Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we may diet...

 

However much we try to convince ourselves otherwise, those extra pounds didn’t just magically appear. They gradually built up over a period of time – whether a few weeks or longer – in response to our diet. And, that includes what we’ve been drinking too – and not just alcohol (!). 

 

And, yes, for those of you who want to point the finger elsewhere (!), there are other factors at play here too. However, diet is the major factor and one that can’t be avoided if a long term solution is desired… 

 

Perhaps it’s simply a case of a little seasonal excess, as we ate and drank ourselves through the festive period (!). 

 

Or the weight built up more gradually over a longer period of time – months, years or even decades – as our diet slowly changed. Perhaps life overtook us or we added one less than positive choice to another. A biscuit here, a treat becoming a regular part of our diet there, less than consistent portion control (!), relying on convenience stores or the local garage to grab something on the run. 

 

For many people there’s also an element of stress or comfort eating, nudging them towards a treat – or two (!) – to help get through the day. The occasional treat becomes a regular part of their lives and, if we’ve had one biscuit / cake / latte / something else, then another won’t hurt, will it?!? 

 

Or, maybe that’s how it’s always been, with us never having learnt what constituted a good diet as a child, so having no firm foundation on which to build. Just muddling through, following the crowd, the latest – often contradictory or confusing – advice in the media or simply grabbing whatever we can as we go about our day. 

 

Whatever the reason – and yours may be completely different or a combination of these – the foundations on which they are all built is habit. It’s become our habit to eat – or overeat – in a particular way, whether for a few weeks or over a much longer period of time. 

Now, before we go any further, we need to highlight two very sneaky little survival tricks that habits, aided by the Little Monster in our Heads, use to outwit us. 

 

The first is that we rarely make a conscious decision about them at the outset. Ask questions like: 

 

 

Instead, habits tend to evolve or “happen”, usually because we’re simply doing – or copying – those around us. It’s the reason why we find ourselves doing things our parents / friends / those around us as a child did and, years later, wonder why on earth we do. And, often, only when someone else points them out to us as, up to that point, we’ve been completely unaware of them. We’re sure you’ve had many of those “ah ha” moments in your life! 

 

The second is that habits quickly become automatic, so, we’re not aware of them, which is why they so easily pass beneath our radar. Become part of our routine with all too predictable effects… 

 

However, we should quickly add that habits aren’t automatically “bad.” They’re simply our brains way of taking a myriad of small decisions off our plates every day – no pun intended (!) – leaving room for the more important or unexpected ones that come up. Can you imagine what it would be like if we had to make a conscious decision AND take conscious action on every little thing, every day? Just getting out of bed and ready for the day would be a major achievement, not to mention time consuming. 

 

So, if you feel like we’ve rather been labouring the point, there’s a very good reason. To help you realise how those extra pounds “magically” appeared and to start seeing all those little habits – or choices, if you prefer (!) – which have taken you in the wrong direction. 

 

If it’s happened over a short period of time, this simple realisation is often enough to get you back on the right track. Suddenly you’ll start noticing when you find yourself reaching for that biscuit / chocolate bar / cappuccino / glass of wine / something else. You’re no longer on autopilot with you habit in charge and have taken back control. Do you really want to eat whatever it is?!? 

 

Then it’s simply a case of “rinse and repeat” each time you notice one of these less than positive (!) little habits come up as you go about your day. And the good news is that, each time you do, the bad habit becomes a little less ingrained as a more positive one starts to take over, allowing those unwelcome pounds to gradually start disappearing. Hurrah! Another change easily accomplished. 

 

But what about if it’s happened over a longer period of time or is how life has always been for you? 

 

Well, this simple realisation is still a good place to start, as you can hardly set off in a different direction if you don’t know where you are right now – and, just as important, how you got there. After all, you can hardly set your car’s sat nav if you don’t know where you’re starting from, can you?!? 

 

Having said that, the important bit is not to let the Little Monster in your Head use this as yet another reason to sabotage this new choice and, just as important, beat yourself up. This isn’t about making yourself feel bad / a failure / something else, it’s simply acknowledging where you are right now. If you can treat this exercise as being “interesting” – “goodness, that’s interesting, I never realised that before” – then you’ll keep your emotions in a more neutral place, so make setting your own internal sat nav much easier. 

 

So, now you know where you are right now – and harking back to the dreaded New Year’s resolutions (!) – you need to know where you’re heading for. The destination you require. 

 

And that means having at least one – and preferably more – GENIUNELY POSITIVE REASONS FOR DESIRING A MORE HEALTHY WEIGHT. Reasons that fill you with a positive emotion and make you smile when you think about them. In other words, that make you feel happy / satisfied / fulfilled / fill in the blank when you think about it AND, just as important, achieving it. 

 

And the crucial word here is POSITIVE. That you’ll feel healthy, have loads of energy, easily move through your day, look great when you look in the mirror, your favourite clothes will fit well and feel so comfortable or, perhaps, you can wear those you haven’t worn for a while. 

 

If you can start to build a picture in your mind of exactly what this new, improved you will look like, even better. Perhaps you have a picture of yourself as you’d like to be or one of a friend or someone you admire that helps conjure up those lovely feelings. And, please, be kind to yourself by giving yourself a realistic picture of the destination you’re heading for. Perhaps a step on the way to the new you, one that still inspires you, but isn’t too far ahead so it feels impossible – or, at best, unlikely. 

 

What you’re looking for is to start feeling inspired, which allows change to happen easily, rather than having to rely on willpower and trying to force change to happen. For a reminder about why inspiration beasts perspiration and willpower every time, click here. 

 

And one further tip to help get you started before we finish for today. However, tempting it may be, this isn’t a “one and done” exercise. It’s about keeping those lovely positive reasons, thoughts and feelings at the front of your mind. Returning to them frequently during the day, after all, they feel so good why wouldn’t you?!? As you do so, you’re laying the foundations for a new “feeling good” habit making it easy for inspiration to take over and changes to be made. 

 

So, having set your sat nav and got yourself pointed in the right direction, you’re ready for the very simple and overlooked way to make changes to your diet. Easily and long term. It’s so simple you’ll wonder how you’d never thought about it before but, at the same time, so radical it needs a whole post to itself. And, we’re going to stop there and leave you in suspense until next week. 

 

As always, the choice is yours.