Hey, where’d my craving go?

Although I wasn’t much impressed by last week’s episode of “I Can Make You Thin,” this week’s episode was much better. Paul McKenna taught a technique that can be used whenever an intense craving hits.  Although I can’t speak for the scientific merit of this technique, nor do whether its effectiveness has been studied, it definitely makes a lot more sense than tapping random spots on your body.

The technique basically consists of “spoiling” the object of your craving (chocolate, chips, pizza, etc.) by imagining it covered in something absolutely disgusting (maggots, worms, insects, mold, vomit, poop, whatever it takes!). Studies have shown that our cravings are powerfully driven by mental images - think of a time you passed by an advertising for one of your favourite foods.  That image probably stayed in your mind all day, creating a craving that wouldn’t go away until you satisfied it.  It seems that it’s actually the image of the food that is the basis for the craving, whether we are aware that we are picturing it or not.  If vividly imagining the food, smells, taste, texture and all, can fuel the urge to eat it, then it stands to reason that “spoiling” it with something equally horrible can create an aversion for that same food.

Here’s how it works: with the thumb and middle finger of your left hand pressed together, take a few minutes to conjure up an image of something you absolutely despise (e.g., liver, anchovies, cow brains).  If there’s nothing you won’t eat, then go into the non-food realm: vomit, diarrhea, mashed up insects, etc.  Imagine it with as much vivid detail as possible, including the way it smells.  You need to be completely and utterly disgusted, to the point of nausea.  Now imagine the food you’re currently craving being mixed in.  Oh, and sprinkle some barbershop hair and spit on top.  Mmmmm.... yummy.  Now go ahead and take a bite… go on, taste it.  Imagine the way it would taste and feel in your mouth.  You might actually start gagging at this point; that’s a good thing.  Keep pressing your left thumb and middle finger together - and hold the thought as long as you can. 

The idea is to create an association between your finger position and the feeling of disgust. Practice this exercise often to maximize the power of the technique.  The next time a craving hits, you can press your fingers together to draw out the feeling of disgust.  Use your imagination if necessary.  The beauty of this technique is that it can be used anywhere, anytime.  I tried it last night as I was watching the show, and good lord, I had no idea I could imagine such horribly disgusting things - I actually felt nauseous at the thought of any food, never mind yummy food, after I was through.  I’m definitely going to be giving it a try this week - I’ll let you know how it goes. 

What about the right hand, you ask? Good question.  The same power of imagery can be used to summon powerfully positive feelings.  Press the middle finger and thumb of the right hand together and think back to a time you felt incredibly good - falling in love, winning an award, being at total peace with the world.  Anything that has a significant meaning for you.  Imagine that time in as much vivid detail as possible.  Continue pressing your fingers together, and practice as much as you can.  You can press the fingers of the right hand together any time you need a mood boost: when you’re tired and cranky, when you need some motivation to go for a workout, or whenever you’re feeling emotional and fighting the urge to eat some comfort food. 

If anybody tries this out, I’d love to hear back from you. You can leave me a comment at the end of this post - I’m curious to see if it works for anyone.  Good luck!

Tapping your way out of emotional eating: Fact or fiction?

I’ve got two words to describe Sunday night’s episode of “I Can Make You Thin:” not impressed. Although McKenna did a pretty good job of explaining why people use emotional eating to cope with their feelings, the whole episode had an infomercial feel to it.  It had a high fluff to content ratio, with lots of testimonials and recaps from the last episode. 

The worst bit: his tapping technique. When I first learned that he would be demonstrating this technique during this episode, I was immediately skeptical but decided to try and be scientific about it and give it a fair chance.  But it just seemed so silly, not to mention hard to remember how to follow (tap here, tap there, hum this, look here, etc.).  I came across a great blog post where the author did some research and found some unsavoury information about the man who developed this technique: again, not impressed.  I suppose it might be helpful for some people, if they can manage to remember how to do it, but my feeling is that it works mainly by distraction.  In fact, it reminds me a lot of a highly controversial technique developed for treating trauma called “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing” (EMDR).  Although some studies have found it to be effective, the general criticism levied against it is that is uses the usual process of treating trauma, but adds in the repetitive eye movements as a form of distraction from the high levels of emotions that arise.  It seems to me this tapping technique works in a very similar way.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing inherently wrong with distracting yourself. If you’ve got the urge to eat when you’re emotional, and you decide to distract yourself by turning on the TV, listening to music or checking your email, then that’s a lot better then giving in to the urge.  However, in the long run, distracting yourself every time isn’t going to help you solve the problem that got you feeling emotional in the first place.  Plus, you’d end up spending a whole lot of time being distracted instead of really living.  The best strategy is to deal with that problem directly, and to use coping skills that can help you deal with the overwhelming emotions when they happen.  There are lots of things you can do to cope instead of distract yourself: take a bubble bath, go for a walk, call a friend, express your needs, write in your journal, practice mindfulness technique, and lots more.  Therapy is a great way to help you learn these coping skills that you can rely on again and again, and will help you need them less and less over time.

