How to overcome urges..... tricks on how to break a habit?

[Duffpic]

so I'm back (again) because I know what my issue is and want to deal.  Just need help with how to overcome an urge to eat. Not "overeating", but just putting something in my mouth that I've thought of for a brief second.  Example - in the kitchen prepping dinner and the box of croutons pops in my head... next thing I know I'm in the pantry taking  handful and eating them while I'm cooking.  Or in the afternoon same thing - I'll just think of the sugar free chocolate pieces in the pantry and I'm there eating one.  I don't eat more than one - but I really have a hard time stopping my "automatic" body reaction to the thought.  Then there's the glass of wine that I love to have while prepping dinner, then the glass I have with dinner.  Been wanting to cut out the "prep glass" but yet, again, I find myself having one anyway.  I;ve thought during the day to make sure to measure exactly 5 oz, yet I don't (in all honesty).   I  guess the question is "how to break a bad habit?" 

[Esya]

Science has proven that it is almost impossible to get rid of a habit. So in order to remove a bad habit, the best way is to replace it by a good habit. And building good habits takes about 3 months (90 repetitions). Knowing this, you can start replacing your habits with different one and know that it gets easier after 3 months. For example you could replace your glass of wine during prep with a glass of water.

I got rid of sucking my thumb after close to 35 years by replacing that habit with moisturising my hands. I no longer moisturise them, but I got rid of it by replacing the habit with a different habit. So, try to think out of the box when looking for a replacement habit, for some it will be easier to come up with a replacement than for others.

There are also apps on the phone that help with creating good habits and tracking new good habits. I don't use them and you don't need them, but possibly they could help.

[SunsetRunner]

For me, it was to stop eating those types of foods altogether. I noticed when I eat fast digesting processed carbs like bread and pasta I feel like crap and I get hungry a lot faster. I didn’t like the way I felt so I stopped eating them. Now I try to eat as many whole foods as possible. Usually, when you crave for specific foods it means you are nutritionally deprived but you end up eating the wrong foods. A crouton doesn’t have much nutritional value to it and all it’s really doing is spiking your insulin. It’s not that you can’t have it but if you are aware it’s not helping you, you may want to cut it out of your diet.

[Baltoscott]

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@Duffpic wrote:

... Then there's the glass of wine that I love to have while prepping dinner, then the glass I have with dinner.  Been wanting to cut out the "prep glass" but yet, again, I find myself having one anyway.  I;ve thought during the day to make sure to measure exactly 5 oz, yet I don't (in all honesty).   I  guess the question is "how to break a bad habit?" 

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You already got some good advice from @SunsetRunner and @Esya, so I will just focus on the bad habit you described in detail - in part because I used to have the same problem with wine/beer. 

One key to changing habits is becoming aware of the associated cues that prompt the craving.  In my case, I would have a beer or a glass of wine pretty much every day after getting home from work and while getting ready for dinner.  And then there would be another (sometimes even a third) with dinner and after.  I enjoyed it, and did not really think I had a drinking problem, but I realized that the habit was adding anywhere from 300-600 calories/day to my diet.  Even though I bike commute daily, walk a lot and workout with weights, that's a lot of empty calories I've had to manage in order to maintain or lose weight.  So I decided to do something about it.  

I started by taking stock of the associated behaviors -- coming home and walking through the door (drink 1), sitting down for dinner (drink 2).  At those time periods my body just craved a glass of wine or a beer.  One approach is to delay the drink for a period of time.  Maybe just 10 minutes the first time you realize what is happening, but try to work up to an hour or so.  The conscious act if setting a timer will probably help.  That approach will probably push your 'prep' glass back to dinner, and then you can have your 'dinner' glass (if you really still want it) while relaxing in the living room before bed.  You can probably simply eliminate the second glass that way.

In my case, because it was alcohol, I wanted to prove to myself I didn't have a problem.  So I did a 'dry January' in 2017.  (You could try that next month.  It has become a "thing" so you probably know someone who is planning to do the same).  As @SunsetRunner mentioned, simply cutting something out entirely is often easier than trying to ration it.  That turned out to be the case for me.  I had a lot of cravings the first week, but knowing that I was only 'quitting' for a month allowed my to rely on will power.  I did skip a couple of social events to make thing easier and by the end of the first week my cravings had dropped quite a bit.  By the end of the month, I could envision doing a second month, but instead I switched over to alternating days of drinking and no drinking.  Outside of some special event, I don't drink on even days at all, and on odd days drinking is OK.  (A more common approach I see is people who only drink on weekends or if they go out for dinner; the basic approach is the same though, some time periods are just off limits -- that gives you a bright line to work with).  As it turned out, because I was not drinking every day, moderating my intake on 'drinking days' was a lot easier.  In part because of my reduced drinking, I dropped over 40 lbs in the first half of 2017 and have I kept it off.

For a great book on how habits work and how to make them work to your advantage check out Atomic Habits by James Clear.

[emili]

@Duffpic you really do have some great advice and I am curious if you have tried any of the tips you got. For me, I have rules. During the week, I am dry, there are no snacks, I eat all the food that are in my rules and unless there is some kind of special occasion, I do not deviate, it is now a programmed, learned behavior. during the weekend, I stay in the rules until it is time for the evening when we usually go out with friends. I am reasonable, but I certainly close the rule book. let us know how you make out....