Eat what you crave.

Don’t try to ignore your food cravings; that makes it nearly impossible to deal with them. If you instead give into your cravings consistently, the foods you crave with be less special. You won’t see them as forbidden or off-limits, and, therefore, you’ll pay attention to how much actually satisfies your desire.

The fear of giving in to cravings is that you’ll start eating chocolate 24/7. When you first start allowing yourself to give in to the cravings, you might eat the sweets or treats more often than before. As time goes on, the novelty will wear off, and you’ll feel much more balanced with the indulgent foods.

Enjoy the food slowly and mindfully.

Savoring your food is a big key to satisfying cravings. If you eat it quickly, you’ll miss the point of satisfaction. You also might end up with a stomach-ache if you’re eating something more rich or sugary. Take a break after each bite. Use your senses, and take in the appearance, smells, textures, and tastes.

Pay attention so you know the moment you’re satisfied. When you give in to your cravings and practice the slow, mindful approach to your food, you’ll more quickly find that point of satisfaction. Some days you might be satisfied when you’re just a few bites in! Other days you’ll eat it all. Allow your body and mind to work together to dictate how much you eat.

Let your cravings lead you to higher standards for your food and indulgences.

When you’re craving ice cream, eat the real thing (milk alternative ice creams count as “real”). Don’t go for the low calorie, diet version of the food you’re craving. When you choose the low calorie option, the package usually says, “just x number of calories in a whole pint.” They do that to encourage you to eat the whole pint!

Rather than choosing the low cal version, choose the full fat, full calorie, high-quality ingredient option. It will taste better, and the higher fat content will allow you to feel satisfied sooner.

Whatever the craving, get the tastiest version of it you can find. If it’s something you can make at home, find the freshest ingredients and highest quality, organic options when possible. I always tell the dancers I work with that I love a peanut butter cup, and Reese’s used to be my go-to snack. Now, the overly processed, overly sweetened ingredients don’t taste good to me at all. I’ve upgraded my PB cup obsession to Theo’s. (Ingredients are just: Cocoa Beans*+, Peanut Butter, Cane Sugar*+, Cocoa Butter*+, Powdered Sugar, Peanut Flour*, Salt, Rosemary Extract, Ground Vanilla Bean*.) I’m satisfied with just 1/2 or 1 cup!

Put the food you’re craving on a plate.

As you deal with cravings, never eat straight out of the container. It encourages you to eat more than you want or need. Putting food on a plate is respectful of the food and your body. It honors your food choices. You’re not hiding your choices by eating quickly or out of the container.

Pick a lovely plate or bowl. Make your food look nice and super appetizing. Taking the time to do these things will encourage you to take your time as you eat. Don’t rush. Slow it all down.

When cravings aren’t about the food.

Some cravings are connected to a nutrient deficiency or a need for emotional support or social interaction. Pay close attention to things you crave regularly. Look into possible nutrient deficiencies tied to particular cravings; you will crave things that your body needs. A craving for chocolate may signal a need for magnesium while you might crave meat or eggs if your body needs protein.

Be empowered to choose the foods that will satisfy your needs AND make you feel good.

If you’re feeling lonely or needing social interaction, you might crave certain foods to fill that void. Ask yourself every single day (in fact, throughout the day) how you’re feeling. Need to connect with a friend or someone in your family? Allow yourself the time and space to prioritize that connection.

Some foods are addictive.

When food is more processed and higher in fat and sugar, it can be addictive. Foods such as cheese and processed sweets or desserts, have an effect on the pleasure centers of our brains that can have an addictive quality.

If you’re drawn to something every single day or throughout each day, take some time to assess if the food desire has become an addiction. It might be time to scale back or fill your meals with more nutrient-dense foods to dampen the need for the addictive food.

The trouble with “self-control”.

The common response to cravings is to practice “self-control.” That might work for a while but when you can’t control it anymore, you might give in, go totally overboard, and binge. A few bites of cake or even a few pieces of cake over the course of a month (or honestly, even a week) is a much better approach than staying away from it completely, then eating a whole cake in one sitting.

You can eat the foods you desire and reach your personal best dancers’ body. Food fear is what’s holding you back. Allow yourself to get to a peaceful place with food by slowly letting yourself enjoy the foods you fear. The less stress you put on your food choices, the better you’ll be at following your body’s cues.

How do you deal with cravings? What approach works for you? What have you tried? Have you upgraded your indulgences to higher quality versions? Share your thoughts in the comments!!!

