Food and Mood: Are You Craving the Food or the Feeling?

I recently stumbled upon a Facebook post that beautifully capsulized how we use food to create a specific feeling or mood:

Do you really need a chocolate chip cookie
to feel cozy?

"Just got home from a long walk and felt like I could eat a dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies. Instead of diving straight into baking, I thought about why. I wanted the cookies to feel cozy on this grey day, to feel like I'm in a log cabin with the fire going.So instead I changed out my bedding to feel more cabin-y, lit some candles and am about to grab a pile of magazines and crawl into bed. It's not about willpower, it's about creating a life that is better than chocolate chip cookies."

The cool thing about Medifast is you can still have that cookie if you want to, albeit in the form of a chocolate chip soft bake. But if it's not time for a meal or snack, you can find other ways to feel comforted -- whether it's bedding, candles or that stack of magazines you've been meaning to catch up on. 

From a Freudian perspective, you can sublimate the desire for the chocolate chip cookie with a less caloric food or other non-food stimulus that does not pose a threat to your optimal health or pants zippability.

Before automatically extending your hand, acknowledge the reason you want any food that does not contribute to physical nourishment. In a hypothetical scenario, let's say Bob from accounting is retiring and there's a big old chocolate sheet cake in the conference room sucking you in like a neodymium magnet..

You may be anticipating the pleasure of the sweet chocolatey flavor or creamy frosting texture on your tongue. But you may also be trying to recapture the feeling of being your happy 6-year-old birthday girl self surrounded by all of your friends.

Before walking into the room, ask yourself, "Self, do I really want a slice of that cake -- and, if so, why?"

Once you get real -- and deal -- with your myriad motivations, you can say bon voyage to Bob without it costing you 235 calories and 34.9g of refined carbohydrates? Just be sure to make your decision before walking into the room or risk robotically robbing yourself of reaching or maintaining your ideal weight.

You can purchase Medifast replacement meals directly from Medifast Centers, the Medifast website or -- for less cost -- through the co-branded website of a Medifast TSFL health coach. Medifast does not recommend purchasing its products from third party vendors, but if you choose to do so, you can find them on both Amazon and eBay.

Medifast Custom Order - You Choose ANY 10 Boxes



More from Diet Skeptic:

Fruck You! Fructose

Can You Drink Alcohol on Medifast

Medifast Centers Vs. Take Shape for Life

Planned Exceptions: What Is Your Pie Policy?

Wabi Sabi Dieting & Renee Zelwegger's New Face
Follow Nancy's board Low Carb Recipes on Pinterest.