Cravings can feel like something we can’t tame.
Think, for example, what happens if someone tells you not to think about pink elephants. Your brain goes right into wondering, “Any pink elephants here?”
That instead amplifies the thought.
“Typically, when people have a craving they do one of two things,” said Sandra Aamodt, author of “Why Diets Make Us Fat: The Unintended Consequences of Our Obsession With Weight Loss.” “They give into it, or they white-knuckle their way into resisting it.”
“The second response tends eventually to lead to the first response. You only have so much willpower,” she said.
But we do have mental control over our cravings, says the Northern California-based neuroscientist.
Aamodt says urge surfing, a way to acknowledge sensations without judgment, helps.
First, recognize that you’re having a craving.
“For a lot of us, we’ve already grabbed the cookie before we even realized we were having the craving,” she said.