Keep Calm & Flowchart

Snackish + near food = not a good combination. Make it easier for yourself; there's no need to suffer through urges with the trigger in the immediate area. Leave the location of the food: go to another room or go outside. Bring a cup of water with you. 

Let's figure out why you want to eat.

 

Eating keeps the hands and mouth occupied. Cooking, preparing the food, and cleaning up afterward are also activities that can make you feel like you're being productive.

 

Are you bored? Do you want to be doing something or feel productive? Is the urge to eat stemming from a desire to keep your hands or mouth busy?

Here are some ideas to keep your mouth...

 

- suck on an ice cube or chew crushed ice

- suck on a hard candy or cough drop

- chew gum

- chew on a straw

- drink a fizzy drink with a straw

- gnaw on a toothpick

- chew on a rubber teething toy

 

...and hands occupied:

 

- play with a bracelet with beads 

- knead some silly putty or play doh
- use a fidget cube or spinner

- twirl a pen or pencil 

- draw on your hands or doodle on a post-it
- if your hair is long enough, make small braids

- fiddle with a rubber band or hair tie

- shuffle a deck of cards

 

Sometimes, the urge to eat is triggered biologically. This can happen through overeating/bingeing out of habit, exercising too intensely or too often, not consuming sufficient nutrients consistently, or not drinking enough water, among other things.

 

The good news is you can hack your neurobiology and avoid urges by dealing with these triggers before they arise.

 

Are your usual urges at all triggered by a biological factor, such as one of the examples above? What about your current urge?

Common biological triggers of the urge to (over)eat include:

 

- dehydration

- exercising too often or too intensely

- habit

- malnutrition (note: malnutrition includes undernutrition and overnutrition - just because you may be in a caloric surplus doesn't mean you're getting all the necessary nutrients in the most beneficial quantities for you)

 

To address each of these:

 

- right now, get 500 mL of water and drink it slowly. To prevent urges triggered by dehydration in the future, calculate how much water you need daily and aim for that amount each day. If your urine is very pale yellow/almost clear, you are probably well hydrated, and vice versa: the darker your urine, the more dehydrated you are.

 

- reduce the frequency/duration/intensity of your exercise - it'll take some trial and error. Additionally, choose pre- and/or post-workout foods that will fuel you adequately. This means a balance of carbs, fats, and protein in a beneficial amount - it will vary depending on your personal statistics and what type of exercise you're doing. Because of how variable this is, it's beyond the scope of this quiz. 

 

- take steps to break the habit. Make it difficult for yourself to mindlessly graze; keep food hidden and/or locked away. Keep track (perhaps with an index card or a notes application) of when you have an urge to give in to the habit. Replace the habit with something else. To learn more about habit formation and breaking habits, read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and Atomic Habits by James Clear. 

 

- have your bloods checked to see if you are deficient in any nutrient. If so, prioritise foods containing that nutrient, and if necessary, take a supplement. Follow up after 3-6 months and then again after one year to check if levels are where they are supposed to be.

 

(If your biological trigger is not mentioned, apply similar prevention principles.)

 

However, with the exception of drinking more water, the actions above are not immediate. They're also all longer term. But one thing you can do right now is eat a nutritious meal that will get you on the right track to preventing their respective urge-triggers in the future.

 

If you're dehydrated, wait 10 min after drinking water and reassess your hunger level. If you are indeed physically hungry, then it's time to eat!

Are you feeling stressed because of an external event, such as work or school? If so, figure out what exactly about the situation is stressful. Limit yourself to fifteen words. Write it down, if you can.

 

Next, look around the immediate area and find any object - it can be a chair, a pencil, the wall, anything. Imagine the letters of those fifteen words dissolving into a brightly coloured cloud of mist. Feel the mist humming around through your body. Now imagine that your body is spraying that mist toward the object of choice, exhaling through your mouth. Visualise the stress separating from you. See it floating away, out of your body. Watch the object you chose receiving the stress like a sponge. 

 

Even if your body and mind are reluctant to let go of the stress, pause here and reflect. What will solve it? Are there any actions you can take toward it at this very moment? If so, write them down, and begin even the smallest thing that brings you closer to completing one action that will alleviate the stress. Remember the hardest part is getting started. But do not do more than this one thing! 

 

If there is nothing you can do right now to address the source of your stress, or if you did the one thing and still feel stressed, remind yourself that (over)eating right now will make you feel worse. Think about how much more stressed you will be once you have given in to the urge, and now are dealing with damage control. Let all the negative feelings you would feel then wash over you. Regret, despair, disappointment, frustration, ...and more stress. Feel their itchy and uncomfortable grip on your shoulders, their buzzing against your brain, working in overdrive to fix the mistake.

 

Now press pause - remind yourself: you have not given in! Imagine the tight claws loosening around your rib cage, your lungs expanding freely, your mind settling. You are in control. The stress you are feeling cannot physically cause you to (over)eat. It is your decision. If you do choose to eat (NOT binge), proceed mindfully, and take responsibility for the outcome. Don't blame it on the stress.

 

Feelings have no mouth and no hands; they cannot put food in your mouth on your behalf. Regardless of what is going on internally, you control your choices and actions. It may be more difficult at times. But you are strong enough to handle it in a way that would make future you proud and happy. You are strong. You are capable. You will get through this.

Are you tired of sticking to your food plan, or have you already eaten out of plan and are thinking 'fuck it'?

 

Are there other people nearby who are directly or indirectly pressuring you or resulting in you feeling pressured to eat?

