Do without tricks on chocolate and chips

How psychological tricks dampen the cravings for frustration chips and chocolate

05/22/2013

Almost everyone knows the feeling when the cravings for sweets just have to be given. Objectively, we are neither hungry nor are we under-sugared, but nevertheless our bodies seem to demand chocolate or gummy bears. In fact, behind the food cravings is often less a physical desire than a mostly learned already in childhood behavior, with the frustration, sadness or other unpleasant feelings are replaced by a positive. Chocolate, ice cream or chips help against the frustration but only in the short term. Read here how you can dampen your cravings with simple tricks.

Using tricks to change old habits and refrain from chocolate and frustration chips
Eating chocolate and chips out of frustration is part of everyday life for many people. Others reward themselves with the sweetener or greasy for a long, exhausting day at work or, after a fight, first have to eat some nerve food. The reasons for snacking and snacking are manifold. However, they all have one thing in common: Eating chocolate, gummy bears and other goodies is an attempt to replace an unpleasant feeling with a positive one. However, that this supposedly positive feeling is usually quickly replaced by a bad conscience does not seem to deter us from frustration.

Margret Morlo from the Federation of Nutrition and Dietetics (VFED) spoke with the news agency „dpa“ about simple tricks, with which we get our food cravings under control. „If you're feeling frustrated, you want something delicious, something sweet, "the dietician explained," Of course, eating healthy food is often unrealistic, but it would help keep candy and chips out of sight in the office It would be best, of course, to completely renounce sweets at work, according to Morlo, who simply can not do without, should set firm rules. „No matter what happens, I do not eat more than three candies a day. "It also makes sense to keep the rules in writing, for example on a small piece of paper that is kept with the sweets „stop sign“ at the grasp to the treats. The observance of such rules can be learned.

Only eat chocolate and frustration chips in small quantities
In the first step, sufferers should become aware of their behavior. Who recognizes the problem, have already made the first step. „It's a real learning process, "explained Morlo. „Now this is another situation, now I want to eat. You have to be aware of that before you can do something about it. "By reflecting on one's own behavior, a kind of intermediate step is at least built in, before the sweets are picked. „If you manage not to eat is another question, "says the expert.

A common problem is the evening meal of chips. This often affects people who would spend the evening alone. The dietician advises to create alternatives such as sports or manual labor to prevent frustration. Everyone knows that the good feeling of eating lasts for only a short time anyway. Most of the time the bad conscience quickly sets in: what have I just stuffed into me again, how many calories that were, now I will continue to increase and many other negative thoughts wandering through our heads after binge eating. And nothing has changed about the frustration. „The causal situation still exists, "Morlo said, the moment you eat the sweets „has swallowed, one annoys. The positive feeling only lasts as long as you eat ".

The dietician reported that the frustration of chocolate and chips is usually a behavior learned in childhood. „This is often done with children. "To distract the little ones, to play something unpleasant or simply to keep the children calm, many parents like to use gummy bears, Lolly & Co. They do not do their children a long-term favor It is not clear to many, because in this way a behavior is already learned in early childhood in which unpleasant feelings are replaced by positive ones by means of sweets or other food.

For children do not problematize chocolate and other sweets
Especially with children, care should be taken right from the start to neither positively evaluate nor problematize food as a reward. While a few years ago, the regulation and abandonment of sweets were endorsed by many educators, the trend today is rather a relaxed approach to the subject of food and sweets. Of course, the nutrition of children should be balanced and healthy diet. However, an ice cream, a little chocolate or a lolly will not cause any health problems or overweight in healthy children. This is also confirmed by the graduate pedagogue Gritli Bertram from Hannover. „It depends on a relaxed approach to the subject of sweets and significantly on the behavior of the parents, which is demonstrated to the child.“ If the parents ate a bag of chips in front of the television every night, the child could not understand why it should not eat chips itself. „If the parents are eating healthily without being too dogmatic, the child would naturally take over this eating behavior. „If the child still eats sweets, there is often another problem behind it“, so Bertram. Bullying at school, for example, causes frustration for many children already at primary school age. „Parents should get together with their children and try to find out what concerns and problems the child has and help them solve them.“ It is not a solution to take away the sweets or impose other punishments on the child, said the teacher. (Ag)

Also read:
Body drugs animate cravings
Fat substitutes harmful to health?
Diet study: lots of protein and little starch
Study shows: a lot of protein helps to lose weight
Slimming products often without effect
Diet in Naturopathy
Danger of cancer: Too much acrylamide in food

Picture: Rainer Sturm