Let’s talk food.
Holidays (for whatever reason) are an excuse to overeat for so many people.
But some of us (me included) are getting Five Pounds Hotter for the Holidays, and if that’s you, I’m here to help.
This month, you’re going to be around food. Lots of food. Whether it’s in the office, or in your house. It will be there, in excess, tempting you.
And 90% of people who want to get hotter for the holidays will practice resisting the urge to eat the food. And they may succeed, at least temporarily.
But long-term, resisting only exasperates the urge – the desire – to eat the food. Imagine pushing a balloon down underwater in a pool. You can try to hold it there, but it’s going to keep pushing back.
So what’s the alternative?
The alternative is to allow the desire – to allow the urge – and not answer it.
Allowing an urge is sitting quietly with the feeling. Where is it in your body? I feel it in my chest and it’s sort of an aching feeling, like a tightness. Relax, take some breaths, and let the urge sit there without answering it.
When you practice allowing urges you’re telling your brain, “It’s ok, urges are not a problem, and you don’t need to answer them to get rid of them.”
The more often you practice allowing urges without answering them, the less powerful the urge will feel in your body.
When you don’t resist, and you allow the feeling, you will find that the urge lasts (maybe) five minutes (at the most).
And once it’s gone, it may come back again, like a wave, but you won’t be as afraid of it because you know it can’t hurt you. And you’ll be a little stronger and more capable of allowing it each time you practice.