We all have food cravings from time to time—in fact, researchers suggest that over 90% of the population experience them.
These intense desires are usually for salty, sugary or high-fat foods and can be driven by more than just hunger. The triggers can be emotional, biological or environmental.
Common causes for cravings can include stress, hormonal fluctuations, dehydration, nutrient deficiencies, habit, or even be part of the brain’s own reward system.
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Of course, it’s not automatically a bad thing to eat the food you crave and enjoy. But, when cravings feel uncontrollable and start negatively impacting your health and wellbeing, it can leave you feeling like you’re fighting a losing battle.
Instead of fighting your cravings, registered dietitian Zoe Griffiths wants you to give a technique called urge surfing a try.
“Instead of trying to suppress, ignore, or immediately act on an urge to eat, urge surfing helps people to notice the urge, stay present with it, and allow it to pass on its own, just like riding a wave until it breaks,” says Griffiths, who is VP of Behavioural Medicine at digital healthcare company Numan.
The focus is on building healthier routines over time, rather than striving for perfection.
Urge surfing works because it focuses on both behaviour and mindset change.
Food cravings are triggered by many different factors. They often start when the brain predicts a reward based on past experience, current hunger, or simply what’s within reach.
While everyone is different, Griffiths says most urges peak and pass between 10 and 30 minutes. “You’ll often find they rise quickly, peak, then gradually fall—much like a wave,” she tells Fit&Well.
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Instead of giving in to those cravings immediately or trying to push them away, urge surfing teaches us to sit with the urge, and shows us they aren’t uncontrollable, even if they feel like that at the moment.
“Over time, our brain’s automatic response of giving in to the urge weakens, future urges become more controllable, and our confidence in our ability to manage cravings increases too,” explains Griffiths.
Urge surfing aims to shift our thoughts from ‘I have no control’ to ‘I can feel this without reacting’ by combining mindfulness practices with behaviour changes.
Here’s how to do it:
Notice the urge: Tune into your thoughts and any physical sensations that arise when the cravings hit.Observe it as a wave: Visualise those urges rising, cresting and falling. It can be helpful to imagine yourself standing on a beach beside the waves.Focus on your breathing: Use slow, steady breaths to anchor your attention and stay present. This can also help with noticing any thoughts or physical sensations that come up.Ride it out: Remind yourself that urges are temporary. Don’t respond or judge them, just observe them and let them pass naturally.Reflect: After riding the wave reflect on how that worked for you, and how you plan to use the technique in the future. Ask yourself: Is there something you would like to do differently next time?Urge surfing mistakes and how to avoid them
There are some common mistakes people make when they try urge surfing.
“Too much resistance can make it difficult. Gritting your teeth, distracting yourself intensely, or telling yourself don’t do it can actually increase tension,” Griffiths says.
The practice works better when you shift to observing the urge with curiosity, rather than feeling like you are trying to fight it off.
Another common pitfall is expecting instant results or assuming you’ve failed if that doesn’t happen. “Some people turn it into a pass or fail test, which undermines learning,” says Griffiths.
Even just a brief pause when the urge arises can help to weaken the habit loop, or practicing with milder urges rather than only doing so when they are at their strongest.
“The real lesson here is to understand that urges are temporary sensations—not commands,” Griffiths says.
The goal isn’t to never act on an urge again. It’s to reach a point where you have a choice to do so, rather than feeling like your cravings are uncontrollable.