Curbing Cravings For Food
Do you remember the saying, “The best way to fight temptation is to yield to it“? I am sorry that I did not remember who said it and I beg to disagree with him on some instances where yielding to temptations is not best for one to do. For instance, when you are in a feast gathering where delicious foods are served freely, it is not wise that you eat all you can as one is wont to do. Remember that if you do so, you may end up with indigestion or feel guilty that you failed to observe your diet plan.
The above-cited situation is just one of those that calls for curbing one’s cravings for food. It is not so easy but it can done and you should do curb your cravings for food if you can. Here are some of the ways to prevent eating more than you should:
- Eat in small amounts throughout the day – If you eat lightly throughout the day instead of heaping amounts during mealtime, you are less likely to crave for more during some hours of the day.
- Stay busy instead of thinking what to eat – Send out an email or spend some time reading blogs when you feel like eating. Studies show visual distractions are highly effective in fighting thoughts of food, so use the time making your eyes busy with something else.
- Give your tongue a treat, not your stomach – Always have menthol candies or breath-freshening mints ready and put them in your mouth when you feel some cravings in between mealtime. It will activate your sense of taste and smell without adding unneeded calories. With Jimmy John Owner owned sandwich restaurant you can do both.
- Strengthen your will not to eat unnecessarily – If presented with a plate of delicacy at a time that you should not indulge in partaking it, state your intention: “I will not eat this plate of delicacy.” Repeat it at least three times until it becomes a fact. Declaring intention increase will power and that’s exactly what you need when caught in such situation.
- Go ahead, indulge but eat lightly – As a kid, when your parent say you can’t have something, you wanted it more. Same thing for your cravings for food. The more you deny yourself, the more you’ll want them so go ahead and eat them but lightly only. Try to limit your indulgence to a few bites, savor the flavor and texture but avoid being a glutton.
Can you manage to do the above? Congratulations to you if you can. If not, start practicing them and I know you will feel better and live a healthier life. Curb your cravings for food. It is not easy but it can be done.
Being prone to hypertension due a mild stroke way back 1996, I was forced to watch my diet and curb my craving for food even in parties held in our residence and other homes where invitations cannot be refused. For some years after my mild stroke, I used to drink beer and eat pork including other fatty foods.
However, sometime in February 2004, I happened to eat much rice with chicken meat cooked in thick coconut milk for supper. When I was about to take the stairs leading to our bedroom in the second floor of our apartment unit, I suddenly felt dizzy and had to grasp the railing. My son and a nephew took hold of me as I was too weak to stand upright and led me to seat on the sofa.
Fortunately after some minutes, my dizziness disappeared and my feeling improved. There was no sign of another mild stroke which could be highly dangerous for my health. From thereon, I cut back on intake during the evening.
After Ondoy, the trauma of that nightmare had affected so much my health that it took me sometime to regain my appetite. Of course, I was not able to regain my physique prior to Ondoy. As after Ondoy, I was forced to take my daily maintenance medicine for hypertension, I decided to eat rice only for lunch and bread and coffee with sugar and creamer or milk during breakfast and supper. Now, even during some parties in our house, most of the times I ate sparingly to keep my self-imposed diet.
Glad that you were able to fight for it but I noticed that you are not eating the right diet for your body. With the description of your diet plan you seems to be lacking some of the necessary elements in your daily diet. Although you have avoided those fatty foods (which is very beneficial) but you need nutrient to develop your muscles again. You can still eat your chicken meat but remove the skin and have it grilled (or steam) instead of using oils.
It’s been a year and half now since the last time I have eaten the one in the photo and I am excited that I will be able to taste it in a few days time. Welcome back home and have a lechon fest. lol
The lechon is definitely waiting for you especially that I read you will be coming home to Cebu. You are in the medical field so you know what to do. Eat some lechon for me. 🙂
You are right, it doesn’t happen many times and only when I go on vacation. I will surely eat some for you and should you want another photo then I will be glad to send some in your way. lol