Are
Co-Workers Making You Fat? Avoiding Unexpected Goodies
Author: Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP
Article:
Taming the See Food Eat Food Response
What happens when you're just minding your business
and suddenly someone walks by with a delicious looking
cake, muffins, or some other goodie you weren't expecting.
You weren't hungry a minute ago but now you are suddenly
ravenous. So you jump up and rush to get yours before
it's all gone. After you get back to your desk and a
few minutes go by, what happens? You suddenly realize
you want more. Your stomach may be growling in fact.
You can still see those muffins in your mind's eye.
You want them. A few minutes pass while you debate,
"I want another, No, I shouldn't, but, I really
want one, they sure tasted good. If I don't hurry they
might all be gone, what about your diet, who cares?
I'm getting one," and off you go.
Frustrating, isn't it? All you need is a plan for when
the
unexpected food suddenly drives you to eat. It's not
like this isn't going to happen time and again, so having
a way to deal with it, in that moment, is better than
simply being swept up in the wave of wanting. The old
pattern of see food, want food, eat food, get angry
about eating food, eat more to get over feeling angry,
get angrier, give up, eat more. This cycle generally
ends when you either pass out or the food is gone. It
doesn't have to be this way.
TV commercials also induce this see food, want food
response, which is why so many people overeat in the
evening while watching their favorite shows.
Try this new approach using a technique caled EFT.
It's
effective in that it forestalls the immediate pattern
of jumping up and rushing to get a treat, and gives
you a moment or two to think about what's happening.
Realizing you want a treat is fine, and deciding to
have a treat is fine too, but simply eating out of a
primal see food/eat food response is not okay. You can
move past that immediate driven response to food cues
by using this approach.
Step 1: The Desire to Eat Unexpected Food
Do a round of EFT the first moment you suddenly are
struck by a desire to eat (when you weren't hungry or
thinking of food a moment before):
"Even though seeing those muffins made me hungry,
I deeply and completely accept myself."
"Even though I'm suddenly starving, I deeply and
completely accept myself."
"Even though I want some cake (or whatever it
is), I deeply and completely accept myself."
"Even though I know once I start, I'll never stop
eating all
day, I deeply and completely accept myself."
"Even though I'll wreck my diet today, I deeply
and completely accept myself."
Now, these statements make not appear to make much
sense, but if you've used EFT in the past, you'd know
that a quick round of EFT on whatever it is that's first
and foremost in your mind (the thing you want, despite
that you wish you did not), is what you want to address.
That's how EFT works. I don't know anything about my
car's engine, but I can drive. You don't have to understand
every nuance of EFT or why it works to use it. Just
do use it. (For info on learning EFT see resource box).
Step 2: Spending Your Calories Wisely
First check out the offerings by looking them over.
Food,
especially unexpected food, has to qualify before I'd
even
consider eating some. For me a food qualifies as special
by how it looks, it's texture, taste, and whether it
truly is
"special." Does it appear good enough to spend
my day's calories on? I do pay attention, and I know
I have a certain amount of calories on any given day
and I don't want to waste them. If the food is ordinary
(something I could buy myself any day of the week),
then more often than not I'll choose to pass, saving
my calorie expenditure on something I deem more worthy.
I think to myself, "I'd rather have cheesecake,"
which means I decide whether I want this food, or whether
I'd rather go get something better later. I can always
stop by the bakery on my way home. There are other things
I like better which I could have instead. Think of your
own favorite treat and use that when confronted with
unexpected food that you may want, but it's not
fabulous, just ordinary.
By ordinary I mean doughnuts bought at the supermarket
that are nothing special, or a bakery cake with icing
you don't like. I don't like typical bakery shortening
icing and always scrape it off because the cake's still
okay. Don't eat parts of the food you don't even like.
Chips, pretzels, cookies, etc. Are they home made or
store bought. You can buy the store bought brands any
day, they aren't special at all. Take a pass. Save your
calories for something really special. I'd rather skip
the
morning treats and have a piece or two of excellent
chocolate tonight.
If you take a bite and find the food is not as good
as you
expected, you don't have to eat it. "Really? I
don't have to eat it?" That's right, you can choose
to not eat. There is simply no way I'm wasting calories
on food I don't even like. No one is going to notice
you aren't eating. Talk to those around you. Laugh,
enjoy yourself. Set the plate down, walk away. No one
will even notice. If someone says, "Aren't you
going to eat
that?," you can say, "In a minute," and
go on chattering.
They'll forget all about it. Their only making conversation,
they really don't care whether you eat, believe me.
If the idea of leaving food or throwing food away is
more than you can tolerate, use EFT on that issue too:
"Even though I can't stand to throw away food
..."
"Even though I hate wasting food ..."
"Even though there is no way I can throw away
perfectly good food ..."
"Even though my mother said you should never waste
food ..."
Being unable to "waste" food is usually a
holdover from
childhood. You can outgrow childhood conditioning, if
you want to. If you hold on to those beliefs, fine.
There are no rules here. Just go with whatever comes
up, using EFT on anything and everything, and you'll
be amazed at the difference it can make.
Step 3: Ending Food Cravings Even When You Don't Want
To
Do a round of EFT on the desire to eat anyway. If you
think you don't really want the food, but yet you do.
In other words, you can't decide not to eat it, or you're
deciding not to do the EFT because you want to eat it
anyway, then do the EFT first, have the food second.
You'll still get to eat the goodies. No one is taking
anything away from you.
You may still want the food but find your desire has
lessened. You'll want it because you're hungry for it,
or you'll want to take some and save it for later when
you are hungrier. You can always save some for later.
There is no food police to take it away if you don't
eat it right now. Nobody is going to scold you for not
finishing your food. Maybe when you were 6-years old,
but not now.
If any memories pop up about eating, leaving food,
your mother telling you what you should or should not
do, wasting food, or about getting enough to eat, use
EFT on those too. That's the best way to use EFT, just
go with the flow of your thoughts, ideas, memories.
You'll get where you want to go without needing to know
the details in advance. Just use EFT on whatever thoughts
pop up, and slowly those emotional issues and faulty
beliefs will melt away like light snowfall in the afternoon
sun.
If you take these three steps and still want to eat,
go ahead
and eat. You'll feel okay about what you're eating,
and that's the point. Doing what is best for you in
the moment is what really taking care of yourself is
all about.
About the author:
~~ Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor,
author of the free e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First
Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of www.OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com
Get The
Daily Bites: Inspirational Mini Lessons Using EFT and
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