The 9-Minute Method to Break Food Cravings

About this episode

Dr. Brendan McCarthy discusses the emotional aspects of food cravings and introduces a 9-minute method to help interrupt these cravings.

Most diets fail because they never address what the food was doing for you emotionally. In this episode, Dr. Brendan McCarthy explains the stress-craving loop behind emotional eating, why ultra-processed foods feel impossible to resist, and how shame actually reinforces the cycle. You’ll learn:• Why cravings feel automatic• How stress drives food urges• The “cue → urge → reward” loop• A simple 9-minute method to interrupt cravings This isn’t about perfection or willpower. It’s about understanding the pattern so you can finally begin to change it. Citations: Boswell, Rebecca G., and Hedy Kober. “Food Cue Reactivity and Craving Predict Eating and Weight Gain: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Obesity Reviews, vol. 17, no. 2, 2016, pp. 159–177. doi:10.1111/obr.12354.Use for: Food cues can trigger craving and eating even without true hunger. Berridge, Kent C., and Terry E. Robinson. “Liking, Wanting, and the Incentive-Sensitization Theory of Addiction.” American Psychologist, vol. 71, no. 8, 2016, pp. 670–679. doi:10.1037/amp0000059.Use for: “Wanting” food is not the same as true pleasure. Schultz, Wolfram, Peter Dayan, and P. Read Montague. “A Neural Substrate of Prediction and Reward.”…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Brendan McCarthy

Topics covered

• emotional eating
• food cravings
• stress and food
• behavioral patterns
• neuroscience of addiction

Keywords

• food cravings
• emotional eating
• stress
• neuroscience
• behavioral patterns
• addiction
• 9-minute method

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Food Cue Reactivity and Craving Predict Eating and Weight Gain: A Meta-Analytic Review, Liking, Wanting, and the Incentive-Sensitization Theory of Addiction, A Neural Substrate of Prediction and Reward, Psychology of Habit

More episodes of Dr. Brendan McCarthy

• What Every Woman Needs to Hear About Health, Food & Healing · June 11, 2026 · 16 min
• The 6-Week Nutrition Reset I Use With Patients · June 4, 2026 · 27 min
• The Exit Strategy: How to Escape the Ultra-Processed Food Loop · May 21, 2026 · 32 min
• The Shame Trap of Ultra-Processed Foods · May 14, 2026 · 29 min
• Trauma Is Driving Your Diet (Not Willpower) | Ultra-Processed Foods Explained · May 7, 2026 · 24 min
• Women, Hormones & Cholesterol: The Hidden Role of Ultra-Processed Foods · April 30, 2026 · 17 min