Raise your hand if you have struggled with food cravings, emotional eating, or even just managing regular eating patterns. It is natural to deal with these at different times in our lives depending on stress, work, school, parenting and just dealing with life. Then….a pandemic is thrown into the mix and perhaps many of the great eating patterns and mental health balance we have established are turned upside down.
The reality is that food issues can be a part of life and not something that we can just avoid….as we need food to survive and live. “Craving Change” is a licensed cognitive-behavioral program that can help people deal with emotional eating. Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours each strongly impact one another. The Craving Change® program is based on this cognitive-behavioral approach as it relates to our eating behaviours.
Craving Change is a “how to” approach which focuses on the why of eating behavior and what to do about it. People are taught skills, strategies and armed with tools to better understand what is getting in the way of healthy eating patterns and how to manage more mindful eating. Learn more about the cognitive-behavioural model with the ‘eating iceberg’ example.
An iceberg looks like an island of frozen snow floating in the ocean. It is big. However, under the surface of the water lies a much, much bigger chunk of ice. In fact, almost 90% of the iceberg is under the water where we cannot see it.
Think of the visible part of the iceberg as your eating behaviour. This would be what, when, and how much you are eating. Imagine that you are a busy parent with young children. You find yourself eating ice cream in the evening. This is your eating behaviour. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath your eating behaviour lies the answers to ‘why’ you are eating the ice cream. This is what you cannot see. It is what is going on in your mind. Beneath your eating iceberg are thoughts (green quotations) and emotions (blue font). Thoughts and feelings that you are likely not aware of at the time. What you are thinking and how you are feeling can have a powerful effect on what you are eating.
Become more successful at changing your eating by changing what is going on under the tip of the iceberg. The Craving Change® cognitive-behavioural approach will help you become more aware of your eating triggers. It will then teach you how to deal with these triggers to help you better manage your eating.
We are hoping to offer a virtual Craving Change group in the fall of 2021. To learn more or to put your name on the waitlist – please contact Synergy Counselling Services.
Reference:
Change, C. (2017, August 20). The Cognitive-Behavioural Model – Craving Change®. Craving Change. https://www.cravingchange.ca/the-cognitive-behavioural-model/.