Here I go again…I followed my diet plan to perfection today, and then I got home from work and ate 3 pieces of pizza and drank a bottle of wine. WTH? I wasn’t even thinking about pizza earlier today?
Ever wonder how we can do so good all day long and stay on our meal plan, and then get home from work and eat everything in sight?
Ever find yourself eagerly awaiting a vacation or the weekend so you can let loose and eat “ALL the good stuff”? It’s so much more socially acceptable to lose ALL CONTROL on the weekends for some reason….But, what causes us to lose control and what can we do about it?
Four Reasons That May Cause Us to Lose ANY and ALL Self-Control
- We Aren’t Managing our Stress Properly.
- Making Too Many Changes at Once in our Daily Habits & Routines.
- Making Too Many Foods Forbidden or Off-Limits.
- Using “Moral Licensing” or the “Earn – It Method” to Eat More Treats.
1. Stress Management
The next time you feel stressed try taking a walk outside, a yoga class, or meditate, instead of reaching for that cookie!
“Stress is the enemy of willpower.” – Kelly McGonigal
When we don’t manage our stress properly after a long day or week, we’ll be headed to the food cabinet or the bar to get a quick fix of relief. Our brains are wired to go for the short-term fix and instant gratification instead of taking the route of sticking to our plan to reach our long term goals. It’s easier to just want to feel better NOW!
However, even though we resist it, meditation and movement, are two of the ways to relieve stress in a more positive manner and keep you on the track of reaching your goals. Research has proven that people who mediate just 5 minutes/day for 30 days or longer are more relaxed and have more self-control than those who don’t.
2. Changing TOO Many Things At Once
Making too many changes in your daily routine, diet, &/or exercise plan are a recipe for disaster. This drains willpower faster than anything. It’s no wonder New Year’s Resolutions FAIL. We try to change too many things at once…ALL on the SAME DAY!
Once we fail at one of the many changes we’re trying to make, the wheels fall off the cart, and our whole plan falls apart soon there after! We feel defeated and like we’ll never reach our goals.
My advice is to START SMALL and focus on one habit at a time. It might be as small as drinking 1 more glass of water/day, eating veggies at 1 meal/day, taking a 10 minute walk every day. We’re more likely to keep repeating behaviors consistently if we feel like we CAN do them and be successful at it. This in turn, usually motivates us to want to do more.
Speaking of MAKING CHANGES, The Small Change Project – A Habit-Based Group Coaching Program is now open for enrollment! CLICK HERE to be on your way to building a better YOU, ONE healthy habit at a time.
3. Making TOO Many Foods Off-Limits
Call it reverse psychology or whatever you will, but as soon as you tell me that I CAN’T have something, I just want it MORE! It seems this principle applies with food, toys, and dating. It’s also absurd to think that we’re going to eat a bunch of foods that we don’t even like. That’s one of the reasons I don’t think meal plans work. If I give you a plan to follow, but you hate all the foods on it, are you really going to follow it?
Be realistic here. Unless there’s a medical reason to cut out a particular food, consider that no foods are “good”, “bad”, or “off-limits”, there’s just ones that are more nutritious and help you feel your best and give you the energy you need to achieve your goals. This may require experimentation and learning how to sprinkle in a few treats here and there without overdoing it.
One of the mindset switches that helped me with this concept, is to FOCUS on all of the FOODS that I can have, instead of the foods that I can’t have. What we FOCUS on EXPANDS! I choose to have all of my options EXPAND rather than CONTRACT.
4. Using “Moral Licensing” or “The Earn-It Method” to Eat Treats
In the book, “The Willpower Instinct”, Kelly Mcgonigal refers to a term called “Moral Licensing”.
They both really come down to meaning about the same thing. We will often justify a negative or bad behavior or action, because we feel like we’ve done something good or just even had the intention of doing something good. In regards to Moral licensing, she states in her book, “Whenever we have conflicting desires, being good gives us permission to be a little bad.”
This usually plays out for me like this. “Oh, I’ve had a long day, and I was really productive. I deserve to unwind with a glass of wine.” It could also look like, “But, I did one hour of cardio today, one brownie won’t hurt. I’ve earned it!” I’m not saying that a treat every once in awhile is going to ruin your fat-loss efforts, but just be mindful of how many times you find your self using the “Earn It method” excuse to indulge.
The first step to improving our self-control is to first be aware of some of the above reasons why we might lose control, and then practice making a better choice or decision in the future.
Thanks for Stopping By,
Tommie