT ARE THEY?
HOW TO QUELL THEM?
Food cravings are a powerful desire to eat certain foods for self-comfort without even being hungry. That is why these certain foods are called “comfort foods.”
Comfort foods can really be any food that can be soothing for the person who consumes them. These types of foods are usually rich in calories with added extra sugar, fats, salt and artificial flavors, but are very poor in nutritional value. Typically, they include foods like ice cream, chips, french fries, burgers, pizza, candies, chocolates, soft drinks, and more.
Food cravings and consumption of comfort foods, with a lot of empty calories, play a significant role in the development of worldwide obesity epidemic.
Food cravings are a strong, complex and overwhelming feeling with a strong psychological component in its genesis. Multiple factors could trigger food cravings; among them positive or negative emotions like feeling lonely, stressed, being rejected, or even positive emotions like elation and accomplishments. Foods craving involves the brain reward center’s neuron cells, and the release of extra dopamine, and appetite hormones ensue for comforting and increasing appetite.
Most people easily surrender to this powerful feeling and engorge themselves, while some people try to fight back, but it often backfires. Afterwards, they feel guilty and blame themselves for lack of self-control and willpower.
So how can you deal with food cravings? How can you learn to quell this powerful feeling, especially when it becomes a big problem for most overweight people? There are two schools of thoughts as to how to deal with food cravings:
The first one states that fighting with food cravings is wrong and it usually makes this feeling worse. The best thing to do is to acknowledge and accept it as normal feeling and try to use mindfulness technique by paying full attention how it feels, how long it lasts, does it come in waves and gradually subsides and goes away? Studies have shown that feeling of food cravings lasts about 8-to-10 minutes. So instead of reaching to your favorite comfort food, try to “ride the waves.” Soon, you realize that food cravings become more bearable, and it goes away.
The second school of thought which I subscribe to, advocate that instead of banning your total favorite comfort foods, instead take small amount of it and use your mindful eating habits by eating it very slowly. Pay full attention to how it tastes, keep it in your mouth as long as you can to enjoy the flavor of it, before you swallow. By eating this way, you will learn to be satisfied with small amounts of it, instead of binging on it.
To me, cutting yourself completely off your favorite comfort food is not a good way to enjoy life. Afterall, food and eating are one of the most enjoyable activities in life.
