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Activity: Master and Vanquish Those Urges!
I mentioned this in a past video as well and so here is a change to plan it out. A quick insight and technique you can use is to prepare yourself for what i call the 3 intensities of cravings; mild, moderate and severe. So, when we have mildly intense cravings, which will also be your most commonly felt cravings, our plan may be to redirect ourselves with an activity like gardening or building or work. But this may not work when your cravings are moderately intense so you may need to satisfy them with something healthy but similar to your treat food, like strawberries and yogurt instead of ice cream for example. These first two steps help rewire your brain so over time you will think less about the treat foods and I will cover this in more detail later. However, when your cravings are severe, which may only be 5% of the cravings, then fine – have your treat food and don’t stress. Be mindful of it, experience its effects on you, and move on. No shame, no negative emotions, just move on. Accept it happened and commit to the future.
So let’s work this out now for you
| Craving intensity | Mild | Moderate | Severe |
| How will I manage these? (example) | Urge surf + delay
Distract/redirect – work, garden, exercise, paint etc Change my environment |
Mild
+ Substitute – something salty or sweet but healthy e.g. fruit, nuts, honey, stevia based drink, cheese etc |
Mild/moderate
+ Small amount of my desired food/substance “I will be mindful of the experience for its positives AND negatives and then let it go and move on” |
| How will YOU manage these (fill out) |