How to manage a craving in two minutes

Whether you get cravings for certain foods or just feel the urge to snack when you’re [insert literally any emotion here], know that eating when you’re not actually hungry is 100% normal—and 100% changeable.

Let’s dive a little deeper…

When a craving or certain emotion washes over you, the urge to eat can be intense—like all-encompassing, can’t-focus-on-anything-else loud.

That type of not-physically-hungry hunger (called external hunger) is a lot like a wave. It builds and builds, then peaks. But pausing to feel that drive to eat, accept it, and let it go can help you get over the crest and allow the wave to pass without eating. We call it “surfing the urge”. And the more you practise this meditation, the weaker future waves might be.

External cues to eat and drink are everywhere. Yours might be a place (your friend’s house = cocktails), a habit (TV time = snacks), or an emotion (stress = carbs and carbs only). You can’t always avoid these triggers, nor must you try to. This mindfulness technique helps you decide how to respond—sometimes that’s waiting for the urge to pass on its own, and other times, it might be honouring the craving. Either way, the awareness can help you better stay on track.

1. Cravings are usually brief, relatively predictable, and most importantly, defeatable.
   
   

2. Stepping back to observe a craving allows us to recognise it as a moment that will pass.
   
   

3. Each time we don't eat in response to a craving, future urges tend to be less intense and subside more easily.