Can you give me more diet tips about how to resist the urge to eat when I'm on a diet?

In his book Relapse Prevention, the psychologist G. Alan Marlatt reports that the most effective coping strategy for an urge is to detach yourself from it. Instead of indentifying with the urge, remove yourself from it. That is how you can gain control over it.

The way to remove yourself from the urge is to think of it as a response to an external situation, instead of something coming from within you.

First of all, you need to recognize and label an urge when it occurs — tell yourself that's what it is. Then, instead of indulging, simply allow the urge to occur without giving in to it.

It's not really as hard as it sounds. Here is a technique you can use to observe the urge to eat when it occurs, and then let it run its course without being controlled by it.

The technique is called "urge surfing". Let's see how it might work. Suppose you are at home, dinner is over, dishes done, you're relaxing with a book and a cup of tea. Then you get the urge to get up and go to the kitchen for some of that leftover birthday cake.

Here's what to do. Instead of giving in to the urge, think of that urge as a feeling that you get, small at first, growing in intensity, then reaching a peak before subsiding. It is a lot like an ocean wave that starts out small, crests, and then breaks. Urge surfing is based on this picture of an ocean wave.

So, when an urge comes, imagine it like the ocean wave, and imagine yourself as a novice surfer. You are learning to ride the wave and keep your balance instead of being thrown over by it. Since you are new at being a surfer, you'll need to practice riding these waves.

The more you become proficient at this urge surfing, the more proficient you will become at keeping your balance. Eventually, the urges will weaken and lose their power. You will be able to easily ride them out until they subside.

© Maria's Last Diet. Maria's Last Diet is an online weight loss support website for women. At Maria's Last Diet, you'll find the tools to fix the thoughts, feelings, and automatic habits that fight against you when you diet. Because it's never just about the food. Visit www.mariaslastdiet.com for more diet tips and weight loss motivation.

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