The Craving Brain
The Battle is Real
Cravings are the ongoing battle of your conscious mind versus your subconscious brain. The conscious mind has a desire to lose weight, so you make a decision to say NO to the Oreos or the glass of wine; but you may notice, as soon as you decide to not have something, the “craving brain” of the subconscious mind makes you believe that all you want is the thing you said you’re not going to have. It is maddening!
Riding the Wave
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Riding the Wave 〰️
It was exhausting for me! But, I knew that I wanted to change and understand, so I had to learn to be present and asked myself a ton of questions:
❓Why am I having this need to drink or eat this food? to numb?
❓Where is this feeling coming from?
❓How can I stop this pattern that I have learned?
Cravings are often tied to habits and old patterns and can be triggered by stress. And when I learned that being mindful and “riding the wave” of the urge to eat or drink, it became an incredible tool to help me distract my brain from wanting what it was wanting.
For example, think of your subconscious mind as your inner toddler, that 3-year-old little person who lives inside you. Imagine you are at the grocery store, and that toddler wants Oreos. They grab them and put them in the cart. You see it, take them out of the cart, put them back on the shelf, and say, “No .”The toddler then starts having a tantrum. So what do you immediately try to do? Distract them!
As a parent, I dealt with this scenario so many times. Sometimes I was firm and filled with resolve that we would not be buying the Oreos. But, other times, I just gave in. Then, just like the toddler, I’d lose it and start having a tantrum. Of course, the conscious parent wants nothing more than to ease the discomfort of the “craving brain”/toddler …but we soon find out that what we think relieves the stress: giving in to the cookies or drinks, actually increases the stress we’re trying to dissolve. It becomes a vicious cycle until we learn more…
It’s hard to make these habit changes! Because you have to learn to parent yourself. And if we can recognize when we’re feeling uncomfortable, we can allow ourselves to stay present and lean into the discomfort. Leaning into the craving versus ignoring it is the first step for any person to understand what is going on in their body at that specific moment. So that when discomfort arises, there will be less risk of sliding back into old patterns.
Questions to ask yourself could be:
❓What specifically is happening?
❓Why do I come in the house and immediately pour a glass of wine? Or get a snack of crackers or cookies?
❓What is my inner toddler wanting to soothe?
When we don’t give in to the craving, the subconscious mind starts to learn that no means NO. It’s not easy, but the more we lean into the discomfort and don’t give in to the craving, the faster the subconscious realizes that this isn’t happening.
It’s been my experience that the best thing a person can do to minimize giving into cravings is to start with mentally rehearsing what you’ll do when a craving happens. I suggest visualizing the whole process surrounding feelings of discomfort (or pleasure), reaching for the drink, the Oreos, or the chips. Feeling the feelings! Ask the questions! Watch yourself deciding not to have a drink and going for a walk. Then, feel the feelings of accomplishment! Remember to tell your inner toddler NO. No one is going to parent you except for you.
I’m happy to say I did it, and I know that you can do it too with the right tools! Do you like how this sounds? This is how I work with my clients. If you are interested in making real & lasting lifestyle changes DM me.