Fighting Urges, Curbing your Appetite, Positive Change

Today’s Re-Powering Information: - Today I am sharing an article from one of my friends Dr. Kara Mohr who is the countries leading authority on the behaviors of weight loss. Prevention Magazine has appointed her the countries # 1 Weight Loss Councelor and she runs an Adventure Boot Camp with her husband (and a former employee of mine from NJ) Dr. Chris Mohr who is one of the countries leading nutritionists and Under Armor sponsored advisor. In this article Kara speaks about resisting urges and getting past patterns we have established which lead to poor outcomes. The great news is that we are in control of our thoughts and actions and at any time we can create new habits and bring about amazing change. Kara helps you to identify your triggers for over eating and making destructive choices and gives you practical tips to bring about positive change.

Curb That Urge!

Kara I. Gallagher, Ph.D., FACSM
www.MohrResults.com

During the course of a day do you find yourself battling to make healthy choices? Urges are common things we all face..the urge to skip a workout, the urge to stop for fast food instead of preparing a healthy meal, the urge to snack when you are not hungry, etc. However, you do not have to be at the mercy of these urges. In fact, you can overcome these urges and gain control of your eating and exercise behaviors. There is no better time to learn how to do this then summertime. Why? Because the key to overcoming urges is to learn how to URGE SURF.

The first lesson in learning how to effectively surf is to understand how urges work. Urges can be compared to ocean waves: they start small, build in intensity and height, but once they peak, they decrease in intensity and force until they dissipate completely. In Figure 1 we see 5 different urges all with differing lengths and degrees of intensity. Let's first examine Urge 2 which is shown in red.

The urge starts out gradually and may begin as merely a passing thought. For example, you may become bored and remember you purchased a package of cookies at the store. As time continues the urge becomes stronger. At this point, you may continue to think about the cookies even though you are not hungry. The urge worsens when you imagine where the cookies are located in the kitchen, whether you should drink a class of milk with the cookies, etc. You may tell yourself, "I am really craving these cookies, I'll just have one." Whether or not you have one or more cookies will depend on a number of factors. However, the point is that what started as a mere thought, leads to a scenario where you crave (and eventually eat) cookies when you are not hungry; a behavior sure to sabotage any weight management program. So how do you handle this?

Urges will go away one of two ways: you either give in to the urge (an easy choice), or you ride the urge out (a little more difficult to do). Keep in mind that urges will go away even if you do nothing at all. However, the choices you make when you experience an urge will dictate the intensity of future urges. If you elect to give in, the urge will most likely come back, and when it does, the urge may be even stronger than it was the first time you experienced it. If you refer back to Figure 1, Urge 1 is an example of what might happen the next time a person experiences an urge to eat something when he or she isn't hungry. Notice that the intensity of the urge is greater and it lasts longer. This pattern continues making it more difficult to resist each time.

An easy way to picture this is to think of a child who is crying for candy in the grocery store. If you give in, and give the child the candy he will stop crying and you can save yourself the embarrassment of creating a scene in the store. However, the next time you are at the grocery store the child will most likely cry again, because he realizes if he cries long and hard enough you will eventually succumb to his demands. While initially giving in to the child seems like a fast and painless solution, it ultimately creates a bigger problem long-term. If you continually give in you begin to reward and shape an unwanted behavior.

The alternative is to not give in to the child who is crying, despite the temper tantrum being thrown in the check-out aisle and the judging stares by the other shoppers. By saying no, the child will learn that he can't expect candy every time he is in the grocery store, and over time, not only will he NOT create a scene, but he may even no longer ask. Notice Urges 3-5 on Figure 1. Over time, (if you do not give in) urges become weaker and occur less frequently, making it easier and easier to say 'no' to the unwanted behavior. The goal then is to ride out the urge wave using behavioral strategies (i.e. your surfing technique).

First, identify your triggers (situations, places or foods that make you want to eat when you are not hungry). These can include the following:
• Watching TV
• Keeping tempting food at home
• Having a stressful day at home or work
• Having food in your desk
• Hanging out in the kitchen
• Sitting at the dining room table after you have finished eating
• Meeting friends or coworkers for drinks
• Unpacking groceries
• Making the kids' lunches at night

Triggers are different for every person, and depending on the specific trigger the urge may be fairly weak or extremely strong. Take some time and list your personal triggers, noting specifically how strong of an urge you experience with each trigger. Then make a plan.

You have several options for overcoming urges. When creating your plan, the easiest approach is to avoid your triggers altogether. For example, if the trigger is having tempting food in the house, get rid of it or store it in a less accessible location such as the freezer. Keep food in a coworker's desk or another location. Have someone else unpack the groceries or make the kids' lunches, etc. However, sometimes you may find avoiding the trigger is impossible. All of us would probably prefer to avoid a stressful day, but that is not always within our control. In these situations then, the goal is ride the urge out, knowing it will ultimately go away.

SUBSTITUTE another activity
If you normally respond to your trigger by eating, find a substitute activity instead:
• Stressful day? Rather than grab the first thing from the vending machine, take a 5 minute break to unwind. Close your eyes, take several deep breaths, and refocus. Eating is not something that will take the stressor away, so be careful of using food in an attempt to forget the tension. Instead, use this opportunity to identify practical solutions to dealing with the stress.
• Instead of eating while watching TV, do some calisthenics or stretching exercises. If you have exercise equipment, use it.
• Catch up on your correspondence. Instead of eating when you are not hungry, email, call or write a letter to a friend.
• Drink unsweetened green tea, or chew sugarless gum while you work instead of snacking.
• Ladies, pamper yourself with a mini-manicure. If you normally snack in the evening, paint your fingernails. It makes it more difficult to snack with wet nails, and by the time your nails have dried, the urge most likely will have passed.
• Do you have photographs to organize, closets to rearrange, old clothes to pack up for charity? Use activities like these to distract you when the urge hits. The bonus is that little chores you may have been putting off finally get accomplished, and you maintain your healthful eating habits!
• Take a bath, listen to music you enjoy or leave the house and go for a walk if the urge to eat is strongest in the evening. Try to determine substitute activities that are incompatible with eating, to have the strongest chance at success.

Find an ALTERNATIVE solution
You may find that your biggest trigger is the habit of snacking when you are not hungry. For example, you snack in the evening just because, or you snack at work because you are bored, etc. Finding alternative routines can help to overcome urges you experience. To do this, you need to identify the normal routine and then disrupt it slightly.

• If you become bored or tired in the afternoon at work or home, make a list of future projects you would like to accomplish and develop 1-2 strategies for completing these. These can be personal or professional goals, but either way, goal-setting allows you to focus on the direction you are headed rather than the habits you are currently 'stuck' in.

• Instead of walking straight into the kitchen after work, go to another room. Organize your things from the day, sort through the mail, go to the computer and check e-mail, etc. Create a different routine that does not lead to snacking.
When in Doubt, DELAY!

If all else fails, delay. Tell yourself you will not act on the urge for at least 15 minutes. However, you must find some other activity to distract you. The worst way to tame an urge is to have a watch in one hand, fork in the other, staring down the chocolate cake for 15 minutes! This is a sure fire way to give right in to temptation! If in 15 minutes, you still feel like giving in, wait another 10 minutes. By waiting, not only are you riding the urge out, you also have the opportunity to reflect on whether this is really an urge you wish to give in to. You may find that you decide your commitment to healthier eating and exercise behaviors is more important than any piece of chocolate cake!

Enjoy today!