Overcoming food cravings

The author can walk past 30 food stalls in Penang and is not tempted. -filepix

MY TASTE memories were shaped elsewhere.

So, Penang char kuey teow holds no power over a man whose heart yearns for hometown Melaka’s mee bodoh.

One quirk many Melaka folk share when enjoying mee bodoh (also called mee hassan) is this – a generous pour of vinegar over the noodles for that sharp, sour tang that pairs perfectly with the spicy sambal.

Come to think of it, most chilli sauces in Melaka are vinegary, such as those used in wan tan mee or yee kiaw (Melaka’s counterpart to Penang’s kuey teow th’ng).

Chilli sauces used for Penang hawker food are invariably sweetish, probably a legacy of the early Siamese-Chinese who came with Captain Francis Light, bringing along their taste for spicy-sweet.

That is why, despite living in Penang for almost two decades, I can walk past some 30 food stalls and feel nothing.

Turns out, I can observe intermittent fasting and ketogenic diet for months without a hiccup – having recently lost 11kg in two months.

I think, it is never just the food; it is the memory.

You are not just eating lor mee. You are remembering Saturday afternoons at your grandmother’s house.

Hokkien mee? It is the memory of the stall at the back of your school, where you ate while laughing with your schoolmates when it was only RM2 a bowl.

Take my friends for example – one went to Japan on holiday and the other spent a few days in Kuala Lumpur.

When they flew back to Penang, guess what was the first thing they ate?

Nasi kandar, flooded with curry from every serving tray at the restaurant.

It was not just for the taste – it was the joy of being home again.

To lose weight, the simple rule is to achieve a calorie deficit: burn more than you eat.

But it is not a math equation, because the real challenge is emotional.

When we stop feasting on memories, we lose comfort. We lose the flavour of home.

If I was dieting in Melaka, where I was born, I would be craving for chicken rice balls, southern-style wan tan mee (which doesn’t use black soy sauce), Nyonya laksa and Melaka curry rice where the curry is almost soupy.

When hunger hormones surge, resisting temptation feels impossible.

It is not because Melaka street food is better than Penang’s.

It is just because my taste memories were formed elsewhere, so I walk around fasting for 19 hours, unfazed by food temptations while also steering clear of carbs and sugary treats.

And Malaysians, or at least 54% of us who are statistically overweight or obese, deserve to lose weight.

It is a crucial step to ease the load on our knees; control blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure and help reduce visceral fat that wraps around our internal organs.

So when you feel hungry, look within and unwrap the source of that desire.

It might not be just the calories or flavours calling to you.

It might be the memory of comfort and security from the things you’ve eaten since childhood, screaming for your attention.

Nosce te ipsum means “know yourself” in Latin.

Socrates, Plato and countless other philosophers took it as the starting point of awakening.

Perhaps the key to losing weight is looking within to understand our cravings, so we can achieve freedom from food desires.