The post An Unexpected Way to Deal with Cravings appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Stress eating happens. As you navigate this new world amidst a global pandemic, it’s perfectly understandable that you might be feeling stressed. Anytime we feel uncertain, it’s stressful. Well, this is uncertainty on a global scale and that is scary.

Add in social isolation and it’s a perfect storm of emotions. 

If you went into this time with an unhealthy relationship with food and your body, it’s likely the stress is making it worse. It’s possible to minimize the stress eating with some positive practices.

Feel the feelings:

Earlier this week I had a group call with some dancers and something I found myself repeating was, “feel the feelings.” This is important all the time but especially now.

It’s ok to be…

sad.

scared.

lonely.

uncertain.

stressed.

The most important thing is to allow yourself to feel it all. Don’t push it down with food or ignore what’s coming up for you. Instead of pretending to be Miss Positivity all the time, feel what’s coming up then search for some good to focus on.

Stress eating happens most often when we’re looking for a distraction. Feeling can be uncomfortable. We eat to numb ourselves and to try and ignore the emotions bubbling up.

To let the feelings out you might cry, talk to a friend, journal, meditate, connect to your body, sing, dance…the possibilities are really endless. Find the release that works for you.

Find the good:

Focus on what’s going well. Create a plan for now and for the future so that you feel this time was well spent.

Remember that this is also a very tough situation and if getting through it is the best you can do, that is enough.

What are some positive things you can focus on?

By looking to the light you’ll be less likely to turn to food for comfort. Feeling gratitude for the good in your life will allow you to move past the stress.

What’s going well right now? Ask yourself that question at least once a day.

Stress Eat:

Seriously. Don’t beat yourself up if you eat a big bowl of pasta because you find it comforting. It might in fact make you feel better. If  you consciously choose to use food for some comfort it’s OK.

The emotional/stress eating we want to avoid is the kind that’s reactive. When you’re absolutely blinded by the pain and fear that you’re feeling and you start eating without intentionality, it’s damaging.

If you choose to eat for some comfort you should be able to savor and enjoy the food. The piece of cake might in fact serve you.

When I was in my worst place with food and my body, I was living alone. I had walls up – not willing to share my emotions or to let other people in emotionally. That’s when my worst binge/stress eating happened. I’d order a whole (vegan) pizza and eat it by myself and feel completely awful afterwards.

That’s the sort of thing we want to avoid.

Acknowledge the Uncertainty and Fear:

This time is extra scary if you were hoping to get a job in the coming weeks. It’s all uncertain and it’s OK to be fearful. We don’t know what’s going to happen next. Dance companies will each have to approach this time in their own ways. Some may still be hiring. Some may not.

Summer intensives will have to shift their approach if dancers haven’t been in the studio for months. Things will be different.

A warrior accepts that we can never know what will happen to us next. We can try to control the uncontrollable by looking for security and predictability, always hoping to be comfortable and safe. But the truth is that we can never avoid uncertainty. The not-knowing is part of the adventure. It’s also what makes us afraid.

Pema Chodron, Comfortable with Uncertainty

Keep a list of alternative activities by fridge:

If you find you’re stressed AND bored and the boredom is leading you to the fridge, keep a list of other calming activities near the fridge. That way when you walk into the kitchen you’ll be confronted by the list and can create a little pause in the action.

That pause could be enough to get you onto something else. Something that’s more supportive and calming that might actually allow you to process the stress more healthfully.

Some ideas include: knitting, sewing, dancing, drawing, coloring, doing a puzzle, putting together legos, playing a game (alone or with a friend), singing, engaging with social media (not mindlessly scrolling but finding ways to actually connect).

Keep a list of healthy snacks by the fridge:

If you are in fact hungry and want to avoid going crazy with the indulgent food every time you want a snack, keep a list of healthy options by the fridge. You might even end up doing some stress eating with healthier options you enjoy and remember, that’s OK.

Some snack ideas include: hummus + veggies + crackers, trail mix, dark chocolate (maybe put it in your trail mix), yogurt (greek or dairy free) + fruit + a sprinkle of granola, half a smoothie or frozen fruit based ice cream.

It might help to have a list of sweet + savory options so you can satisfy cravings more easily and healthfully.

Conclusion:

This is a challenging time. Processing your emotions is the most surefire way to avoid stress eating. Remember that you are not alone and please reach out if you need support.

Photo by Eaters Collective on Unsplash

The post Stress Eating Strategies appeared first on The Whole Dancer.