How to beat the Munchies – is it even possible?
Cannabis has so many benefits, from emotional or physical pain to spiritual exploration. However, for people who might be bothered by a few extra pounds, there is one downside to cannabis: the cravings!
But how do you stop them?
Smoke before meals
This approach combats cravings by not fighting them at all but using them to your advantage. It simply means that you need to plan when you decide to smoke in order to use this natural side effect to your advantage.
I personally like to smoke while cooking a good meal for two reasons:
- It helps me enjoy the experience of cooking
- I have an appetite after cooking. Unless I smoke, I’m usually not interested in eating after I’ve cooked for at least an hour. This way I can smoke and eat with my family. Delicious!
Photo by Tristan Gassert via Unsplash
RELATED: The science behind marijuana and the munchies
This is definitely a smart way to deal with unhealthy cravings, but you still indulge the cravings.
Do radical rehab
“I gave up that habit, I just quit one day, it wasn’t that difficult.
The key is not to eat even a little because once you start it’s hard to stop.” – Some guy on Reddit
I personally don’t think you need to be so drastic, but some people find that challenging yourself to deny yourself this short-lived pleasure is the way to break the habit. If it works, it works!
RELATED: The connection between cannabis and the munchies is more complicated than you might think
But the person is right. Munchies is a type of compulsive behavior that you start with a donut and suddenly sniff a few more for good measure.
If you are going to cold turkey and want to test your resolve, I would recommend being as religious as possible. However, this can make your high worse as you will always starve yourself after the hit.
That’s not fun!
Healthy snacks
One of the best ways to “beat the cravings” is to time your cravings properly. The biggest problem with munchies isn’t that you’re hungry, it’s that you don’t want to eat the sugar and calorie-filled junk.
Instead, you can prepare for the munchies by stocking healthy foods in your fridge—prepared for immediate consumption.
Photo by Irina Iriser via Unsplash
For example, prepare a bowl of roasted peanuts and dried cranberries. Cut carrot chunks, celery sticks, jicama into small pieces and place in small Tupperware containers in the fridge.
You can also make nutritious treats like cocoa with some organic peanut butter, ground nuts, and shredded coconut, roll into balls, and pop in the freezer. The stuff is amazing!
RELATED: Is Legal Marijuana Creating More Junk Food Junkies?
These superfoods help you beat cravings simply by giving your body super nutritious snacks that boost your energy with all the essential nutrients.
There was a season where I drank daily smoothies for my kibble, only raw organic stuff – I felt AMAZING. I should give it my all!
Smoke away from the source
Another option is to simply make it harder for you to comply. Finally, a compulsion can be reduced if the effort required to fulfill it is increased.
For example, only smoke in the woods, away from people and away from shops. Or to lock the fridge. Or put your favorite snacks out of reach – all to increase the difficulty.
RELATED: Why is Weed Giving You the Munchies?
This works on procrastination, but I personally think this is too much effort to be a sustainable practice. what if it rains Will you run to the woods to smoke? Of course not, you will probably smoke at home, which means you will face the same problem. Do women binge eat more than men after using cannabis, check out this science!
Photo by Christopher Williams via Unsplash
Wait 10 minutes and be mindful
This is one of my personal tricks that has worked for me in the past. Since chewing can be a compulsive habit, you can use this little trick to hack your mind.
Essentially, when you want to chew, just stop what you’re doing, set an alarm for 10 minutes, and just watch your condition.
RELATED: Researchers have statistical evidence that the munchies really exist
See what you long for and question it: will this help me or not? do i really need it can i do something better Usually by the end of 10 minutes you will have reduced the intensity of the compulsion and can then make a conscious decision to engage or not.
The trick is not to deny yourself, but to become aware of your compulsions. By doing this, you can break free of “automated responses” and stop becoming a slave to the body. The level of leptin in the body is one reason why some people binge eat more than others.
Sometimes you screw up – and that’s totally okay! But the more you practice mindful chewing, the better you become at identifying the underlying programs that dictate much of your behavior.
However, this isn’t just limited to weed; You can use this trick for everything from gaming to porn, smoking tobacco or any other problem you might have. A little mindfulness goes a long way!
bottom line
At the end of the day, you have few options for dealing with cravings:
- smoking and eating (meals)
- Get healthier snacks
- Deny yourself with the “cold turkey” method
- Make compliance difficult
- Watch your behavior
Beyond that, the only other way to deal with cravings is not to have them, which means not smoking weed. Others have suggested that weed strains high in CBD reduce cravings. I’m not so sure about that, but it might be an additional option.
This article originally appeared on Cannabis.net and has been republished with permission.
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