Image credit: Rebecca Kennison
I’m sure you remember chocolate. Maybe you are tempted to have a wee little bit now and then. Brothers and sisters I feel your pain.
In my many years of SCD I have concocted the Strategy of the Three Ds to fight temptations. In no particular order they are:
1) Distance
Physically remove yourself from the geographic location of the temptation. Out of sight, out of mind.
2) Distraction
Do something physical or mental that takes your mind away from the temptation. Almost anything. Just not the TV – every other advertisement is for food.
3) Displacement
Eat or drink something legal. It dulls the temptation.
You need to exercise some patience with any of these methods as they will take a little time to work. Practice, my friend and you will get better at “no”.
Random Tips:
- Brush your teeth. I know I don’t want to eat anything right after I’ve brushed.
- Eat more frequently.
- Eat before you grocery shop.
- Before you put that illegal in your mouth, stop to remember. Close your eyes and really remember the last bad symptom you had. Relive the suckiness of that experience. Train yourself to associate those bad things with that object of your temptation.
- Put a rubber band around your wrist and snap it each time you long for that temptation.
- Sometimes I find it helpful to think of food as fuel instead of a treat. That it’s a means not an end.
- Do you have a camera in your phone that can record video? Record a message to yourself telling you how bad is sucks to pay for those illegals – this could be especially effective if you happen to feel bad from an illegal when the video is recorded. Watch that video before you cheat. Here’s mine:
Perhaps you have a tip to add? Let me know below.
Eating SCD 
This is soooo on time for me. I am having a dickens of a time fighting temptation. I mean things I didn’t even really care for before the crohns have becomem appealing…aaaarghghghh!! I will definitely be implementing some fo the randome tips. It always helps to have an actual plan of action instead of dealing with them when they occur blindly.
Thanks so much!!
Nicole,
You’re welcome. Hang tough!
-Paul
Just a word of encouragement – the cravings do eventually diminish and disappear as you cleanse your body of all the chemicals and junk in the processed foods we usually eat and replace ALL those processed foods with good healthy made-from-scratch meals and goodies. In the meantime, the chocolate craving can be quelled by baking “brownies” with pecan flour. It’s not exactly chocolate, but close enough to chase away the cravings. And lucky me, the recipe I found turns out differently every time I make it, so it’s a new treat every time!
Penny,
Thanks, I appreciate the tips.
-Paul