Fight the Urge

I recently had a request on the topic of fighting impulses to snack. One of my clients states, “people bring snacks to work all the time and it is hard to pass through the kitchen at work without sampling.” This is common in various situations. Food can represent different things to all of us. Some people eat when happy or depressed or just because. Food is usually the center of any type of event where people are gathering such as; baby/bridal showers, weddings, funerals, birthdays, meetings, and get-togethers. These could be full spread meals or snacking foods. Whether it is an event or just passing through your kitchen at work, the urge to eat too much or snack will control you OR you will control it.
So how do you control the urges? It can be challenging for most people, but realize that urges usually last for a short period of time and if you realize it is just an urge, you can surpass it.
There are feelings and moods that can affect these urges and I suggest for you to HALT when you feel overly hungry, angry, lonely, tired or bored. With these five feelings, they can really affect your urge to eat too much or snack. Let's take hunger as our example. If you feel you want to snack, ask yourself if a piece of fruit or yogurt will satisfy you and if the answer if no, then it is just an urge or craving because if you are really hungry, any healthy option will satisfy you. You may be having a sugar, salt or fatty food craving, but you have to be smarter than the craving and arm yourself with healthier options. Can you bring your healthy snacks to work and keep them at your desk? Yes, you can! Can you consume water or flavored water prior to attending an event to fill you up? Yes, you can. Can you eat every 3 hours to ensure that you don't get hungry and want to snack mindlessly or eat too much? Yes, you can!
Here are some other tips:

• Have a designated eating place (DEP) especially at home, so that you only eat in that spot. Do not eat in bed or in front of the television.
• Identify and realize the triggers that create the urge to snack. Could it be a person, place, time of day, physiological factor? (ie. menstral cycle)
• Avoid food shopping when hungry. Eat something prior to going.
• Buy sugarless gum and chew when you know you will be faced with tough situations.
  

The key is to control the urge and not let it control you. You have to have a plan in place to react and keep you on track toward your end goal.