Today I want to talk about a healthy habit that is a simple yet effective one in helping you deal with the almighty craving. Yes the craving. We all have them. Some of us crave salty while others long for the sweets. Or if you are like me you hunger after the salty sweet. Have you tried the Starbucks Salted Carmel Mocha? Oh my, I was much better off not knowing what I was missing.
Anyway, where was I? Yes, dealing effectively with cravings.
The point is cravings are here to stay. We just need to manage them so they do not completely wreak havoc over our food journals and menu plans.
One way I work to keep my cravings from taking over is using a habit I just recently discovered. I like to call it the 20-minute rule. I am not going to promise it will work every time but it has worked during some of my weakest Starbucks moments 🙂
The basics of the 20 minute rule.
- Craving hits. For example, you are in the car driving to work and know that Starbucks is just down the road. You want that Café Mocha and want it bad!
- Don’t give in to the craving just yet, allow yourself 20 minutes to mull it over. For example, drive past Starbucks; you know there is another one a few miles down the road anyways.
- Occupy your mind with something else and drink water if you can. Turn the radio on, make a phone call (of course using a speaker phone if driving), do anything to turn your attention away from the craving.
- Craving has subsided. A part of you might still want that Café Mocha but you have had time to think about it and then make a more rationalized decision. If you still are feeling the craving then take a moment and look up the nutritional information in My Fitness Pal and see if you can fit it into your menu plan without crushing your calories for the day. Although, looking up the calories is usually enough motivation I need to not eat or drink something. Well sometimes.
The main reason the 20 minute rule works for me, and I suspect it will for you too, is because it makes you to think before you eat. This takes mindless eating, for the most part, out of the equation which more often than not accounts for many unnecessary calories.
A few months ago I read Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink. This book was a very interesting read and opened my eyes to the amount of food we eat without even thinking about it. It is amazing the way we are programmed to keep eating even when we are not hungry or the food does not taste good. How many times have you eaten soggy fries? Don’t worry I have more than I can count to.
Here are some quick action steps to help you implement the 2o minute rule.
- List out all of your cravings. Just doing this will make you more aware of the certain foods you crave.
- List out the situations where you find yourself craving these foods. Emotional and situational eating is sometimes a bigger issue than the food.
- Next time you crave that food practice the 20 minute rule.
Jean says
Tammy, thank you so much for all of your insightful information! This is going to help me make good decision-at least some of the time!! I stumbled upon your page through facebook and it has to be the best thing for me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!
Vicki says
I just you an email to see if you would friend me on my fitness pal..I have been doing it for some months now and have only lost 14 lbs.I have my diary so you can see it. Could it be my age? I feel like I am working my butt off. If you could look at it and tell me what you think I would appreciate it.
Leanne says
Mines a little different if I’m still craving a day later then I give in lol
Shawn says
Today is my day one. I had twins in January and a major hernia surgery in June. You site is so helpful. I am going to track point on weight watchers while using your site to eat cleaner. I am hoping to carry over some of the clean eating to my kids (I have four). Thank you for inspiring me to begin.
Donna Kay says
When you look up the nutritional information, during the 20 minutes, also look up how much exercise you will need to work off the calories…that does it for me sometimes.
Rona says
This is my first time on your site and I been on here for hours,lol. I just wanted to say I have been doing the 20 minute rule but jut a little different. If I am craving or just a little hungry I drink a bottle of water and wait 20 minutes. Sometimes I eat and sometimes I dont but it helps me to avoid impulse and senseless eating. It also helps me to try to increase my daily water intake. I do plan to start freezer cooking soon. I have been trying to learn as much as possible
Tammy says
Drinking water is a GREAT idea! I have trying to so hard to drink more water because it for sure helps out. I am glad you are finding my site useful. If you go to the archives page you will have easier access to all the articles I have written. Keep in touch!
Jen says
Hi Tammy.
I have been using plenty of tips from your page. I was doing weight watchers for a few months but was not focusing enough on quality of foods. I have started to eat clean over the past month and enjoy that almost all of your recipes are essentially following the rules of eating clean minimally processed foods. I want to thank you for all the work you put in here, it is an amazing resource.
I am on my way down and all my pants are too big! It’s nice not to feel like a giant meatball stuffed into a sausage casing.
🙂
Tammy says
That is FANTASTIC!! Thank you so much for sharing your progress with me. It makes my day know that I can help others out. Keep me posted and let me know if you have any questions.