Control Cravings Creatively: How to win at Fasting!

Alternate title: Don’t let food walk all over you. Kick cravings to the curb!

This is an article in the series, How I lost 30 pounds in three months, the Natural Way. (Please note that this is a Series, so there are further articles with specifics about diets, dieting strategies, and body sculpting that were also used in the project.)

So you’ve decided to fast … what could possibly go wrong? —

If you’re like me, the first challenge awaiting you on your fasting path could easily be cravings. I’ve fought this monster and won, but it was challenging.

When you decide to lose weight, it’s not uncommon to feel like your mind and body are not on the same page.

And as your system begins adjusting to this new way of eating – like adjusting to fasting — it’s not uncommon to feel constantly bombarded with unwanted food-related thoughts and urges, aka. cravings.

For example, you may have been fighting off the urge to jump on that sneaky sugar donut for a while … then as you begin to fast, you suddenly feel as if there’s an upset, whiny little kid inside of you urgently demanding, “I want a donut!!”  

And you’re like “No! I’ve told you a million times, you cannot have the donut.” (It sounds kind of like Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka saying, “I want an Oompa Loompa NOW!”) 

The idea of cravings also reminds me of that old movie, The Last Dragon, in which the character, “Sho’ Nuff” — a kung fu master and a bad guy — can produce the glow. And as it happens … the good guy, Leroy Green, is now on a quest to get that glow, also.

But the catch is … to ‘get the glow,” you must first learn to master mind, body, and soul. Spoiler alert: Leroy already has the glow inside of him and just needs to realize it: he needs to master it.

Being someone who has both won and lost at dieting, I believe that many diets fail because the dieter has chosen not to master themselves, mind, body, and soul. But the power to win at dieting is within you, just waiting for you to master it.

Who’s the master? You are! (Darn right!) ––

Such dietary battles could be an example of “The warrior’s path,” a term that natural medicine people use to describe a battle for health reasons, waged by natural methods.

Truth be told, dieting offers an opportunity for you to win a health battle; and by winning this battle, you will build will-power and enhance your self control: two admirable qualities that echo into non-diet areas of your life.

So, if you find your mind, body and soul complaining as you adjust to a new diet method – or a new period of fasting — it might be helpful to think of yourself as a health warrior on the path to better living. In fact, I use a health warrior as my dieting alter ego.  

How to create a dieting alter ego  —

In his book, The alter ego effect, Todd Herman tells us that many successful athletes excel in sports by creating a powerful alter ego that is amazingly more effective than their everyday identity.

So, when the athlete needs to bring their “A” game, they can use their imagination to become an alternate identity, an alter ego (often a superhero.)

And by choosing and identifying with this powerful alternate identity, they become able to perform their sport at a much higher skill level than usual.

I applied this powerful self-control method to my dieting efforts, thus creating my dieting alter ego, “the diet warrior.” 

As I begin a diet, I get serious! Then I step out of my box of everyday thinking, magically becoming my own, personal superhero: the amazingly tough “diet warrior!” To morph into this alter ego, I use my powers of imagination and become Eowyn, warrior and shield maiden of Rohan from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

I imagine putting on my armor and leaping onto my horse … forcefully withstanding and even slaying cravings with my large, shiny, take-charge sword. (feel powerful, yeah!)

So, I encourage you to find and become a favorite superhero. Build up your courage, because wimping out on your diet is not an option! Beginning a diet requires no holds barred determination, and developing a dieting alter ego can help you give it all you’ve got! (Yeah, go for it!)  

Just remember that by emphasizing determination, I’m not talking about making yourself throw up or starving yourself for excessive periods of time — there are better ways to lose weight — and since intense starvation diets tend to make your metabolism shut down, they are not a good weight loss option anyway. 

Cravings: Don’t let food walk all over you! —

Some people find cravings to be a major diet buzz kill, but by sharpening your mental focus, you can kick those pesky cravings to the curb!

So, why do people struggle with cravings? —

Well, in all likelihood, it is simply the body trying to protect you. Your body may see the diet as a threat to its stability, even when the diet’s purpose is to correct imbalances.  

