Momma Said: Keep Your Fingers Out Of Your Mouth

Watching television exercises our eyes but nothing else.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t require us to do anything with our
hands which leaves them free to grab something to eat. Then
there are the food and restaurant commercials where everything
is colorful and perfectly cooked. Don’t even think about
watching a cooking show: the temptation to snack or get up and
cook is totally irresistible.

How can we break this self-destructive cycle? Any diversion may
work for a while but loses its strength with too many
repetitions. The secret is to have multiple alternatives
available. If one doesn’t work at any given time, try another.
Mix and match as your likes, preferences, and moods dictate.

KEEP YOUR HANDS BUSY

When your hands are involved in a task, it is difficult to eat.
Finger foods and dull television are inextricably bound together
like flies in a spider web. Some activities to tie up those
hands include: sewing, knitting, giving yourself a leisurely
manicure (wet nail polish is a sure fire defense against
eating), water the plants.

Turn the television off and try such pursuits as model making,
card playing, videogames (that require both hands on the
controls), sending e-mails, embroidery, and all kinds of crafts.

PREOCCUPY YOUR MIND

To bar thoughts of food from entering our heads and whetting our
tastebuds, we have to keep our minds engaged, and our attention
focused, in other directions. Clear away snack foods and dig
into a riveting novel — you won’t want to leave the story for
anything as mundane as fixing a snack. Start a daily journal and
write about your thoughts and feelings and aspirations. Tackle
one of those time-consuming chores you skip in your weekly
clean-up: clean out drawers, work on the car, clean the BBQ, set
aside stuff to go to Goodwill or storage, restring broken
necklaces or re-organize your closets. All will help to keep
your mind off food and no mental image of food means no
consumption of food.

PRIORITIZE THOSE AROUND YOU

Play with your kids or help them with their homework. Go for a
walk with your significant other and really talk about what is
going on in your separate lives. At a long, safe distance from
anything edible, call your parents or an old friend.

Do these techniques work? Sometimes. With regular effort and
multiple task changes to maintain interest, they can be
effective. For those days when nothing seems to work and the
food cravings are overwhelming, we need to bring in the “big
guns” which we will discuss another time.

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