My Own One-Page Checklist for Countering ‘Bad’ Food Habits

1.1. Be super clear about the fact your present eating habits aren’t going to cut it for you.

1.2. Have a clear alternative habit (for me, generally, it is eating tasty, nutritious food and not eating empty or simple carbs, with sugar added) and a clear alternative state in mind that you really want and are committed to (mine is having a flat stomach, without any tummy hanging over my belt!). From the start, create positive self-talk and positive affirmations around living these newer habits and having this alternative state. Through these, start to work on giving yourself your own self-generated dopamine boosts: self-recognition that you are on the right path, you want to continue, and you're going to.

1.3. Double down on reinforcing in your mind, and later your emotional attunement, the fact that you are not missing out by not eating these so-called ‘bad’ habit foods. Quite the opposite: you have a bigger reward (see 1.2) that your existing habits and cravings can’t satisfy. Note: Be clear what you are ok eating and stay focused on them (with pictures if necessary).

2. ‘Active Awareness (Mindfulness)’ is Primary and Necessary

2.1. First and foremost, stay aware of your habits and thoughts in your normal, everyday life. This will require not just practicing awareness (mindfulness) in a controlled environment but being aware of what you are thinking and doing as much as possible, in as many situations as possible, so your awareness becomes second nature.

2.2. Stay aware of your more difficult emotions and concentrate on not getting caught up in them, as dwelling on your sadness or tiredness, for example, will often increase justifications for you eating comfort foods.

2.3. Practice being aware of the cravings in the first instance, particularly in HALT (+) moments, and continue to maintain awareness of them over time, as they become more powerful (see 3 below).

3. Know the Craving Mind for What it is

3.1. Stay reminded of and be conscious of how the craving mind narrows its focus onto the craved after food. If you are not careful, your focus will narrow to such an extent it will become almost impossible to avoid eating the ‘bad’ habit food. Notice how as you crave food it becomes almost to the exclusion of thinking about anything else.

3.2. Be clear that this narrowing of your focus onto ‘bad’ habit foods must be broken.

3.3. Part of this is realizing that the reward (the "tasty" eating) is in fact merely the “culmination of the expectation” (Dr. Jud Brewer), and thus the reward isn’t 'in fact' as rewarding as you 'think and feel' it is. The eating, in these craving situations, becomes almost need-like for you rather than desired or even ‘really’ enjoyed.

3.4. Another aspect is accepting that no ‘real food’, certainly at the beginning of any transition, can counter the comfort food craving and provide greater reward in HALT (+) moments. This is a key insight and a necessary point of acceptance: you can't counter the 'comfort' food craving with other foods, they just don't cut it!

Note: I would add, from recent experience, that a short fast, for me it was 3 days, can significantly increase the dopamine rewards gained from returning to eating healthy food alternatives. In this post-fasting context, these rewards seem much higher than healthy food alternatives usually offer in direct competition with your ‘bad’ habit foods, and certainly when you are craving them.

4.1. Once you accept that no food will really hit the spot as an alternative reward, what you can do is bring ‘future rewards’ into the present through visualization. Remembering that visualizations carry the weight of lived experience. These visualized future rewards must be held deeply (see your desired state in 1.2). As it is these that are going to replace the focus of the craving as it arises in the present and before it narrows too much for you to be unable to prevent yourself eating. For me, the future reward, and visual image, is me with that flat stomach, with nothing hanging over my belt, just feeling good in my clothes. These images must be personal and powerful to you - completely subjective. As it is these images and associated thoughts that are going to cut into the narrowing thought patterns of the craving mind.

4.2. You are using the focus of the craving mind (see 3.1) against itself, by narrowing your focus onto the visualization of your alternative reward and, by doing so, moving your mind away from the craving for the ‘bad’ habit food. This is why active awareness (mindfulness) practices are so important, for you to be able to move the focus of your thoughts. At the same time, work on enhancing your belief in alternative healthier foods (through self-talk, imagery, and affirmations).

Note: It is worth remembering that the important thing is to move the mind away from the object of craving. It is to move your attention away onto anything other than those craved after foods. When you do so you'll see the narrowing mind expand out again and away from the previously craved after comfort food. You can practice this in supermarkets and bakeries, by playing a game with the foods you usually eat or crave. Just look at the food until you begin to want it, until you begin to feel a pull towards it, and then just practice distracting your thoughts by thinking about or looking at something else (including your visualized reward). Notice your mind move away from the craved after food, as you then move away from it, too!

4.3. We also need reminders to make sure we keep visualizations of future rewards in mind in the present. This is because once the visualizations of future rewards subside (and to a lesser extent positive images of alternative healthy food options) the powerful alternatives to beat intense cravings also subside.

5. Tools and Tips

5.1. Stay clear in your mind how ‘one bad thing compounds’ and store in your mind clear facts about the negative effects of eating these so-called bad habit foods, that you can draw on in times of need.

5.2. Utilize different tools to support you (for example, the 2-minute rule - just telling yourself you will do something for 2 minutes, that we usually then stick at for longer; the action precedes mood concept, utilizing at the same time Mel Robbins’ 5-4-3-2-1 countdown to action practice - here it is about no matter how you are feeling you step into action; clear, relevant affirmations and positive self-talk, including self-generated dopamine hits).

5.3. Use visualization to scan future events, like social engagements or particular cafes and restaurants, for potentially tricky moments, where some degree of social pressure or some kind of food could trip you up. Just be prepared before-hand to counter that social impulse or craving.

5.4. Get Active. Just doing some exercise, to use and feel your body, seems to have a pretty good impact on paying more attention to what you put in your body. I always think a minimum of 3-times a week doing at least half an hour of exercise is enough to make you feel that your body is there to be used and fuelled better.
5.5. Be kind to yourself, if you take a back step, ok, they happen. Celebrate the wins you have and the path you are on and just don’t let yourself make two backward steps in a row. That said, if you do, don’t make it three!! In summary, just don’t give yourself an excuse to stop. Stay on it! 

That is why this ends where it began: you must make sure you are committed to this change state and the kind of person you will be because then the practice is well worth it. This is especially true when it starts to feel normalized and the cravings for your 'bad' foods have significantly subsided, but stay alert because those HALT (+) moments will get you. Enjoy the process, it's well worth it. Take care. Richard