Reduce Cravings for Holiday Goodies

By Juanita Ecker

It’s that time of year when we are tempted with so many holiday goodies. What are some of your favorites?  Maybe it is the pumpkin pie, the pecan pie, the Christmas cookies, the apple crisp, the lemon bars, the fudge, the chocolate or the Christmas candy. It’s hard to resist with so many opportunities to indulge.

Very few of us just eat to survive or only eat when we are hungry. We often end up eating more than we should or more than we want to. There is a whole range of emotional eating that we engage in. We eat when we are anxious, snack when we are bored, eat while driving, eat while watching TV or sporting events, binge eat when we are lonely or sad, eat to reward ourselves or over-eat even when we feel full. We have these unhealthy eating patterns because there is an underlying emotional issue that is triggering our cravings.

I recently worked with three people who were struggling with compulsive issues around food.

One woman told me that if her family made cookies she could not resist the smell of the fresh baked cookies just out of the oven.  She craved the soft, gooey warm cookies that tasted so good. She shared with me that she could not eat just one or two cookies. Instead, she would eat at least eight cookies. Then, she would feel too full and her stomach would hurt. She would feel annoyed, guilty and angry at herself for over-indulging once again.

One client had an issue with whipped cream. She shared that if she tried to put a little whipped cream on a dessert, she would end up eating a whole plate of whipped cream, until she felt ill. While she was over-eating the whipped cream, she would tell herself she needs to stop now, she is feeling full and she will regret this … but she never could get control of it.

Another woman had a tendency to over-eat when she was at a restaurant. Even when she felt full, she would continue to eat because the food tasted so good. Feeling uncomfortable afterwards, she wished she was able to listen to her body and stop eating when she felt full. She would berate herself for her lack of self-control and promise that next time it will be better; but it never was.

We can all relate to these stories. Maybe you have been guilty a few times yourself. These examples illustrate how strong food cravings can be.  We want to resist or we want better self-control, yet there is an unconscious block causing us to over-eat or over-indulge this time of year.

The Emotion Code is one of the most effective ways to stop holiday food cravings. I was able to help each woman produce her desired outcome. We uncovered the emotional issues that were preventing them from changing their eating patterns. We tapped on their resistance, we addressed the cravings they felt and we released the negative emotions associated with these eating patterns.  One woman was so excited with her results. She emailed me to say she went to a cookie party and didn’t taste any of the cookies. She was thrilled to see actual proof that what we did really worked.

Over-indulging in holiday sweets is easy to do. What would it feel like to resist all those goodies and desserts? Take a bite out of your holiday cravings this year. When you step on the scale, you will be glad you did.

To learn more how you can Reduce Your Holiday Cravings, contact Juanita at  juanita@theshiftingsand.com to schedule your free 20 minute strategy session.