Habit 1

Craving Timer: Pause the Urge for 10 Minutes

Cravings feel urgent, but they rise and fall like a wave, usually within 10 to 20 minutes. Pause the urge gives you a 10-minute timer with slow breathing, so the decision comes after the wave instead of at its peak.

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10:00

Ready when you are

While you wait: what’s really going on? Tap all that fit.

How it works

1Start the 10-minute pause and follow the breathing: in for 4 seconds, out for 6.
2Check what is really going on: hungry, angry, lonely, tired, bored or stressed. Tap all that fit.
3Note the trigger and what you actually need: a break, water, rest or a person.
4When the timer ends, decide: ride it out, choose mindfully, or eat it and note it. All three count as practice.

Why it helps

Watching an urge rise and fall without acting on it, often called urge surfing, weakens the automatic link between a feeling and food.
Slow breathing with a longer out-breath helps the body settle, which makes the urge easier to sit with.
Logging triggers shows your patterns over time, so you can plan for them instead of being surprised.

Questions

What if I still want it after 10 minutes?

Then you get to choose on purpose. Eating something after a pause is very different from eating on autopilot, and noting how it went is still progress.

Does this work for every craving?

It works best for cravings that arrive suddenly with a feeling attached. If you are physically hungry, eating is the right answer.