Michelle Mason, RD with the Northern Health Region diabetes program recently shared how she has used Craving Change CBT strategies and resources in her practice.
“My client’s goal was to better manage her evening snacking. We reviewed the Craving Change ‘types of hunger’ concept and she discovered that most of her evening snacking was due to ‘heart hunger’. We reviewed the Change Buffet of CBT strategies and she seemed quite relieved that she had some ‘here’s what to do’ steps that she could implement. She chose to focus on ‘Renovate your Environment, ‘Nurture Yourself’, and ‘Distract Yourself’.
My client stated that she had not really thought about removing foods from her house before. She always thought she should be using willpower to manage her snacking. Now she better understands that there are many factors that influence why we eat and that will power only goes so far.
Like many of my clients, she acknowledged that she is not used to nurturing herself. We reviewed that this may feel awkward at first but with practice it can become a habit. My client looked over the list in the Craving Change ‘Nurture Yourself’ handout and thought that she could try doing some colouring. From the ‘Distract Yourself’ handout, she liked the ‘shift your location’ idea to remove herself from easy access to food in the evening. As she is planting her garden, she planned to water and weed her garden taking her out of the house for a while. She’ll check out some of the other distraction options on the handout that she may try for times when it is raining or for other seasons.
I was already using some of the cognitive-behavioural strategies with clients, especially in areas of stimulus control and distraction. However, the Craving Change program and the tools is helping me take it to the next level. Instead of just verbal communication, now I can add in tools and worksheets which should help clients remember what was discussed. The sheets also supply lots of different options / ideas that clients can try. I am really excited about adding these sheets/tools to my repertoire.”
