4 Day Diet: Tame temptations, lose weight

Cravings
We’ve all had a craving — a strong desire to eat or drink something, so strong we can’t get the thought of it out of our minds. Most people think of cravings as intense urges that gnaw at the body and mind until the desired item is consumed. But scientists aren’t so sure where cravings come from or why they exist.

One long-held belief is that when we are calorie starved or deficient of certain nutrients, we crave what we’re missing, whether it’s carbohydrates, fat, or protein. The craving serves as the body’s alarm clock to let it know that the level of that particular type of fuel is getting dangerously low and it’s time to do something about it — eat.

Another popular theory is that when we eat the right combination of fat and carbohydrates that have pleasurable tastes and textures, our body builds up a memory of satisfaction and seeks to repeat it in the future. In essence, the body craves those foods that make it feel good. Some leading nutritionists have even drawn the conclusion that cravings are connected to hormones.

That theory says that as we age we become less hormonal and the frequency of our cravings diminishes drastically.

80-20 rule
No one is perfect, and no one is going to follow any particular diet program perfectly. In fact, it’s advantageous at times to indulge in some of the “fun” foods that your program might consider off limits. Some diets go too far in eliminating too many foods. If something is completely prohibited, it’s too easy to focus on it. One of the dangers this imposes is that you become obsessed with those “off-limit” foods, which increases the temptation and pressure to eat them. It’s fine to have a “cheat” every once in a while; in fact, some programs even call for a cheat day. The truth of the matter is that eating an extra cookie or scoop of ice cream occasionally is not going to sabotage your program.

That’s why I believe in the 80–20 rule. If 80 percent of what you eat is healthy and on the program and the remaining 20 percent is off the program, you will still be successful at losing weight.

The reason many programs don’t want to allow for cheating, however, is that most people don’t know when to stop. One cheat can lead to a bigger cheat that leads to an even bigger cheat, and then you’re off the program. You have to be the judge of your discipline level. If you’re someone who gets a taste of chocolate or french fries and can’t stop yourself from eating the entire package or serving, then this method is not for you. You’d be better off following the program as closely as possible with a goal of staying away from those temptations that tend to lead you to overeat.

Video   Fight the flab in four days Jan. 7: Dr. Ian K. Smith, author of “The Four Day Diet,” shares his new plan to jump-start your weight-loss regimen in just four days. Today show

Identify your triggers
Most of the tempting foods you crave tend to be “forbidden” on a weight-loss program. High-calorie items such as french fries, sugar-frosted pastries, and chocolate can invade your thoughts and suddenly appear to overpower your physical ability to ignore the craving.

To get a better grasp of how to deal with your temptations or cravings, it’s important to identify what triggers you to indulge. The simple exercise that follows will give you a clearer understanding of which environmental/emotional/physical stimuli have you reaching for forbidden foods. See the sample chart on the facing page. List your cravings/temptations in the column on the left-hand side of a piece of paper and then list the stimulus that drives you to eat each item in the column on the right side of the paper.

Identifying your triggers is an important first step; now it’s time to do something about them. Take each temptation and try to find an alternate way to deal with the emotion that leads to your indulgence. For example, if you tend to reach for ice cream after you’ve had an argument or when you’re upset, then it’s time to figure out other ways to channel your anger. Exercise is not only a great way to blow off some steam, but you can expend your nervous energy in a way that will help you lose weight. Taking a 15-minute walk outside and enjoying nature is another way to settle down and slow your racing heartbeat. There are numerous other physical and mental activities — from deep yoga-style breathing to walking the dog — that can come to soothe you much more than a forbidden food fest ever could.

Sometimes visual instead of emotional triggers can be the problem. Someone once told me how she craved french fries. She simply couldn’t stop herself from eating them regardless of how often she told herself the fries were ruining her weight-loss efforts. I asked her a few questions and discovered that she only got the cravings driving home from work. The route she drove took her down a street that had both Burger King and McDonald’s within a couple of hundred yards of each other. Some days she could make it past McDonald’s, only to turn into the Burger King lot a couple of minutes later. Other days she couldn’t get past McDonald’s. The fix for this was easy: Don’t drive past the restaurants. By adjusting her route so that she got off the expressway one exit early and drove a different set of streets to get home, she added only five minutes to her drive but eliminated her usual trigger, making it to her house without the craving for fries. If your cravings are attached to visual stimuli, figure out a way to avoid seeing that stimulus. It’s always a great strategy to replace unhealthy routines with healthy ones.

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