Do you struggle with giving in to cravings?
Maybe you have a sweet tooth or intense evening cravings that you keep giving in to, even though you PROMISED yourself you wouldn’t.
Let me start by saying…this means NOTHING about you. It doesn’t mean you lack willpower. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. It doesn’t mean that you have unhealed childhood trauma that needs to be solved in order to stop.
All it means is that you have a habit.
It means that your primitive (reptilian) brain is working PERFECTLY.
And that there’s an opportunity to learn a little bit more about your brain so that you can take your power back from the cravings.
So let’s dive in!
When we give in to our cravings, we are following and believing our thoughts and feelings coming from our primitive brain.
This is the oldest part of the brain, which is also in animals. It’s very impulsive, relies on habit, does not think about the future, and has no ability to self-reflect. It has evolved to do one thing…survive in the moment! So it has impulses based upon getting pleasure, avoiding pain, and getting things as quickly and efficiently as possible. So this part of the brain thinks that eating cookies is ESSENTIAL for our survival. That is why cravings can feel SOO INTENSE AND CONVINCING!
The primitive brain is also very habitual. So, if you usually have snacks after a long workday, it’s going to create urges & cravings right at that time! Or if you tend to eat M&M’s at work when you’re stressed, the desire for them will come on strong after that uncomfortable meeting with your boss!
And if we don’t give in to those urges, they get stronger and stronger because that part of your brain thinks you’re going to die if you don’t get it.
But here’s the good news!
Our primitive brain is not the part of our brain that controls our actions.
We have to decide from our prefrontal cortex (human brain) to stand up, go to the cabinet, open the cookie jar, and start eating.
We are ALWAYS the ones in control of what we do.
I think this is super helpful to realize because no matter how intense our cravings feel, we have the power to give in or not.
And once you can see that your primitive brain is the one creating the thought and feeling to eat, you can start to notice it and separate yourself from that craving.
You can begin relating to them differently.
I practice talking back to that part of myself from my human brain. I say things like, “I know you think we’re going to die if we don’t eat a snack right now, but I promise we’ll get dinner in one hour and we’re going to be ok.”
It may sound funny, but I talk (well, inner talk) to that part of myself as if it were a child, because that’s kind of how it sounds in my mind.
I also find it super helpful to frame. When I get a craving, I remember, “hey, this is a craving coming from my survival brain. It thinks we need this for survival and that’s ok.”
Don’t get me wrong, I still have the thoughts “I should eat this,” “just this once,” “It’s ok because I had a big workout today.”
And I feel the craving in my body.
I just don’t identify with it. I feel it, but since I know where it’s coming from, I am now able to separate myself from it and experience it in my body without reacting.
It’s been a practice for sure AND it’s changed my life.
It’s helped me get back my power and control. This means I get to live a life that’s MUCH MUCH more intentional.
Is it easy? No. But the more you do it, the easier it becomes to identify.
It’s THE WAY to stop overeating!
In health & happiness,
Jamie
