I Crave You: The Voice of Seduction

[Prudence Ticknor 75]

How often are you seduced by your thoughts to overeat? You’ve gone ahead and made the commitment to have weight loss surgery; you are not physically hungry, so why are you still eating? The simple answer is that your thoughts create feelings that drive your unconscious behaviors.

Many of us have thoughts that seduce us into doing things that are not in line with our goals. At the onset of a craving, the thoughts of seduction are telling you, “You deserve it. You’re special. You've been good all week. Go ahead and eat whatever you want. You are going to be strict tomorrow. Eat all the foods you love because you will never be able to eat them again.” How many of you remember that last thought before you had surgery? How many of you are now eating those exact foods those thoughts told you that you would never eat again? Take a moment to reflect on this next question, as it is imperative that you become aware of your internal dialogue. What seducing thoughts are currently controlling you?

The conscious decision to have surgery and achieve and maintain a healthy weight is just that: a conscious decision. Where many of us lack awareness is the understanding that the subconscious part of the brain is controlling and ruling our behaviors 70 percent or more of the time. So, that leaves you with the question of how do you get your subconscious on board with your conscious decision to reach and maintain a healthy weight?

What is the secret to working with the subconscious mind, the boss of decision making? Drum roll, please! The secret is meditation and guided imagery; you communicate and work with the subconscious through images and visuals. Below, I will walk you through a meditation that I do when I am craving certain foods and I am not physically hungry.

Craving Meditation

Read through the meditation a few times before actually going through the process. Before you begin the meditation, think about the food(s) you are craving and rate the intensity of the feeling on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being low and 10 being high.

1. Close your eyes. Imagine a large auditorium.

2. Silently ask your inner voices of seduction to enter the stadium.

3. Take a moment to listen to what they have to say.

4. Take a microphone and acknowledge that you have heard what they have said.

5. Then, tell the voices that you do not need them anymore as you are taking charge.

6. Open the doors and have all the voices in the stadium leave. Bolt and lock the doors after they leave.

7. Now, imagine those same foods you were craving and notice the difference in the intensity of the feeling and the mind chatter you had about the foods.

The next time you are experiencing a craving, a thought-feeling state, take a moment to do this meditation. This is a wonderful technique for creating new responses to your desires. I would love to hear from you. What did you notice after doing the meditation? If you have a technique that has helped you work through your cravings, please, pay it forward and share!

[Recycled 2,182]

Great Article,

The whole "zen" thing is great, but a little outside my realm.

I kinda go by the consequences thingy. When I was a kid there was Dad to administer the consequences of my wrongdoings. Now.....It's just that this is my last and final effort and I have worked too hard for every single lost pound and if I cheat or fail, there is the consequence of giving it all back. (and the whole.... I could die from obesity thing. )

Edited May 7, 2014 by Recycled