Once you start eating foods such as nuts or candy, their taste or texture can feel almost addicting.
When a taste trigger hooks you into continuous eating, you can usually stop it instantly by the simple act of brushing your teeth.
Regardless of which foods you’ve been eating, brushing your teeth completely changes the flavors in your mouth.
Once you eliminate those food sensations, you can usually prevent the taste trigger from tempting you again.
Also, create a “fire escape plan” that will work anytime you feel overly tempted by food. Learn ways to say no when friends, family, or co-workers push you to eat.
Recognize times when you feel weak and you’re about to lose the battle against a food trigger. When this happens, get away from all food—take a walk, go home, leave the room, even go to bed if necessary.
Today’s assignment (my answers are in blue)
1. Write down a list of the most common situations, foods, or emotions that often trigger you to eat. Create an instant tool for managing each of them.
When I’m with a group (such as Book club) where I keep going back to the food. My plan is to drink more water to avoid getting started with snacking.
Another one is ordering dessert at restaurants, especially when I’m on vacation. To manage this, at the start of the meal, I’ll ask my husband if we could skip dessert. Then I’ll ask him to help me not ignore the decision we made together.
2. Identify triggers that are hardest for you to resist. Perhaps you get hooked by movie popcorn or TV ads. Maybe it’s your mother’s baking or goodies in the break room at work. Describe these here.
Cookies, ice cream, desserts. Also visits to my family where I eat to feel connected to them.
3. Make a “fire escape plan” for each of your most common triggers. Write this in the space below.
Drink more water, brush my teeth, carry mints to stop the taste of food triggers.
Excerpted from Day 64 in the book 100 Days of Weight Loss