When I first began changing my lifestyle it definitely changed the way that I thought about food and the way that I eat. Instead of mindlessly putting things into my mouth because I was bored, happy, sad, hungry or just because it was there I was thinking about each thing and if my body needed it. Most of the time the answer to that question is no. Instead of seeing a chocolate covered almond and simply thinking, "YUMMY" I first thought, "YUMMY" and then thought, "how many grams of fat are in this, I'll pass".
In the beginning I was consistently good, I stuck to all of my numbers and my meal plan because I had not yet made any progress. As the weight began to come off I would slide a small cheat in here and there. One cupcake on weigh in day, a few chocolate covered almonds (my gateway drug) because like most people I thought, " I deserve this, I've lost x amount of pounds". The problem is like many of you I cannot eat just one of anything or just a handful of candy, I always overdo it.
Often times when I would throw a cheat into the mix I did not necessarily even want whatever the item was but the habit of eating sweets was still exactly that, a habit. Not until I had the taste of the cookie, cupcake or whatever it was would I then want something sweet, but technically the moment was over. I had cheated, so why not cheat a little bit more!? There are people I know who can eat just one cookie and be satisfied and move on with life. I am not one of those people, after one cookie or bite I feel like I didn't get any satisfaction, I want to eat a few more to really feel like it was worth it. This is how most people not only plateau on a plan but also start to gain weight back again. Luckily because of the X training program I was answering to someone else throughout my weight loss so I could not allow myself to go overboard or begin putting pounds back on. Not that there have not been days when I did go overboard and then weighed more and had to explain myself. This is not the case for everyone.
In order to start reforming my cheating ways I first had to realize that the mindset of, "I deserve this" is just not true. You deserve to maintain your new weight and new look and feel good about yourself. We are not animals or children, we do not need to be rewarding with snacks for accomplishing something. Every single day you could justify cheating with that mindset and before long you have gained 5 or 10 pounds back and then all of those treats you "deserved" have killed your goals.
What I had to do to get back on the wagon was really think about what makes me want to cheat. Is it that I am hungry? Tired? Social pressure? Boredom? Simple love of chocolate etc? For me personally the time that I am weakest is when I am tired or hungry, or both. When I am tired I am more likely to just say, "oh forget it" and eat the cookie or whatever it is. Even though this never makes me feel better and after I eat it I just want more. My willpower level stinks when I am tired. To prevent this obviously trying to get enough sleep is key but that is not always possible. I use MIO water flavor as a means to curb my cravings when I am tired. I keep it with me and instead of using it all day I will only add it to my water when I am really craving something or towards the end of the day as a treat. There are many different flavor and it is quite tasty when you find one you like. After a bottle I am usually pretty content and have killed the cookie craving.
The hungry is a little bit more difficult. One excellent way to prevent this is to make sure you space your meals far enough apart that you aren't out of food and you know you are going to be at work for 4 more hours or awake for 10 more hours. If you plan well you always have a meal to look forward to and can prevent feeling tired and hungry. If you don't and you end up finishing half of your food by 2pm then you really have no choice but to be hungry or give in and eat. No matter what when I leave the house for work etc. I always bring at least one more meal with me than I think I will need just in case the day does not go as planned. As I eat each meal I try to think about if I eat every 3-4 hours where does that put my last meal of the day? Plan accordingly to make sure you can fuel your body periodically and make it last all day long.
What is it that triggers your cheating? What food can you never seem to resist? Don't beat yourself up when you give in and go for the cookie, you are human and it happens. Just be careful of not getting out of control and falling back into your old habits. No matter what you think everyone has their bad days, try to prevent them and work through it and when you fail, move on and do better next time.
WOW you know so much about health and fitness I can learn lots from you!!
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