People Like You Love Craving Change®
For over a decade, we’ve received feedback about the Craving Change® program. Scan through the ‘stories’ below and discover how others felt before they started the program. Below these comments are examples of the Craving Change® program strategies that have made a difference!
Does this sound familiar? You’re not alone!
Comments we’ve heard from people like you who struggle with their eating habits:
“I feel like it’s one step forward, two steps back. I get on a roll and eat healthier and then something happens and I blow it. It could be a family birthday party or donuts in the staff room. I have no willpower, why do I even bother?”
“I guess I’ve never stopped to really understand why I eat. I say, “I’m an emotional eater”, but I don’t know if there are certain emotions that push me to the fridge.”
“I am successful in my profession. I’m a well-organized person and excel at most of the things I do in my life. Eating is my only problem. I don’t understand why I can’t manage my eating when I’m able to manage everything else.”
“I think that I have an emotional eating problem. Many times, I know that I’m not physically hungry but I want to eat, and eat a lot. At these times, I seem to want or desire something. It’s like I’m filling some need with food. I don’t understand what’s happening. Some days, eating is the only way to feel a little better.”
“I’m really influenced by getting a deal. I plan to just buy a small submarine sandwich for lunch, but then I do the math as I look through the menu. I realize that I can get more food for my money if I buy the larger sandwich combo meal. The funny thing is that I end up spending much more money in the end and eat much more than I really want.”
“I started to count the number of food ads on TV and couldn’t believe how many times in one show I was basically invited to eat. No wonder I’m always craving something to eat!”
“I grew up being told to eat everything on my plate because of the starving kids in Africa! Now, even if I’m full, I keep eating until I’ve finished my meal, plus any leftovers. I just can’t seem to help myself!”
“I always skip lunch. I’m so busy at work that it’s easy to ignore the hunger pangs. I’ve always thought it was a good way to eat fewer calories. I didn’t realize that this habit was just setting my body up for food cravings. No wonder I have such a hard time resisting the drive-thrus on my way home.”
Craving Change® Program Strategies That Helped Me
Read what others say about the ‘change strategies’ you’ll learn about with the Craving Change® program.
Emotions Inventory – Eating self-awareness tool
“I caught myself eating ice cream in the evening when I was using the Emotions Inventory. I made myself pause so that I could figure out what emotions I was feeling. I realized that I was feeling angry and frustrated with my husband. As I ate the ice cream, I noticed that I started to feel calmer. It actually soothed my negative emotions. The trouble is that when I took stock of my emotions a little later, I felt guilty and upset with myself for eating the ice cream. Turns out ice cream isn’t the best solution for dealing with my emotions.”
Stop Unwanted Thoughts – Get rid of trigger thinking
“I’ve trained my brain to stop my thoughts about junk food. When I notice these thoughts popping into my head, I immediately put on my mental brakes. Then I switch gears and I focus on an image of my doctor telling me that I can throw away my blood pressure pills. That’s my ultimate goal and I won’t reach it if I keep making unhealthy choices.”
Adopt an 80/20 Mindset – Avoid all-or-nothing thinking
“My two absolute favorite foods are nachos and chocolate ice cream. These used to be nightly snacks for me. Now I follow the 80/20 approach and plan when I can have these favorites. I kind of have a pattern. I make nachos for my family every second Saturday night. As for the ice cream, I tell myself that I can get a small cone if I’m at the mall but I don’t keep ice cream at home anymore. Somehow planning in these treats now and again makes it easier to stay on track with my healthy eating changes.”
Nurture, Rather Than Nourish
“Last week I babysat my grandson. He was being potty trained at the time. Tommy successfully did his business in the potty for the first time when he was with me. I praised him for his accomplishment and my first instinct was to take him out for a special meal. I was about to reward my little grandson with food, just as I had been rewarded as a child. And, just as I’ve been rewarding myself ever since. I don’t want Tommy to have the same issues with food that I struggle with. So, instead I gave him a great big hug and read him his favorite story.”
Ambush Your Triggers – Plan an activity
“I’ve been getting together with three of my friends once a week for a couple of years now. It’s great! We’ve been meeting at each other’s homes for coffee and goodies. When I found out that I have diabetes, I suggested that we start having ‘walk and talk’ visits. Now we meet at the park and talk while we go for a walk. Not only do we eat less, we all agree that it’s nice not having to clean the house or prepare a snack for our visits.”
Renovate Your Environment – Craving-proof your world
“I used to really overeat at dinnertime. Then I started leaving the pots with the meat and starchy foods like rice and potatoes in the kitchen. I only bring the vegetables and salad to the table. Now if I want second helpings of food it is more effort to go to the kitchen to get more meat and potatoes. I usually just eat more of the vegetables because they’re handy. Just doing this has helped me eat less at dinner. Plus, I take the leftovers for lunch the next day!”
Quit Sabotaging Yourself – Don’t be your own worst enemy
“I always believed it was my obligation as a hostess to serve a sweet treat with coffee or tea to my guests. There would always be leftovers that I would end up eating. I realized that I was the one setting this expectation and therefore could be the one to change it. Now I just serve up a beverage and good conversation.”
Try Positive Self-Talk – Improve the conversations you have with yourself
“When I started listening to my thoughts I often caught myself thinking “life isn’t fair”. I’d think, “If I had a degree I would have got a promotion by now – life isn’t fair!” Or, “I wish I wasn’t single, but I’m too old to find someone now – life isn’t fair!” Most times when I was in the “life isn’t fair” mode, I’d find myself eating chips or leftovers. Now, I’ve been trying the Positive Self-Talk strategy. If I hear myself saying, “life isn’t fair”, I close my eyes, take a slow, deep breath and say to myself, “But I’m going to make the best of it.” It’s amazing how this simple statement reminds me that I’m in charge of my life and can make my life better in other ways.”
“I really liked the group discussions. They were a lot of fun and it made me realize that I’m not alone with my struggles.”
“I loved all the different worksheets that I could use to help me figure out my problematic eating triggers. There were a couple that really got me thinking. I have to say that I could almost feel a few lightbulbs turning on in my head.”
“I had read about some of the change strategies described in the Craving Change® program before but didn’t know how to put them into practice. I love the ‘here’s what you do’ steps that are given for each technique. They make it so easy to start making changes right away.”
