Have you ever had one of these moments?? Of course you have- because you are Human.
You go along with your day making good choices with your food. Hec, you may have already paid good money to meet with your trainer and have your booty kicked? Or you gave up something in your day to allow time to hit the gym? And low and behold, you make a single choice that turns into a diet disaster. What’s worse is that you’re having that out of body experience & watching yourself from the corner of the room and screaming to yourself :
“ARE YOU CRAZY? DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD YOU WILL HAVE TO WORK TO UN-DO THAT ? “
The scary part is that you do. We all do. But, for different reasons, we turn out to be our own worst enemy when it comes to our food choices. I don’t have a degree in psychology but, as a former foodie, I know how easy it is to go to the gym but how much work it is to make good solid food choices.
So, first things first.
Why do we do it? Well, ask 10 people and I can promise you 10 different answers so I will speak for myself.
Before I began working out, I just ate well but would always cheat after a few days. I would start over and over and over. Then, I began working out but I had a new problem – I always felt I could out-train a bad diet. I worked out like a crazy woman so therefore it was OK if I indulged…not understanding the concept between food and results. I would hate myself for doing it, pinky swear 50 times that I would do better, and then do it again.
How do we stop?? Well- that again depends on the person and what is driving them to the self-sabotage behaviors. Here are my own tips as well as others I’ve gathered from clients:
1. Don’t beat yourself up. Negative thoughts don’t need to be part of the process. Make a vow with yourself that is was a slip up and it’s not going to define the rest of your day, week, month or year! Brush it off and move on to the important things.
2. Designate a cheat meal. Even if you are dieting, you need one meal that gives you the freedom to eat what you want. If you’re following a meal plan that doesn’t allow for a cheat meal, you may want to re-think your program.
3. Eliminate the crap food in your house. I am a firm believer in “out of sight out of mind”. You can’t reach for it at night time if it’s not there…get rid of it!
4. Put up reminders. I love this one. I have a client who has post it notes on her refrigerator that remind her that one cup of ice cream = 60 minutes on the elliptical or a bag of chips = an extra cardio session on the weekend. This woman is a busy executive and has zero time for “make-up” cardio as I like to call it.
5. Pay up. Some people have a swear jar…make a jar to donate a dollar or two every time you eat something that you know you shouldn’t…maybe a little less sexy than the other suggestions but it can still work.
6. Change your routine. I really think this is the key to success. If your routine is to stop at the coffee shop on the way to work and throw in a muffin or scone, stop. If your routine is to go out to lunch every day, stop. If your routine is to unwind at home with wine or crap food, stop. There is a solution for every roadblock. You have to figure out a way to work around the temptation.
7. “In order to fly, you got to give up the S%*#! that weighs you down”. I love this quote. If you are surrounded by people, things, etc that are holding you back from your goals, move on.
8. Baby Steps. If you try to change everything at one time, you are most definitely setting yourself up for self sabotage. Pick one thing each week to work on – food, scheduling gym time, planning, etc.
9. No, you are not a diet failure. If the food was the easy part, everyone would be at their goal weight. But, the fact is that it’s easier to go to the gym then eat the right foods all the time.
10. Plan & plan some more. Failure to plan is a plan to fail. Simple!
I wish all of you a very blessed Thanksgiving with your family and friends. Thanks for reading and cheers to your health and fitness!