You see, when internal activities take place in the human body, substances come together like cars on an interstate: all aware of each other, following traffic rules, often signaling each other.

Over time, your body develops a solid routine of biological activity that remains relatively stable and predictable.

But regardless of whether that routine is healthy or unhealthy, just the attempt to change it can be a battle, requiring an increased level of determination and mental focus to keep the new diet going.

In fact, cravings may be a sign that your body thinks your diet is invading its comfort zone. So it resorts to cravings in an attempt to muscle you back into familiar territory, while your mind reacts with grumpy complaints and bargaining.   

Presenting: the “ugly alternatives” method of cravings control —  

In my own attempt to kick cravings to the curb, I developed a no-nonsense approach I call: the “ugly alternatives” method of quashing cravings. And believe it or not, I got this idea from that awesome movie, The Waterboy, with Adam Sandler and Henry Winkler. 

Psychologically, The Waterboy has a lot to say, but my favorite psychology-based scene is where Coach Klein (Winkler) tells the water-boy-turned-football-player, Bobby Boucher (Sandler,) to “visualize an attack.”

See, Bobby (the waterboy) had just tried to take down another player, failing miserably; and to be fair, in his normal mental state he was honestly a bit timid and not the type of person to rush someone and knock them down.

So, Coach Klein devised a plan to release Bobby’s sacking powers with a psychological exercise. For this he should see the opposing player as an enemy … visualizing an attack … and this would then become the waterboy’s “tackling fuel.” 

Making use of this method, I decided to see cravings as an opposing player (no, I am not obsessed, this is a good idea.) And now when I experience a craving, I immediately get a vision (my tackling fuel) of an unwanted outcome that could manifest if I give in and allow that craving to dominate my thinking.

This is my “ugly alternatives” method of quashing cravings. 

How to win the cravings battle —

For instance, recently when I launched a period of intermittent fasting, I experienced a serious cravings sneak attack as I innocently walked past a deceptively charming Christmas cookie tin located on the kitchen table.

Although I usually had this tin covered/camouflaged with other items to prevent sight cravings, on that day it was in full view and giving me a serious snack stare-down …  all you dieters know the look! 

Luckily, I had just been contemplating my “ugly alternatives” method, trying to come up with visual scenarios showing unwanted outcomes: things that could happen to me if I wimped out and gave in to my cravings.

I had seen those TV commercials where people gave themselves weight loss shots, and since it is my personal choice to avoid that treatment, I decided to use the weight loss shot as a visual concept for my own “ugly alternatives” strategy.

To implement the “ugly alternatives” strategy, you should create a visual of something that you feel strongly about, and this can be practically any unwanted result you may face if you cannot control your weight.

Some people might picture feeling embarrassed to attend a public event — like a high school reunion — due to their weight. Or they may be worried about fitting into a dress or a tux for a wedding.

It’s a visual flash of any experience you seriously hope to avoid by staying on your diet or fast.

Don’t allow yourself to dwell on it (accentuate the positives) but the ugly alternative visual flash can be a valuable method of gaining control of your eating behavior.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed learning some valuable tools to take charge of your cravings. Now I want to encourage you to use your personal creative power and concoct some of your own methods for curbing cravings.

And check back for future articles in the series, in which I’ll discuss DIY body sculpting and show you some excellent devices that will help you get into great shape and live your best life, the natural way! 

This article was written by Vanna Silverwood, medical writer and outspoken advocate for natural medicine at: Simplynaturalmedicine.com. Encouraging comprehensive wellness, helping you clarify your health goals … we are always “Natural by nature!“

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Create you own super alter ego! Click here to see Todd Herman’s book, “The Alter Ego Effect” on Amazon!

Educate yourself about the Keto Diet with Josh Axe’s book: Click here to see Josh Axe’s “Keto Diet: Your 30-Day Plan to Lose Weight, Balance Hormones, Boost Brain Health, and Reverse Disease” on Amazon!

Sources 

Axe, Josh (2019). Keto Diet. Hachette Book Group, NY, NY. 

Herman, Todd (2019). The alter ego effect. Lioncrest, Austin, TX.