What if you allow yourself to eat this food every day for the next week, all three meals (and snacks) if desired? True, you may end up eating too much of it, but in the end, you will be so tired of this food and more than likely end up eating less and less of it as the days pass. By giving yourself permission to eat this “forbidden” food as often as you’d like makes it less appealing. If you think about fresh fruits and vegetables that are not “forbidden” foods, you allow yourself to eat as much as you’d like and we never overeat apples, carrots, and kale. This may also work with other foods! By surrounding yourself with this particular food, you are allowing yourself to make Peace with Food.

*Note: If the “out of sight, out of mind” trick works for you and cravings have subsided, by all means don’t force yourself to overindulge. Your plan has worked! This advice is for those who still crave the food and are feeling deprived.

Another trick that Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have discovered is that repeatedly thinking about eating a certain food, M&Ms; or cheese, led study participants to eat less of the food once it was presented to them.

While just the thought of food may make you salivate, it could also make you think your way to satisfaction. These researchers discovered that by imagining eating a LARGE amount of something, your mind subconsciously limits what you later put into your mouth. The trick is that you must imagine yourself consuming several of the particular food you crave in order for the actual amount eaten to be reduced. For example, participants who imagined eating a ton of M&Ms; did not reduce the amount of cheese cubes they ate. They did, however reduce the number of M&Ms; eaten. So next time you crave a food, imagine stuffing your face with as much as possible and more than likely when you do eat that food, you will be satisfied with less!

Krista Haynes, R.D.