 

Alternatively, is the lack of people provoking you to feel like you must 'take advantage of the opportunity' to binge, b/p, c/s etc whilst no one is around?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breathe in for three counts and out for five. Close your eyes. Remind yourself of your goal, whether it be weight, image, or mental or physical health related. Think about how (over)eating now would bring you further away from it, in the opposite direction of where you want to go. 

If you have access to a piece of paper and a writing implement, make a line down the middle, and title one side 'pros' and the other 'cons'. Then list all the pros and cons for going against your longer term goal. Compare it to the pros and cons for giving in to the impulse in this moment.

 

 

Even though the food seems very urgent, now is not the time to focus on that. Focusing on food is distracting you from the core issue. It is a ploy from lizard brain. Lizard brain is evolutionarily primitive and doesn't know how to handle emotions. It only knows three things: should I run away from it? should I eat it? should I mate with it?

 

None of which are helpful in this situation. And the last one sure isn't applicable. Lizard brain is very silly. So right now you need to ignore lizard brain.

 

Bingeing, b/ping, c/sing, overeating, or compulsively eating will not solve whatever is making you feel the way you're feeling. It's a temporary distraction. Can't address your insecurity, stress, etc if you're too busy stuffing your face, right? Except eventually you'll run out of food and/or stomach room, and you'll only feel worse.

 

Right now you need to express yourself. Just let it all out. Scream into a pillow, doodle or draw a vent comic, journal, write a vent story or poetry, play music, talk to someone. Avoid expressing yourself through self-harm.

 

If, after you've done that, you still find yourself wanting to eat, start the quiz over and re-evaluate how you're feeling.

If you're unable to get away from the food (e.g. You're in a moving vehicle or in a social situation), never fear. A binge is not inevitable. That's what lizard brain wants you to think. But you are still in control, even though it may not feel like it right now.

 

First, close your eyes and choose at least one exercise from the following. Focus on the rhythm or pattern of the exercise.

 

Once you've done a mental and physiological calming exercise, drink some water. Get at least 250 mL, if possible. Drink slowly, as if this is all the water you'll have for the rest of the day. Keeping your eyes closed, focus on how the water feels in your mouth, on your throat and tongue as it travels down to your stomach. Envison the water being welcomed into your cells, making everything run a little smoother. Your thirsty organs perk up. You feel refreshed, rejuvenated. 

 

Now, if possible, try to participate in conversation. Perhaps play a simple game (geography ending-beginning, telephone, I spy, etc), or have a debate with others. If no one is around, call someone and have a chat. The goal here is to keep your mind and your mouth fully engaged. 

Have a cup of tea and a pinch of salt or other electrolyte supplement. Take this quiz again and re-evaluate your hunger level in 20 minutes. In the meantime, how about a list of activities so you're not just sitting counting down the seconds? 

So eating is unavoidable. However, this doesn't mean a binge is unavoidable. You are in control.

 

Choose one to two portions of protein. One portion is about the size of your hand and the thickness of a deck of cards. 

 

Choose one portion of carbs such as rice, potato, beans, squash, quinoa, or lentils. One portion is the amount that fits in both cupped hands.

 

Choose a healthy fat such as avocado/guacamole (two tbsp or about half a cupped hand), olive or coconut oil (a tbsp - the volume of about one and a half thumbs), or nuts (15-20). If there is fat already in the protein or carb, then you can skip this.

 

Then have as many fresh/steamed/boiled vegetables as you want. If the veggies have been cooked in oil, limit them to one portion (two cupped hands). 

 

For dessert, have one portion of fresh/steamed/boiled fruit. One portion is what fits in both cupped hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Object write, or choose an object and describe it in as much detail as possible to an alien who has never seen it (do two 10 min prompts or four 5 min prompts if 10 min feels like too long). For instance, Meg's description of light to the sightless furry gray creatures in A Wrinkle In Time. Or describe an emotion with only tangible and visible characteristics.

Start by eating your veggies. Chew each bite thoroughly, at least 20-30 times depending on its size, or until it's liquid. Focus on the smell as you bring your fork to your mouth, the sensation of the food in your mouth and the taste on your tongue as you chew, the feeling of the food sliding down your throat into your stomach as you swallow. How many different dimensions can you identify? For instance, if you are eating a salad - taste: the sweetness of carrots and peppers, the earthiness of lettuce, the sharpness of radish. Feel: the smoothness, the crunchy solidness, the varied textures as they intermingle in your mouth. See: the different shapes and colours, the pattern the dressing makes. Hear: the sound the food makes when you chew it, or when you tap it with your fork/spoon. Smell: what smell stands out to you if you put your nose above the centre of your plate?

 

Once you've finished your vegetables, separate your protein and carb into small bites. Aim for about 1 cm square for each one. Eat each of these bites one at a time, the same way you ate the vegetables - mindfully. Chew each bite at least 20-30 times or until it's liquid.

 

Play a game - compete against the clock, yourself, or others. Against the clock: make each bite last 30 seconds, and keep extending that. See if you can work your way up to making one bite last 60 seconds. Yourself: chew each bite more and more times. Challenge mode - make one bite last 100 chews. Others: only take a bite after everyone has taken a bite. Be the last one to finish eating. Extra super hard bonus challenge mode: play all three versions of the game simultaneously.

 

Apply similar principles to your fruit.

 

When you are done, sit for a moment with your eyes closed. Evaluate your satiety level.

 

If you feel hungry after this, drink a cup of water, wait 20 minutes and re-evaluate. If you still feel hungry, have one serving again. And if after your second serving you still feel hungry, remind yourself that you have eaten in the past and you will eat in the future - there is no need to Eat Everything Right Now - and your body does not need more than an adequate amount (typically one to two servings) of nutrients.