Should you take an antidepressant?

Many of my clients ask me if they should take antidepressants. Although I’m not a doctor and cannot prescribe or recommend the use of medication, in general I’m against the use of antidepressants for mild or situational depression.  If a person is so depressed they can’t get out of bed or maintain a minimal level of functioning, then I’m all for medication to help them get through a rough patch.  In these cases, medication is a must.  But the idea is to make this a temporary solution, not a permanent one.  The downside of taking an antidepressant alone to treat depression is that you never learn to deal with the problems that are leading to the depression in the first place.  By taking a medication, you’re treating the symptoms, not the real problem, which is equivalent to putting a bandaid on a deep wound.  It might stop the bleeding, but the second you take it off the bleeding starts again. 

I came across a great article that discusses the use of antidepressants from a holistic point of view. Go here to learn more.  Note that this article is mainly geared towards women, but much of the content applies to men as well. 

Can TV make you thin?

Last night a new show on TLC premiered called “I Can Make You Thin”. Although the title is a little too sensationalist, and the host, Paul McKenna, a little too showbizzy for my taste, I think this show is a welcome change from your usual weight loss TV programming.  Shows like “The Biggest Loser” and “Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp” are demeaning and mostly counter to what I believe constitutes a healthy lifestyle.  This show, on the other hand, doesn’t focus on militant dieting and exercise, but rather follows some of the basic principles of intuitive eating.

In this first episode, McKenna outlines what he calls the Four Golden Rules:

1) When you’re hungry, EAT: a revolutionary concept, I know.  But so many diets disconnect us from our own hunger signals, saying we should only eat at prescribed times.  This has two unfortunate consequences: either you starve yourself between meals, setting you up for a binge later on, or if you do eat between meals, you feel guilty for it.  In the end, the result is the same: you’re not listening to your body.  But if you start tuning into your own hunger signals, and actually give yourself permission to eat when you’re hungry, you’ll end the cycle of deprivation and guilt.  Check out the Hunger Scale I have posted in my Resources section to help you decide when you should eat.

2) Eat what you want, not what you think you should: another pitfall of dieting is you’re forced to eat certain things, instead of paying attention to what your body is telling you it wants.  I know, if you give yourself permission to eat what you want, you’ll live on nothing but pizza and ice cream.  Well, maybe for a while, but once you implement Rule #3, you might be surprised (do Twinkies really taste as good as a lovely chocolatine?).  By labelling certain foods as “bad” or “wrong” or “forbidden,” all you’re doing is making them seem more attractive.  If everything is permissible, then everything is equally attractive.

3) Eat consciously: this is by far my favourite rule.  When you’re about eat, sit down, take a deep breath and become conscious of the food you’re about to consume.  And as you eat it, take one bite, put your fork down, and chew it slowly and carefully.  Make a meditation out of it.  Turn off the TV, get rid of the newspaper, stay away from the computer and pay attention to your food and only your food.  Savour every bite, and go to almost theatrical extremes to enjoy it.  Don’t pick up your fork again until you’ve swallowed your last bite (this works wonders, believe me).  By doing that, not only are you actually enjoying your food more, it will take less to satisfy you.  Which brings me to the last rule…

4) When you think you’re full, STOP eating: this is a tough one for the clean-your-plate club.  But remember, it’s better to let the food go to waste than go to your waist.  Or you can always eat it later.  When you aren’t used to listening to your body it can be difficult to know when you’re full.  Try closing your eyes every so often and tuning into what your body is telling you.  The Hunger Scale can come in handy here again.  If you’re still not sure, stop anyway.  And if you’re hungry 10 minutes later, eat!

Tune into TLC on Sunday nights at 9:00 to watch the rest of the series.

New website launched!

After much anticipation, I have finally launched my newly redesigned website! In addition to a sleek new look, my website now features a well-integrated blog and a continually growing list of free resources to help you end your struggle with emotional eating.  Be sure to sign up for my newsletter and get my free report, “5 Ways to Get Control of Your Emotional Eating” (look to the right of the screen, near the top). 

If you like the look and feel of this site, I highly recommend the services of Depthskins Design Studio - check out their website at http://depthskins.net/