Think-Feel-Eat Episode #8 Urges and Feeling Feelings! Part II of II
Hi! I’m Donna Reish, IF teacher, weight loss coach, blogger, and half of “The Minus 220 Pound Pair” as my husband and I have lost over 200 pounds together (160 of that in the past couple of years through the Weight Loss Lifestyle habits and strategies I teach!). In this episode, I present Part II of two parts about Urges and Feeling Feelings—really good stuff!
This episode takes off where we left off last week with understanding that Urges are feelings to do something that we hadn’t planned to do or not do something that we had planned to do. When it comes to food urges, this means that we are URGED to eat food off of our plan; an amount off of our plan; or a time off of our plan.
Urges feel urgent. We want to buffer against them—we don’t want to feel them. So we give in. Or we white knuckle and try to use willpower. (WLL #60 and #61.)
Then I introduce The Urge Map! This map shows us three distinct responses to Urges:
1) Give in
2) Use willpower (this time only—who knows if it will work next time?)
3) Sit…just sit with the urge
After a while of doing the third response—sitting with urges—we will have fewer and fewer urges. We will be able see them coming. We will be prepared for them. And we will feel whatever feelings may come with them!
This information changed my life. And I hope it does for you too!
Oh, and join next week—when I give 10 Ways to Sit With Urges Instead of Resisting Them! Think-Feel-Eat #9!
Find all of my episodes, outlines, and articles for my two weekly broadcasts:
(1) Weight Loss Lifestyle broadcast (formerly Donna’s Intermittent Fasting Broadcast) and
(2) Think-Feel-Eat broadcast at donnareish.com
Sign up for my free webinar: intermittentfastingwebinar.com
Think Feel Eat 8: Urges and Feeling Feelings Part II: The Urge Map
A. Again: What Is an Urge
1. Eating off protocol
a. Food Protocol.
b. Simple. Same. Specific.
c. These are the things I DO eat; these are the only things I will eat tomorrow. Protocol for life.
d. Off protocol is foods not on master protocol list, not planned for today, overeating the amount we have planned, or eating a time that isn’t on schedule for today.
e. The difference between cheating and planning fun foods and fabulously fun foods. It’s all in the planning.
f. 80 percent of your food should be on protocol.
g. Protocol should be like brushing your teeth. You don’t want to go without it but you aren’t making it sooo exciting.
2. Giving in to an urge
a. Anytime we eat food off plan
b. Anytime we eat amount off plan
c. Anytime we eat time off plan
3. Urges feel urgent—alarm at teaching location
4. Buffering or giving in or sitting with urges….
B. Urge Map—Four Responses to Urges (See Urge Map)
1. Give in—feel defeated and have many net negative consequences
2. White knuckle—uses limited willpower; stay strong today but still have continual urges thereafter
3. Sit with URGE—you know it’s a feeling; the urge passes; you have no net-negative consequences; over time, this reduces the number or urges you have
4. Have no urge—after a while of sitting with urges, you will feel urges much less frequently and much less intensely
C. More Help
1. Next week Think Feel Eat Episode 9—ways to SIT with urges rather than RESISTING urges—how to feel the feelings of urges
2. Two more free webinar dates at the end of the month: intermittentfastingwebinar.com
3. Next month’s course starts the first Monday of the month—get control of your fasting and eating with my daily help! Intermittentfastingcourse.com