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Controlling Those Evening Munchies

Do you find when the days work is done and your finally get time to flop in the chair that you start craving food, chocolate, biscuits, icecream, anything?

A lot of my clients have mentioned this is a prime time for the cravings to kick in. Often this isn't long after you have had a meal so you don't believe you can actually be hungry however you know that you 'want' something.

At times like this, firstly sit quiet for a moment and try to identify what feeling you want to change with the food? Is it that the children and now in bed and your deserve some special time to yourself? Perhaps you only get time to yourself if you eat. After all, who can grudge you time to eat?

Don't beat yourself up if you indulge the cravings, instead start to be curious about yourself. Start to think about why you do the things you do and how you do them. Think of it as an experiment. What happens if you drink a cool glass of water when you have a craving? When things are an experiment there is no right or wrong, there is just a result. If it's a good result for you then this could be a strategy for calming the craving.

One of the best ways I've found to help cravings is the quick EFT cravings buster. Follow these simple steps when cravings strike:

1 Focus on the craving

2 Tap lightly with two fingers on the bone under the eye.

3 Tap about an inch below the nobbly part of the collar bone.

4 Tap under the arm about 4" beneath the armpit.

5 Take a deep breath.

Sometimes you need to do this a few times to get maximum benefit but often this will reduce the craving to a manageable level or even eliminate it all together.

If you really are physically hungry then do eat. However at this time of night it is better to have something that will digest easily and is natural so it doesn't increase your bood sugar levels too much and keep you awake at night. Bananas are easily digested so they can be a good standby for evening cravings.

As you become curious about your own behaviour start also to think about what you would really love to do if you had an hour to yourself each evening. How would you choose to spend ithe time? What 'yes buts' do you come up with as to why it isn't possible to use that hour for your own wishes? You can then create some tapping statements from those 'yes buts':

Say the set up statement while tapping the karate chop point:

"Even though there is too much to do and I don't have time for an hour for me I deeply and completely accept myself"

Then tap the other tapping points while saying alternately:

"There is too much to do"

"I don't have time for an hour for me"

Other examples of things to say as your tap are:

Karate chop: "Even though I feel so guilty if I sit and read I deeply and completely accept myself"

Other points: "I feel so guilty if I sit and read"

Karate Chop: "Even though I have to do everything I deeply and completely accept myself"

Other points: "I have to do everything".

We often crave food or other substances to help us change a feeling. If you can establish what feeling is and you can do some tapping to overcome the feeling, you will be well on the way to curbing the evening munchies.