- Sophie Schumacher of Flinder’s University in Adelaide has devised the perfect formula for people who really want to cut out the sweet stuff
- People who visualized being stimulated by things like a forest lost their cravings
Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com
14
View
comments
For chocoholics, little can be done to restrain their cravings.
No matter how full they are, or how soon they’re going to be on a beach, somehow there is always room for a little Lindt ball or a Hershey’s Kiss.
However, a scientist in Australia claims to have devised the perfect formula for people who really want to cut out the sweet stuff.
According to Sophie Schumacher of Flinder’s University in Adelaide, the biggest obstacle is our vivid and visual imagination.
How do you tackle that? Simply imagine a forest, she says.
People who visualized being stimulated by things like a forest lost their chocolate cravings
‘We found that cognitive defusion lowered the intrusiveness of thoughts, vividness of imagery before, and craving intensity for both the general test group, and for those who craved chocolate and wished to eat less chocolate,’ Dr Schumacher said.
‘If we tackle the issue when it first pops up in your mind – particularly if you are not hungry – then it’s much easier than waiting for those cravings to gather force.
‘Learn to nip off these cravings at the bud – by giving yourself a constructive distraction such as imaging a walk in a forest – can help to lower the intrusiveness of the thoughts and vividness of the imagery.
‘We found it was important to target the initial craving thoughts before they become full-blown cravings.’
To reach this conclusion, Schumacher led a research team exploring how much our initial thoughts about something are exaggerated by imagery in our minds.
-
‘I almost lost my sight – it made me realize how lucky I…
Cancer breakthrough: Scientists discover how to kill…
Starting out, they believed that positive thoughts about chocolate, coupled with mental imagery of chocolate, might help to lower chocolate cravings.
First, they explored this in a group of 94 women who had varying feelings about chocolate, before then examining 97 women who actively wanted to curb their cravings.
They were split into randomly-assigned groups – some undergoing cognitive defusion, some guided imagery.
In the first (cognitive diffusion), the researchers focused on moving the participants’ thoughts away from the initial object (chocolate) – urging them to distance themselves from it and not to response to that thought.
In the second (guided imagery), they looked at ‘the craving stage’, when we begin to imagine what it would be like to smell and eat chocolate. Instead, the researchers urged them to imagine being stimulated by something else – like a forest.
They recorded the participants’ feelings towards chocolate before, after and during the exercises, while tracking how effective the intervention was.
While the first worked for everyone, the second exercise was particularly effective on people who had intense chocolate cravings.
Share or comment on this article
- ‘When my son came in too, I knew it was over’: Professor…
- Shocking moment woman staggers away with her face in her…
- Fears for British tourist found wandering naked in…
- Kickboxing chief blames ‘ambulance failings’ after boy…
- Horrified mother who checked her 13-year-old daughter’s…
- Ex-private schoolgirl, 23, is found hanged by…
- ‘Abusive’ mother of Florida girl, 14, who streamed her…
- King of the dance floor! Prince William is captured on…
- PICTURED: Bedroom ‘cell’ smeared with human faeces where…
- EXCLUSIVE: ‘We’ve been drinking vodka and smoking joints….
- The blizzard that WASN’T: Dangerous Nor’easter Stella…
- Get to the back of the queue! Spain warns Sturgeon that…
- Father, 52, gave his ‘cold and calm’ partner, 25, a…
- Champion fell-runner is jailed for 18 years for trying to…
- ‘Scumbag’ teens are filmed violently punch and kick a…
- Kicked to death by little boys: Flamingo at Czech zoo is…
- EXCLUSIVE: Mischa Barton blasts ‘disgusting’ ex-lover for…
- I don’t care if I AM going the wrong way: Stubborn Land…
Comments 14
Share what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Close
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual
Your comment will be credited to your MailOnline persona
Close
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual
Your comment will be credited to your MailOnline persona